THANKSGIVING!

Our Thanksgiving day celebration this year was really special for quite a number of reasons ~

*we are in our new house
*our new house is in GA ~ quite close to family!
*everyone that could be here came to our house for Thanksgiving
*Amy's young man Austin and his parents joined us for the celebration fun
*4 generations of family hanging out & having fun
*James & Allen both have new jobs~ Allens starts on Tuesday and James on Dec. 7 ~ both jobs came with pay raises and benefits!
*we did shop for a couple of hours on Thanksgiving night ~ got to the first store at 6:30, got exactly what we wanted in a timely manner & paid quickly.  Same with the 2nd store!

Mom is crumbling the cornbread and biscuits to mix up for our dressing

Amy Kate made our cute placecard turkeys!

my expert turkey fryer!

AK and I...her beautifully arranged marshmallows on top of the sweet potatoes became marshmallow flambe when left in the oven too long ~ the whole top of the casserole was on fire! Greg picked off the black and we ate it anyway!

Yay!  The turkey hat for Thanksgiving!

Another Turkey!

Green Beans, Black eyed Peas, dressing & gravy, Sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, 1 fried and 1 oven roasted turkey, honeybaked ham, fruit salad and rolls!

niece Bethany snitching turkey, Austins daddy Billy Kent is in the background

My cute nephew Bobby

my sister and her youngest

Lets Eat!

Austin, nephew Billy & Bethany

Brenda, AmyKate, Ben, Austin & Andy

Yum

James, Billy & Brian

Cutest turkey on the block!  In his shirt made by my friend Angel!

Mom is an expert turkey picker!

Sitting on PaPa's tractor!

Aiden & Oreo

She was Surprised!

Austin came bearing gifts ~ Amy got a bag full of goodies & a beautiful promise ring!  We are excited to see the Lords plan for these 2 work out in His timing.

And the brave boy gave her the ring in front of many witnesses ~ 3 of her brothers, a sister in law, Greg and I, her Granny and his parents. 

Lots to be thankful for this year!

new relationships

fun times with friends

sharing meals

a young man who talked to her daddy

One More Week!

One more week till Thanksgiving!  We are excited to be hosting the family for our first Thanksgiving in our new home.  The menu is planned and the shopping list is written & some of the stuff if purchased.

Our menu will be ~

Turkey (Greg's job)
Honey Baked Ham (thanks Mom)
Green Beans
Sweet Potato Casserole
Macaroni & Cheese
Dressing & Gravy (cooked in a pan, not in the bird)
Cranberry Sauce
Rolls (Sister Shubert makes some really good ones!)
Tea/Coffee
Soft Drinks

Desserts ~
Spice Cupcakes (Amys yummy recipe)
Pies (Mrs. Edwards is making these!)

Afternoon munchies ~
provided by my sister

I am praying for sunny weather, so folks can wander outside if they choose.  Greg's got 1/2 his garage set up for tv watching and the wii game system.  We've got the pool table set up for games.  And loads of toys on the backporch for our grandsons to play with.  I am sure the living room tv will be showing football all day & into the weekend. 

And Amy is just a tad bit excited that Austin and his parents are coming on Wed. and staying through the weekend. 

Thankful for ~

a new home to enjoy
hospitality
laughter
excitement
secrets
a new oven and cooktop for our Thanksgiving preparations
good sales for groceries
black Friday ads that are leaked early
help with the meal

Thankful ~

 

I am thankful for ~

*the Lords guidance, protection, love, care, & blessings for the past 19 years
*for the men & women who stepped in & helped with my children
*for the Scout leaders the boys had from Tiger Cubs to Eagle Scouts
*for the many expressions of love toward my family through the years
*for the blessing of our homeschooling journey & the completion of the journey
*for the joy of the "next" generation with the birth of Bitty Buddy (Aiden)
*for friends that stayed friends through difficult trials
*for refining fire & strengthen faith through those trials
*for the blessing of a man who married a childhood friend & became an awesome Daddy to her children
*for my Mom
*for James
*for Allen
*for Amy Lynn




19 years ago, I had no idea how just the next day would work, let alone the next week, or month, or year or decade.  The Lord was faithful, always provided, always loving.

Thankful for the "Next" Generation!

We are to the wonderful stage of grandparent-hood!  Lots of loving and spoiling when we are around the babies.  And I am blessed to be the great aunt of 4 awesome kids! 

The header picture was taken at Katie's baby shower in October ~ this is the only decent one out of about 20!  Decent as in ~ no fingers in mouths, eyes open, all in one frame, etc. I will show y'all the wiggly pictures later in the post.

L-R are: Grandson Aiden, Great Niece Hailey holding Great Nephew Daniel, then Grandsons Thomas, Alvin & Robert (brothers). 

Thankful for ~
family time
4 grandsons
1 great niece
3 great nephews (Haileys older brothers aren't in the picture above)
being closer to family
digital cameras ~ so you can pick & choose pictures
an automatic flash!  (who remembers those little Kodak cube flashbulbs?)
special occasions
cousins
in laws & out laws
laughter
excitement
playtime

Now more pictures ~

love the way Aiden is checking out Daniel!

I think Daniel poked him in the eye ~ guess its payback for Aiden poking him earlier.
 

6 bundles of Joy
or
1 princess & her little princes

Aunt Jennifer meets Alvin

Mommy ~ Alvin looks like he's had enough excitement

Great Granny & great grandson #4

Auntie Amys old doll stroller is getting a workout!

Aiden grudgingly stopped playing for a picture!

Amy's awesome Minion cupcakes for the shower!

2 generations of cousins! my niece Megan, son Allen, & her son Daniel

l-r my cousin Mandy (sitting), Megan holding Daniel, Hailey, niece Becky (Megans sister & Haileys mom), & Granny

best box of the day!

Minion hats from Aunt Mamie, my sister in law Lorrie is to the right of Robert

Mamie did good with this gift ~ this boy loves minions!

Daniel loved playing with cousin Allen ~ Aiden wasn't too excited to share his daddy

Aunt Donna & Hailey ~ this girl loved Amys bunnys and the chickens!

sketti faces at dinner!