Quick Takes

-1-

We're still in Missouri with  my side of the family this week. And we woke up to six inches of snow the day after Christmas! Hannah loved it during the ten minutes we allowed her to be out in it.

-2-

My mom and sisters and I saw Les Miserables Wednesday evening. It was the first time I had been to a theater since I was 35 weeks pregnant with Hannah two years ago. What a great movie. So nice to watch a well done film where good is portrayed as good and evil as evil. Great singing. Awesome music. Holy ending. Two days later and I still can't get it out of my head. Did you see it? What did you think?

-3-

Tomorrow marks 32 weeks!

-4-

Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents-the baby boys who were killed by Herod in an attempt to kill the baby Jesus. Ted, Hannah, and I went to Mass this morning and prayed for the victims and familes of Sandy Hook. Bonnie wrote an excellent post, as usual, about the sensitive topic of what to say to families who have lost children.

-5-

I just learned that Christmas lasts until the Sunday after Epiphany (January 6th). I always thought it ended on Epiphany. Since January 6th actually falls on a Sunday this year, Christmas lasts until January 13th. Ted noted that this year has the shortest possible Advent and the longest possible Christmas. Pretty cool!

 

-6-

What were your favorite Christmas presents? Some of the highlights around here include a subscription to the Magnificat (no more excuses for failing in daily prayer....), a giant crock pot that's made for feeding nine people (so it should almost be big enough for me and Ted...) and wooden cutting food.

 

-7-

I'll end with a Santa photo circa 1989ish. I know you're jealous because your grandma didn't make you a special elf costume. Sorry 'bout your luck.

 

 



Merry Christmas! It's not over yet!

Praying for You

Although we've been blessed with our two precious children, please know that we will never forget the pain, the stress, and the heartache. Be assured of our prayers this Christmas and always.

If you have any specific intentions, please leave a comment or email me and I will offer them at Adoration during our New Years retreat.

Christmas Highs and Lows

Low: Hannah waking up at 4:55.

High: Ted playing with Hannah all morning and letting me sleep until 6:30.

Low: Getting to Mass on time-only to realize that the Mass schedule has been changed and we were an hour early. Or 45 minutes late depending on how you look at it.

High: We still got to go to Mass. And sing Joy to the World, Silent Night, and Hark the Herald, Angels Sing.

High: Pigtails.

High: Hannah took TWO naps.

Low: She woke up from her second nap puny and sickly.

High: Christmas pajamas. Even though we opened gifts at 2:00 in the afternoon.

High: Presents!

 

 

High: A wonderful dinner with my family.

Low: Hannah's dinner coming up all over me and the baby bump just minutes after she consumed it.

High: Cuddling on the couch with my little girl watching Barney while I snuggled her back to health.

High: Watching her gradually feel better and play with her new toys as the day went on.

High: Playing with the box.

High: this:

 

High: Rocking her to sleep singing her favorite song, Hail Mary, Gentle Woman, and hearing her finish the phrases as I was singing. "Blessed is the fruit of thy woom.....Jesus, Howy Mummy......Mother of Dod.....Pray for us sinner now......and at the hour of death, Ah-me."

Low: The horrible backache that's been forming for the past few hours and the kicks that have me buckling over in pain. I seriously feel like I'm about a two days past my due date. And I have two months to go...

High: The wonderful and long massage from Ted. The one he doesn't know he's about to give me as soon as I finish this post.

Low: Not getting a single decent family picture from the day. I think I'll make Ted wear his tie to church again next Sunday just so we can snap a fake family Christmas photo.

High: Getting an awesome picture of the extended family. I can't believe there are eight of us in this picture!

Low: Looking at this picture and realizing how unflattering this sweater dress is...and that it's the only church outfit I packed for the next two Sundays.

High: Christ is born! The word was made flesh and dwelt among us! Christmas is finally here!

Merry Christmas! My massage is calling!

Advent in Our Home

There is so much talk in the Catholic world about how to celebrate Advent. The suggestions and ideas are endless. Some people are adamant about waiting until Christmas Eve to put their tree up. Others put theirs up the day after Thanksgiving. Some people refuse to listen to any sort of Christmas music until Christmas day. Others belt it out all Advent long. And I've come to realize, as I read and observe so many different approaches, that there are as many ways to celebrate Advent as their are families who are celebrating.

This is how we've celebrated this special season. For this year. I'm sure each year will be a bit different-just as each year in the past has been different. But it's been wonderful and beautiful and uniquely ours.

What we did

We spent a lot of time playing with the nativity scene to teach Hannah about all the "characters" of the Christmas story. We also went to a living nativity, which really helped her to know what we were talking about. This nativity is the one I had as a little girl. My dad built the manger and we kept it on our hearth. I would spend countless hours rearranging the little plastic figurines in every way imaginable. When I left for college I took it with me, even though my two younger sisters probably want it as badly as I do. Too bad-I'm the oldest :)

To see Hannah play with it was a very real dream come true. I love watching her make the angel fly and count the wise men. And if I ask her, "Who is baby Jesus' mommy?" I love watching her light up as she holds up the Blessed Mother and say, "Mummy" her adorable attempt at "Mary."

We kept an Advent wreath on our kitchen table and lit the candles every night before dinner. To make it exciting for Hannah, we turned off all the lights. Then, in addition to the traditional prayer before meals and our usual prayer for the souls in purgatory, we sang one verse of Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel. She loved it. Especially blowing the candles out. She folds her little hands, bows her head, and closes her eyes for the entire prayer-knowing she'll get to blow the candles out at the end. She even bows her sweet head if she hears the song at Mass or playing in the kitchen. So precious.

For the third week of Advent we're singing the final verse of the song instead of the third verse. In light of the tragedy in Connecticut, it seemed like the best prayer we could pray. 

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

We also read the few Christmas books that we have (although they pale in excitement to The Foot Book and Babies Everywhere) and went to a nursing home one evening to sing Christmas carols with our Families Following Christ group.

No Jesse Tree or O Antiphons for us this year. We kept it simple. And it was perfect.

How we decorated

We put our Christmas decorations up on the first Sunday of Advent. It was hard to wait-I was ready the day after Thanksgiving! I know some people like to wait until closer to Christmas, but for me-the decorations are a big part of what prepares my heart for this holy day. Relaxing in a dimly lit living room next to our Christmas tree sets the mood for the entire season. Peace, anticipation, joy-the warmth our decorations create could never be left out of Advent for me.

Here are few highlights:

Our Advent wreath. I bought these candles for our first married Christmas back in Missouri. Because I am super cheap and only let them burn long enough for the prayer, they've lasted for five Advents! I'm confident they have at least three or four more years to go too. The wreath is a cheapo from Walmart that I dressed up with dried baby's breath that was given to us and-yes-saved each year after year. I love it having it on the kitchen table, the focal point of our home.

Hannah loves it too. Only she prefers it like this:

I love nativity scenes and we have five in our tiny three bedroom house this year. In addition to our Little People set, we have these four:

1-This was a gift from a sweet family I used to nanny for. It sat on top of our tv stand until donkey lost an ear on day two of Advent. So it went up to a tall shelf. 

2-The second is the set from my childhood. My favorite. 

3-This beautiful piece was a wedding present from my parents. It actually stays out all year long in our bedroom. A beautiful reminder of the type of family we are called to be. 

4-The last one is Hannah's, a gift from her Oma last year. We have a little battery operated tea light in it and we let her turn it on at night and keep it in her room.... when we remember and when she's not way overtired and cranky.

I know most families leave the baby Jesus out of the manger until Christmas or move the wise men closer and closer each day until Epiphany. But since we won't be home for either of those days, we just included them now. It's much better than a nativity displayed without them for the entire season.

A little smattering of the rest of our home:

1-The stockings were hung above the tv with care....

2-This is our first year with these stockings. Ted's talented sister made them. I couldn't pick out the fabric because I didn't have access to a good fabric store when we lived in Mississippi. But now that we're in Florida I should have a wide selection of fabric to choose from for future children. It's so neat to know they were were made by the kids' aunt and that I'll be able to choose a unique fabric to fit their little personalities. I wonder how many stockings we'll be hanging in our future....

3-This is something I've wanted to do for a long time and finally did it! It's a ribbon (gold, kind of hard to see) with all of our Christmas cards from previous years. The first is our save-the-date from the Christmas we were engaged. The next four are fakes-we didn't send out Christmas cards our first four years of marriage. I just made fake cards on Picasa from past Christmas pictures and printed them out just for this. The bottom one is our first family Christmas card! Thank you groupon! I think I'll buy a thick purple ribbon for next year to make it a little more "Adventy".

4-My family has a tradition of getting an ornament on St. Nick's day every year. One for each of us kids and a family ornament. It was really important to me to continue this tradition so we used made sure we squeezed them into the Christmas budget. Hannah's second Christmas ornament is her favorite animal-an alligator. She loves it. She stands at the tree and stares at it and smiles. Weird girl. But very cute.

5-Our beautiful tree skirt. Made by Ted's mom and given to use when we got married. It looks so pretty with our floors.

6-Our family ornament for 2012. Including baby :)

And last but not least, our tree! We have always been a little disappointed with our tree selection in the past. We could never afford the kind of tree we really wanted. But thanks to some friends with a Costco membership-we got a nine foot frasier fir for cheaper than any previous tree we've had! It's gorgeous. It smells amazing. It makes me so very, very happy. Every morning Hannah wakes up and asks to go see it. Then she tells us "tee on" and we turn the lights on and admire it. As soon as the sun sets we dim the lights and enjoy the evening by the light of the tree. I wish it could be up year-round.

What we listened to

This was the first year I really tried to play Advent songs and I love the mood it created. My cousin gifted me with this CD and I'm pretty sure it's been played at least three times through every day since I got it. We've avoided most traditional Christmas songs like Joy to the World and Silent Night in anticipation for Christmas. But I admit, the past few days I've been listening to instrumental versions because I just can't wait any longer! There are also lots of secular songs that really get me in the Christmas mood (especially when it was in the 70s here today and I left the house in a tank top...) Baby It's Cold Outside, Let It Snow, I'll Be Home for Christmas. I just can't get enough.

My absolute favorite Christmas song, Breath of Heaven, is actually perfectly appropriate for Advent. I listen to it on repeat. So easy to pray the words right along with Mary. Help me be strong. Help me be. Help me.

And the one song I've been craving more than any other-Joseph's Lullaby. I'm forcing myself to wait until Christmas. But when it gets here I'll be listening to it on repeat and soaking in its beauty.

So that's our Advent! And even though Christmas isn't for another four days, I feel like it's about over for us. We're about to leave our peaceful, simple life and embark on more than a two week trip all over Missouri. It'll be crazy and hectic and tons of fun. Before the packing and the flying and the hours of driving, we shared one last night as just the three (four) of us at a park in town. Hannah loved the lights. We loved the cuddles.

Happy Advent!

Quick Takes

-1-

I just bought plane tickets!!!!!!! I'm sweaty and a little shaky and very much on edge. I have no idea why but air travel stresses me out. Nine times out of ten, I'm a confident, level headed, rational person. But when you tell me to search for and book a flight I become a basket case. I had to quit looking last night because I was afraid I was going to have a panic attack. Am I the only one who stresses about this so much?

After I bought themt I emailed the confirmation to my mom then immediately shut the computer. I couldn't even think about it anymore. She calls and tells me that she's switching up our seats so we can be together and not over the wing, etc etc. WHAT? There's more? I thought I was done!

Stress.

-2-

I bought the tickets after my dear, sweet, generous, wonderful father heard that my doctor wanted me to stop every hour to get out and walk on the way home for Christmas and offered to fly us home instead. 12 hours (not counting stops), 31 weeks pregnant, toddler who hates the car, mom who can't ride in back with angry toddler because she'll get carsick, patient-loving-wonderful husband who would likely lose his mind in the process. Yeah-what were we thinking? So my parents bought us two plane tickets and I couldn't be happier.

Or more stressed.

Did I mention this stresses me out?

-3-

In other, non stress inducing news, at our appointment this week we found out baby is currently breech. Oh wait, that's still stressful. Dangit-we're obviously not past the stress yet.

I know there's still plenty of time for baby to turn, but I just don't want to take any chances. Operation-spin this baby commenced Wednesday and will not stop until this little head is wedged safely in my pelvis. Upcoming events include a trip to an acupuncturist on Monday and a chiropractor when we get back from our trip.

Stressful. But not even half as much as booking flights.

-4-

Wanna hear a crazy story? And yes, it's causing me some stress. I'll try to make this short.

For my birthday (in August) Ted bought me a gift certificate for a massage (love!). I hung onto it for a while, knowing I would want it when I was huge and achy (now). A few months later Ted got a call from the director of the massage therapy place telling them that when he bought the certificate (online) their credit card machine was down and he was never actually charged (true story, we checked our statements). He said that I would just pay for the massage when I came in to get it.

We thought it was over....until we got a call from a collection agency! This crazy massage lady turned us over to collections for not paying her! For a service she hasn't even provided! And a non-service that we haven't even been charged for! When Ted called her to chew her out ask her about the threats, she gave him some long sob story about her mom being handicapped and not being able to make the bills. Blah blah blah-I don't want to hear it.

More back and forth. More frustration. She's now emailing Ted telling him that she won't take him off the collection list until we come in and pay for the massage (yes, the one we haven't actually had). I called and left a message for her to call me back. I will not be as nice as Ted.

When telling my mom this whole story I said, "Oh I can be aggressive!" She said, "Oh I know, I've heard you talk to AT&T."  :)

-5-

Just as I finished writing #4, I saw something about a school shooting on facebook. I'm sure everyone has heard by now-so far 27 dead at an elementary school. I was offering up prayers as I continued to do nap time errands when Hannah woke up screaming because she had pooped. So instead of my  usual two hours to get things done, check blogs, and eat lunch-I scraped smelly poop and held a squirmy toddler in an uncomfortable rocking chair so she could get another hour of nap in. As I sat in that stinky room, my stomach growling from hunger, my nose full of stink, and my abdomen cramped beyond cramped from having a baby on the inside and a toddler on the out-I just thought, "God is telling me that I need to pray MUCH harder than I was for those affected by the shooting." He needed an entire hour, with plenty of small sacrifices to offer up. And although it's still so small compared to the suffering those poor families are experiencing, I thought it was actually pretty cool that I was provided with a little holy hour right here in my home at a time when many, many people needed it.

-6-

Ugh. As a facebook friend said-I just want my husband to get home so we can all be together. What a horribly sad day.

-7-

To end on some kind of positive note-our weekend plans include working on a Christmas present for Hannah, going to confession, going to Mass, attending our parish Christmas party, and hosting a Christmas party with some of our friends from Ted's office. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Guest Post

I wrote a guest post for Bonnie's Advent series today. Read if you like! The others in the series have been awesome, so you should check those out too.

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!

St. Nick's Day is one of my favorite holy days. It was always special growing up. St. Nick/Santa put a few presents in our stockings and we opened them before school in the morning. I think that was part of the fun-it was still a normal school day, but we got this extra special treat jammed into an always hectic morning. My mom (I mean St. Nick....) gave us each an ornament every year to hang on the tree. They always went along with whatever we had been doing that year-a girl riding a bike when I learned to ride my bike, a little Brownie when I started Girl Scouts. I have some of them hanging on our tree now and each one brings a wonderful memory to mind.

Ted and I are continuing the St. Nicholas Day tradition with Hannah, who awoke to a little something special in her stocking (but not her ornament, because I forgot to get it in time. I do plan to reenact the feast day on some random day when her ornament comes in the mail. Because I'm cool like that.) 

The Little People nativity set. I bought it cheap last year and have been so anxious to give it to her.

Bubbles. They're actually the bubbles she already had, I just re-filled the soap because it's been empty for a month.

She's in love with her stocking. Ted's sister Kate made all of our stockings and they just arrived. Even though they all look pretty similar, Hannah instantly remembered which one was hers. She carries it around the house and tried to put it on her feet.

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas!

The Beginning of Advent

I'm re-posting an oldie today to go along with the Little Holy Days Link-Up at Carrots for Michaelmas. I wrote this post on Christmas Eve, two years ago. We were 34 weeks pregnant with Hannah after dealing with two years of infertility. This Advent, we're again in our third trimester with a sweet miraculous child. And, as the last line of my reflection states, these last two years with Hannah (not quite two yet!!!!!) really have been an Advent, a preparation, for the little sibling that grows in my belly. If you take the time to read it, I hope it helps you prepare your heart for Christ's coming this Christmas in your own personal and unique way. And, if you are dealing with the pain of longing for a child, know that I'm praying for you in special way this Advent.

I realize that today is the last day of Advent, as we will celebrate Christmas at 5:00 pm Mass in just a few hours. Even so, I find myself reflecting on Advent's beginning. No, not November 28-just four short weeks ago-but Advent's real beginning-thousands of years ago.

Ted and I read a passage about Advent by Scott Hahn the other night and something dawned on both of us as we read it. I couldn't even tell you the line or phrase that jolted our thoughts, but we both had the same thought at the same time:

Advent didn't begin with the Annunciation. Mary's "yes" didn't put Advent into play. Advent marks the time from the beginning of history up until the moment Christ took His first breath. The entire world was in "Advent" for thousands of years as they awaited a Savior.

Yes, that may be strikingly obvious to some, but I had never really thought about that. I always thought of Advent as beginning when Jesus was miraculously conceived and ending at His birth in Bethlehem. But Advent is about waiting for our King and the waiting began long before Mary ever walked the earth.

It made us think about the events of history that brought us slowly out of Advent and into the time of redemption. The prophets of the Old Testament telling of the coming of the Messiah. Mary's immaculate birth and life spent preparing herself to be Christ's mother. Her visitation to Elizabeth and the leaping in the womb. The long, arduous walk to Bethlehem. And, of course, the silent and holy night that Mary gave birth to our Lord.

I've reflected often this Advent season on my own Advent, my own waiting period for my baby to be born. I've tried to prepare myself to be a worthy mother for this wonderful child. I've changed my eating habits, exercised more, taken my vitamins, and studied until I couldn't study anymore. In the same way, I've prepared my home for Christmas by decorating a tree, thawing out a turkey, and setting up our Nativity scene. But I've also been preparing my heart. Even if the baby blankets aren't washed and the crib isn't ready, it's my heart that really needs to be prepared for what's about to take place just six weeks from now. And so it is with Advent, it's much more important that my heart be in tune with Christ's than my tree be the prettiest on the block. It's much more important that my thoughts be directed towards thanksgiving for my Savior than my turkey coming out perfectly.

One more thought flowed out of my head when I first realized that Advent didn't really begin with Jesus' conception. My Advent, my time of waiting and preparing for my precious baby to be born didn't begin with her conception either. I've been waiting and preparing for this baby long before s/he was ever nestled in my womb. All the months of negative pregnancy tests, the surgeries, the medicine-these were all physical preparations, little Advents, bringing me closer to the birth of my baby.

But it goes back even further than that. If I really reflect on my life up to this point, I realize that my entire life has been a preparation for this little one. Whether conscious or subconscious, deliberate or passive, I have been waiting and preparing to mother this child for 25 years. Ted said that the studying we did in high school in order to get into college, the work we did in college in order to get a good job-all of this was preparation to be parents, whether we meant it to be or not. The years we spent dating, engaged, and married were strengthening the bond between us, preparing us for the difficult moments that surely lie ahead.

I remember the very first time I went to Ted's house the summer after we started dating. He was so excited to show me his collection of fishing rods that he had stored in his dad's garage. He had entered (and won-obviously) a local fishing contest for at least the last five years and the prize was always a fishing pole. He didn't need the poles for himself (he had plenty!) but he saved them and imagined giving them to his kids one day. He was just a kid himself and he was already thinking about his future children.

The time I spent playing sardines in my backyard with the neighbors. Summers spent taking bike trips to get Pepsi slushies and laffy taffy. Every childhood event and memory will serve to make me a better parent. Hopefully a parent that remembers what it was like to be a kid and encourages my own children to spend the entire day on their bikes and gives them change for Pepsi slushies, even though I know it's incredibly unhealthy.

My Advent is finally about to culminate with the birth of our first child. Hopefully, even the time spent raising this little one will be its own Advent for future siblings still to come.

Check out Haley's blog for more Advent posts!

Quickity Quick Takes

-1-

This has been a busy week! Two of my favorite blogger friends and their kiddos came to visit Monday-Wednesday. And another blogger is stopping by with her family tomorrow! Expect a re-cap post complete with pictures sometime when I get up enough energy.

-2-

I am so ready for Advent! It seems like it's taken forever to get here this year. Almost like there was an extra week squeezed in between Thanksgiving and Advent that really didn't need to be there.

-3-

Check out Bonnie's Advent series starting this Sunday.  I think you might recognize one of the guest bloggers....say on December 9th? Ahem.

-4-

Yesterday, I was in the kitchen and heard Hannah grunting in the living room. She ran into the kitchen and we had the following conversation:

H: Poopy.
Me: You're poopy?
H: Yeah, poopy.
Me: Ok-do we need to change your diaper little poopy girl?
H: No!

She then proceeds to try to run away on her tip-toes, legs spread like a cowboy whose been in the saddle for a month straight. Sorry, little poopy girl, I don't believe you.

-5-

Today Hannah felt the baby kick for the first time! If she sees me touching my belly she always runs over to get a "kick" but she's too impatient so I just pop my belly out and tell her the baby kicked. But today-it happened just perfectly. She put her hand in just the right spot, sweet baby gave her a good jab, and she grinned from ear to ear. She felt a second one but then the baby got quiet. After waiting a few seconds she leaned into my belly and said "baby up!" I just about died of happiness.

-6-

Does anyone know how I can score some Advent music for free??? I really want this beautiful collection, but it's not in the cards right now. I'm dying to play some beautiful music while we decorate our tree this weekend. Anyone? Anyone? Am I going to be forced to play Pandora's Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanual station for hours on end?

-7-

Our weekend plans: Hang out with blogger and fam tomorrow morning. Go to the Jingle Bell Bash tomorrow evening (sans Ted-he has to work a bass tournament. boo.) Mass Sunday morning. Decorating the house and hanging outdoor lights all afternoon. Ted has it in his head that he's going to work on the truck and change the oil in both vehicles......but I just don't see how that can factor into this equation of fun.

Happy Friday! Join Jen for more Quick Takes!

In Thanksgiving

2012 blessed me with my first ever Thanksgiving. I mean my first Thanksgiving-where I cooked and hosted and stuff like that. It was only the second time I've celebrated the holiday without my family. (The first was three years ago-where Ted and I spent Thanksgiving alone in a Microtel in Tennessee getting the horrible results that I wasn't ovulating from our ten day ultrasound series. We ate at Cracker Barrel and cried on each other's shoulders.) This Thanksgiving was far, far better than that.

We started it off cheering on our friends at the Turkey Trot. They ran nine miles and I was so inspired that I vowed to do the 5K next year. I mean-I could hopefully walk miles in the time it took them to run nine right? We might do a family walk/jog with Hannah in the stroller and mystery baby in the Moby. Hannah won't stop talking about Summer "Um" and Chris "Tiss" and how they like to run. She says their names over and over again and while making little running motions with her arms.

I'm gonna pretend I'm cool enough to join in this link-up and post what I wore to Thanksgiving dinner. Here is the 26 week bump in all its Thanksgiving day glory.

If you care at all:

Cami-Target, a birthday gift from Ted

Sweater-Target, snagged from a friend during a clothing exchange (best idea ever!)

Jeans-Old Navy Maternity, bought at full-price with no coupon. I was desperate upon realizing that my only jeans from Hannah's pregnancy were already too tight!

Shoes-my favorite consignment store back in Mississippi

Pearl Necklace (not pictured)-a gift from Ted when Hannah was born :)

and much more importantly...

Undershirt-Kohl's, last year, way too small, turned inside out because she doesn't have any plain white t-shirts

Cardigan-Consignment Sale, J Crew (can you believe they have a kid's line???)

Jeggings-Wal-Mart, given to us by a former co-worker

Shoes-no thank you

If you didn't care about what we wore, you probably care even less about what we ate. But I was so stinking excited to prepare my first Thanksgiving meal that I'm going to share it with you anyway. Summer and I tackled the menu by ourselves and shopped, prepped, and cooked for two whole days. We were so blessed to have such great friends who also didn't have any family in town and also live too far away to go home.

We had a perfectly traditional menu: oven baked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, garden green beans, cornbread dressing, homemade cranberry sauce, and classic pumpkin pie with real whipped cream. I'm absolutely positive that it was the only time in the history of Thanksgiving that the turkey was by far the best item on our plates. Turkey is usually pretty good-kinda dry-and I usually only eat one small piece to save room for the good stuff. But our friends can sure make a turkey! It was absolutely phenomenal. 

Growing up we celebrated two Thanksgivings with each side of my family. Over 40 cousins, 20+ aunts and uncles, and all my grandparents. It was fun and crazy and noisy and exciting-but it was never fancy. And although I wouldn't trade family for all the fancy in the world, I admit that it was nice to get to do things like make a centerpiece, use our fine china, pull out the expensive serving bowls, and drink water out of goblets. We were fortunate to get Ted's Nana's china four years ago and this is its first appearance in our home. The reason-we just now have a home big enough to store it in! I can't wait to bring it out for all of our special occasions in the future.

A few other tidbits from our day:

Ted gave a beautiful blessing before dinner. It made me proud to be his wife. And I promise I wasn't laughing through it because of anything he said. It was definitely the music being played loudly by our white trash neighbors. So we pray-bless us Oh Lord..... coupled with Let me get a big hell yeah from the redneck girls like me. Hell Yeah! While I'm just immature and couldn't suppress my chuckle.

And yes-if you haven't noticed from the pictures-we ate Thanksgiving dinner outside! It was an absolutely beautiful day. We hung lights on our back porch and sat at the table for almost three straight hours-getting up only to get seconds, thirds, or dessert.

A truly blessed day with great friends, a wonderful husband and daughter, and delicious food. A Thanksgiving to remember!

Our Week in Pictures

Hannah's afternoon entertainment. Picture at least triple this amount of salt on the floor. When am I going to learn that silence is never golden?

Oh well, she's cute.

It took a long, long time-but he finally convinced her that fun was possible without playing airplane for hours on end.

It's finally cold enough for hot chocolate! This perfect homemade recipe was savored on Friday night and again on Sunday morning.

Hannah is kicking Ted's butt in No-Shave-November. (No, that's not hot chocolate-it's beans. We're mean parents.)

A Saturday morning breakfast fit for kings. Pancakes from scratch, banana crepes fried in homemade lard, homemade hash-browns fried in bacon grease, real maple syrup, and cold fatty milk. Complete with a frizzy lioness in pink pajamas.

Country Fun Day-where the slides are ridiculously overpriced but the little girl loves them.

Ok-mom and dad obviously loved them too.

I made the executive decision that, despite the warnings, a giant inflatable slide was not going to put my pregnant self or unborn baby at risk. Good decision. Slightly hard to dismount though....

Seeing this little girl on her first pony was worth the $3 from my splurge budget this month. (but seriously-$3 to ride a pony??) Ted said she maintained her death grip for the entire ride.

And I'm pretty sure she enjoyed talking about the "horse" afterwards more than actually riding it. "Go!" "Nay!"

Oh these two. My heart overflows.

And ending a great week with the perfect loaf of bread! My first attempt using the five minute method. I'm in love. Four ingredients, no nasty preservatives, minimal effort, pennies per loaf, delicious-crusty-eat it all by itself bread. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

And now, I'm sitting in my house all alone on Sunday afternoon. In my pajamas. Sipping coffee, blogging, and getting ready to crack open a book. Because Ted took Hannah to "get lost" and give me some time to relax. He's a saint.

How was your week?

The Tradition Continues

Ted and I have an annual tradition of taking a fishing trip every November. It started during our first fall in Mississippi when Ted surprised with a weekend getaway to relieve some of our infertility stress. The following year we sought out another lake and had an absolutely wonderful time just a few months before becoming parents. And the year after that.......we didn't go. Our "annual tradition" failed after only two years. But a sweet little nine month old that wasn't yet on solids didn't allow for the weekend away that we had come to love. Fast forward to this year-it wasn't a whole weekend. It wasn't even a whole day. But some friends of offered watched Hannah for the afternoon while Ted and I took the boat to a nearby lake.

The last time we had been on the boat alone together-November 2010! The last time we sat on the water and watched the sunset-November 2010. The last time I sat and read a mind numbing book while he fished-yep, November 2010.

Needless to say, this afternoon getaway was just what we needed. And although the pictures we took weren't nearly as good as they had been in years past-we documented this rare events and made the most of the few hours of peace we were given.

I sat in our little boat on a lake down the road and was just as happy as I would have been sitting in a yacht off some Caribbean island.

The fishing was pretty bad, but Ted never complains. He also didn't complain that he had to hold my awkward, pregnant self over the edge of the boat so I could pee three times in as many hours (not counting the two times I went at the boat ramp.)

I read some Nicholas Sparks book that held me at rapt attention but now I'm not even going to finish. I felt the little baby kick inside me-extra squirmy due to the fact that I was actually sitting for more than five minutes-and thought things like "I have the best life in the world." and "I wish I could always be pregnant-I don't want a day to go by without a little baby kicking inside of me" and "Man he's sexy when he's fishing."

And although the sunset wasn't the blazing orange we were hoping for, it was still beautiful. And the eagle that kept flying overhead was definitely cool. As was the alligator that came out of hiding right after we left its cove.

So much to be grateful for. Our life might not be conducive to weekend getaways at this stage (or any stage in the near future...) but that only makes little afternoon trips like this that much sweeter.