Thanksgiving 2014

How has Thanksgiving already came and gone?  Is it me, or is the end of this year flying by?  Thanksgiving was wonderful and I certainly enjoyed 6 days off of work, what a treat! Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but sometimes you just need a break!  I worked extra Monday and Tuesday so that I didn't have to work the half day scheduled for Wednesday.  So we'll start this recap there on my first day off.

 

Wednesday, the first thing I did was sleep in (of course). I didn't even set a clock Tuesday night which was awesome. This girl loves her sleep.  After sleeping in and then having breakfast, I got ready and went to my parents house to make a few things with my mom and then brought my sister back to my house.  After making a few errands and dropping Brinley off at cheer practice, I spend most of the afternoon/evening at home.  Later we had a Thanksgiving service at church, which was also really good.  After church we went to my grandparents house and visited with my family for a while.

 

Thursday morning we were up and on the road.  We headed to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with Preston's side of the family. We really enjoyed family time and the meal was delicious (thanks again, Nana!).  After eating and visiting, we rested a little while and then Preston and I got ready to do some shopping.  Our first stop was Kohls, getting there right when they opened.  Surprisingly, lines weren't bad at all and it went so much smoother than previous years.  We continued our shopping through the night and got home around 1am. 

 

Friday (my birthday!) we were back up and at Lowes for a few things around 8:00am.  We went to a few other stores, got breakfast, and then headed back for a quick nap.  After napping we got ready and went to the Barter Theatre and saw a Christmas play with Nana and Pawpaw. The show was really good and definitely a great birthday treat.  After the play we were back on the road again and Asheville bound.  One of my best friends had her baby girl this week so we went to visit.  We got to their house and had lots of baby snuggles.  Baby Zoe is absolutely precious and so so tiny! We headed to our hotel for the rest of the night.

 

Saturday most of the day was spent continuing baby snuggles and visiting with friends before it was time to head back home to KY.  We stopped for a birthday dinner at Bonefish grill and then were on the road again.  Once back in KY, we went to my parent's house to get Chloe girl who had been staying there while we were away.  Brinley and Brice decided to stay with us Saturday evening.

 

Sunday we went to church, had lunch at my parents' house and then had a pretty easy afternoon.  These few days off of work was just what I needed and I'm looking forward to an even longer break for Christmas in just a few weeks!

 

What did you spend your Thanksgiving weekend doing?

 

Hope all of you are having a good week- only 22 days until Christmas!

Wonderful Weekends: Visit From Friends & Homecoming

(Written Monday, posted late)

First of all, this weekend was just not long enough! Am I the only one that felt like it flew by? Even though it was a quick weekend, it sure was a good one. Friday at 4:30, I left work and got the weekend started. I stopped by our house and then Preston and I went to the field for my brothers’ homecoming football game. We were glad to watch the game and not need an umbrella this time (we’ve been getting soaked at games). Just before the game started, our friends Eric and Jade made it to the school. After meeting up with them, the game started. The game was fun (we won) and then Preston, Eric, Jade, and I were headed back to our house. Jade and I have been friends for years and I am so thankful that despite the miles between us, we continue to stay good friends. I am grateful that we live closer now and they were able to make the trip to come visit us! After showing them our house and a little while of chit chat and catching up, we all decided it was time for bed.

 Saturday morning, we got started with breakfast around 9:00… biscuits and gravy, eggs, and bacon- Yum! We hadn’t made a big breakfast in a really long time and it was enjoyed by all. After getting ready and taking a few pictures, we went and got our supplies for a little crafting. Instead of carving pumpkins, we decided to paint them. My pumpkin has a black “R” with black and silver polka dots, which now sits on our front porch near our mums. After clean up, it was time to tell Eric and Jade bye. After they headed home, Preston and I left to go see my siblings before their homecoming dance. This was the first high school dance that all three of my younger siblings were at together. They all looked so great, see for yourself! Preston and I decided to have dinner out and chose a local Mexican restaurant, then headed home to watch “Blended” that we rented from Redbox. Have you seen this movie? We thought it was a really good one! After the dance, Brinley and a couple of friends stayed at our house. I thought they would be pretty rowdy, but they watched Pitch Perfect and I didn't hear another peep.

Sunday we went to church and then the afternoon was spent assisting with bible bowl. If you haven't heard of it, it's a program where kids study a certain part of the Bible and then have a competition about it.  We stopped for some frozen yogurt afterwards before going back to church.  Sunday night at home was pretty low key.  It was a good day... but a long day.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Brice, Popaw, Bradley, Grandmama, & Brinley

Weekend-Wrap up: Flooding and Shopping

Hello, friends!

Monday morning strikes again. I'm already seeing not working next Monday as my motivation to get through this week. I've got a crazy busy week ahead of me work wise, so I'm pausing to remember our weekend.

Friday evening after work, I headed straight the the football field where my brothers play for tailgating with friends and family before the game. Game was scheduled to begin at 8:00pm. Well, thanks to the monsoon that came through the area, the game was on a delay... which put kick off at 11:00pm. The away team came from over 3 hours away, and if a teams calls the game off before half time, it is a forfeit. Being the first game, of course nobody wanted to do that. Between our umbrellas and my parents' camper that was in the parking lot for tailgating, we stayed pretty dry. When the game did get started, our team was doing great and my brother, Bradley, had a touch down. The rain picked up again- hard rain. There were 4 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and the game was delayed because it thundered. 30 minutes went on the clock. Then it thundered again and another 30 minutes were added. This was putting the game continuing around 1am. After waiting for the delays, the officials post poned the game until next month- so at 1:30am we knew the game was called off and we were going home.... one problem, flooding. Many people throughout our area posted flooding pictures on facebook, mudslides, covered roads, washed out driveways, etc. We had heard of a neighbor not being able to get home, so we figured out a plan. We were able to get home around 2 in my brother's truck and my Rogue since it's AWD. I should also mention that my older brother and my sister in law traveled about 3 hours to watch the game. It was a crazy night, but we stuck it out because we love my brothers, and the game.

Saturday morning we were supposed to meet friends in a town 2 hours away for breakfast before we started our shopping trip we had planned. However, due to the late night before, we ended up just hanging out at our friends' new town house, which was beautifully decorated. It was so great to see Eric and Jade and I'm thankful we are a little bit closer so that we can visit. After visiting friends, we stopped at a few stores in the mall and then had dinner at Olive Garden, hello giftcard. We had a few other stores to stop at afterwards and then we headed home that night. It was a great day and I was happy to have spent time with Preston as well as our friends, Eric and Jade.

Sunday we went to church, as usual. Church was great- the message was about being Men of God (last week was ladies week). I love that our minister pointed out that being a Christian man isn't wimpy as some may say- it is courageous: you can be a manly man and be a Christian. After church we got caught up on some laundry, I made a dessert for the picnic, and we watched some t.v. Didn't do a whole lot after church and it was perfect. Then Sunday evening we went back to church for a church picnic, which was fun and then we went home. At home, my mom and I sewed a few things on the embroidery machine and I was also fascinated by making me some t shirts with the heat press vinyl machine, hello monogrammed pocked tee.

And there you have it- our wonderful weekend. I guess I was too busy to take pictures, I'm a slacker when it comes to pictures on my blog, sorry for that.

Have a great week!

Happy Birthday!

Oh hello, remember me?  Yes, I realize I haven't been here in over 2 weeks... and I don't really have any good excuses, just haven't posted.  Anyways, if you are here, I'm glad you have stuck with me!

A few weeks ago, I decided that it would be a good idea to throw Preston a surprise birthday party, just the thought of it sounded fun to me!  Within about 5 minutes of having the initial thought, the party was scheduled and planning began.  About 30 of our family and friends all gathered at our house 2 weeks ago.  Thanks to our friends for letting me put the food at their house so there wouldn't be 30 hamburgers and 40 hot dogs in our kitchen (that just might have given a clue), and to our friend, Scott, for getting Preston out of the house the day of the party so we could prep, the party was a success and a complete surprise!  I am so thankful for everyone coming and also for everyone pitching in to make the party wonderful.  We had so much fun and it was great to see everyone.  

Since the party was a surprise, we had it the week before Preston's actual birthday, which worked out nicely.  We continued birthday festivities the next weekend.  Out of all the places for Preston to choose from for his birthday lunch, he picked Arby's! 

Later on Saturday, we thought it was fitting to hit up Orange Leaf for some frozen yogurt.

I have had lots of fun celebrating Preston's birthday and I hope we are blessed to share many more birthday parties together!

8th Grade Graduation & Youth Fun Night

This past Thursday, Preston and I took the day off of work so that we could go to my brother and sister's 8th grade graduation. Since we needed to be there early, we decided to drive after church Wednesday evening. We took Hannah with us and surprised Brinley, which was fun.

Thursday we spent the majority of the day at Brinley and Brice's school for the awards ceremony and then graduation. Brinley and Brice have went to the same school since Kindergarten so it's hard to imagine them anywhere else. When I was in elementary school, we moved a lot and I went to various schools, 6 before high school to be exact. Brinley and Brice both recieved many awards and graduation went well. We followed it with a lunch at Giovanni's pizza before heading to the local airport for some post graduation pictures.

We had planned to swim and spend time by the pool that afternoon, but due to nasty weather and everyone being tired, most of us just napped. We visited with Grandmama and Pawpaw and then headed back home, Brinley came home with us.

Friday I went to work and then that evening we were having a youth fun night at our house. We had pizza and games outside. Later in the evening we had a fire and made s'mores, which is always a treat. We had a really good turn out and all the kiddos seemed to be having lots of fun. We will defintely be doing this again this summer.

Saturday we had a busy day, camp that morning, then Brinley and I made a Wal-mart trip for what I needed for 2 casseroles for church on Sunday. Then that evening we went to our friend's house for a birthday party. After the party the girls went to the movie theater to watch "The Fault In Our Stars"... so good, that's all I'm going to say!

Sunday I was up earlier than usual to make cornflake chicken casserole and cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole for our after church lunch. Brinley and I made it to Sunday school, but we were a little bit late. After church we had lunch and then walked back to our house. I had rented "Labor Day" from redbox because I heard it was a good movie... false, I will never watch this movie again. We went back to church Sunday evening and had a pretty low key evening at home.

It was a great weekend, it just went by too quickly!

Memorial Day Weekend

Whoops, didn't post for over a week... I think we all have those "life is super busy and I don't have time to do much extra" weeks. However, sometimes in the past week I have had time, but I've either been asleep or glued to the book I'm reading. Anyways, this 3 day weekend has been great and I loved it! 

 On Friday, after work I came home to change and then went to get ready for the after graduation party for our county. I am a part of the Drug Free Community Coalition so I participated in this event, the purpose of the event is to give teens a fun, safe environment, drug free, to celebrate and party after graduation.  There was a huge inflatable that was a foam dance party, laser tag, airbrush tattoos, a photo/video booth, game room, DJ, etc.  They also gave out some pretty incredible prizes. I worked the event from 9-2am (well 6-2 if you could set up). Preston also volunteered... we were both wiped out by the time we got home. 

Saturday morning, as you can imagine, I enjoyed sleeping in for a while...which I haven't done in a long time. Then it was off to the graduation party venue to clean, which surprisingly wasn't bad. Later I felt pretty rested, but must not have been since I took a nap that afternoon, which was also glorious.  By the evening I felt motivated to get things done around the house, laundry, mopping, dusting, you know.."the works".  I was satisfied with my cleaning that evening and called it a night shortly afterwards. 

Sunday I had only planned to go to church and then home, but my mom asked before church what my plans were for the day... I didn't have anything I really needed to do since I had finished everything the night before so it was an impromptu trip to my parents' house for the day.  I was able to visit with family and layout on a float in the pool for about 3 and a half hours, score!  After a good amount of time in the sun, I visited with my grandparents for a while and headed back home, arriving shortly after 10pm. It was so great to set my alarm clock later than normal for a Monday morning! 

Monday I was happy to sleep in again, this time until 9:30.  We had Nana and Pawpaw over for lunch, complete with a hot fudge cake, all I can say is YUM! We enjoyed time with them at our house and then headed to the greenhouse. Nana got a couple of hanging baskets and I got a few flowers to plant in our flower beds. After getting home, we got our petunias and marigolds planted and then I enjoyed reading on the front porch.  Preston and I spent the rest of the evening at home and grilled shrimp and veggies for dinner, yum! 

Our Memorial Day weekend was spent with family and much needed time at home, nothing too crazy or exciting, but exactly what we needed.  Hope everyone has a great week! 

Here are some pics from our weekend, if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen these already :)

Wonderful Weekends: Preston's Graduation & Camping

Hello friends, and happy Monday!  This past weekend truly was wonderful! First of all, I took Friday off, making my weekend begin earlier, can't go wrong there... but more importantly, Preston graduated with his Master's degree this weekend and we enjoyed camping.

Let's start with Friday. Friday morning after we loaded the car, we headed to KY.  We were headed to Kentucky Christian University for Preston's graduation on Saturday morning, but we had a few stops to make along the way.  First stop was haircuts and I got my hair colored, and I must say, it might be my favorite coloring that I have had.  My hair is now a blend of darker brown and caramel.  We also stopped to look at patio furniture at a couple of stores and also visited with my grandparents for a while.  That afternoon, we went on to Grayson, KY and settled in for the weekend.  Since our families love to go camping, we planned to stay at a camp ground that we love for the weekend.

Saturday morning, we got up early, had some breakfast, and headed to the main event of the weekend, graduation!  It is such an accomplishment for Preston to now have his Master's in Christian Leadership!  Graduation went well, Preston was "hooded", and we got some pictures before heading back to the camp ground for a cook out with both of our families.  The hot dogs and burgers were cooked out side, but due to rain we had to eat inside the camper, that was okay though!  After our cook out, Preston's family headed home while we camped the rest of the weekend... I think Preston enjoyed having some time to relax after it quit raining!

Saturday evening when it rained, we played cards and Yahtzee inside the camper, which is always fun! Oh, and I must add, Chloe girl and Brinley's new puppy, Ace, also made the trip! 

Saturday evening the rain cleared up and we were able to enjoy some yummy s'mores and then called it a night! 

Sunday was Mother's Day and I was glad I got to spend the day with my mom.  We had breakfast and packed everything up to leave.  After packing, Chloe and I went on our walk.  I forgot to mention that I also walked Friday and Saturday.  The walk on Sunday made mile 12 that I have walked/jogged since the previous Monday!  

Afterwards, it was time to leave and head home.  We stopped on the way and bought swim suits to leave at my parents' house so that we don't always have to bring them. We then stopped at my parents' (which is on our way to our house) and stayed a while and enjoyed trying to tan swimming in the pool.  Sunday evening it was time to head on home, we got home, unpacked, and called it a night! 

We had such a great weekend, we are so blessed with such wonderful families and we enjoyed time spent with them... already looking forward to next weekend!