Thanksgiving is over!

I don't know about you, but the past week or so has been a blur for all of us! We have hosted a dinner, had 2 sets of visitors, and 2 sick boys! The weekend before Thanksgiving Brandon & Erica came and stayed a few days with us. He interviewed here that weekend so we decided to host the dinner that night. It's nice to finally have a place so that we can accommodate more than 3 people! The boys enjoyed having Kylie to play with and I loved having a baby to love and snuggle. Mine are so big now, but it hits me even more when I see a newborn! That Saturday we made a trip to Columbia to see the Christmas lights at the zoo and tried a new restaurant that was on Diner's, Drive-in's, and Dive's. Lots of fun was had!

They left Sunday and Mom arrived a few hours later. We took it upon ourselves to start knitting. So after a few trips to Joanns and several videos on u-tube, we finally finished a few scarves! She watched the boys while Mark and I cooked and prepared for Thanksgiving. Leah and Cary made it in late Wednesday or early Thursday rather! Thanksgiving was very low-key, but tasteful! This was the first time in several years that we've been able to do black Friday shopping since Mom and Leah were always working the store. It was fun to be able to do so for a change. And props to Mark for being a good Daddy and watching the boys!

We made a trip to the Christmas tree farm yesterday and the boys picked out a tree. It's smaller than what I envisioned, but like it said, they chose the tree! Bently has been really in to decorating this year. I guess he can understand more. We managed to get the tree finished last night and everything else this morning. It's been a nice quiet day with only us here. It's always hard getting back used to it being just us when we've had visitors.

School starts back this week and a month full of holiday activities. The boys and I are ready and prepared. I love this time of year and look forward to doing some of the things offered here. I hope you all make the most of this season and take time to enjoy it. Above all else, Jesus is the reason for this season and that is why we celebrate!!

Bently's way to eat Thanksgiving!

Lights at the zoo!

Happy Birthday Nonnie!

He is so proud of his tree this year!

Bently is 3!

I never gave Bently his birthday post as to what he is doing now at the age of 3! He is the sweetest little boy I could have asked for but has really caught on to talking back! Not my child, right? Wrong! He is smooth with it though. It's not rude but rather a simple "Well,....whatever he thinks!" It was cute at first, but now I threaten him if he even thinks of "welling" me!! ;)

He can count to 10 and trying hard to make it to 20. (I should be working more with him)
He knows his colors.
Has a great memory when it comes to traveling and knowing exactly where he is.
He is about 33 pounds.
His favorite color is green.
He loves to take "monster bites" when eating so he can get big.
His favorite foods are meat loaf, pizza, chili, gumbo, meat sandwiches, yogurt, icecream, and currently soft peppermint!
He is a nurturer.
He wants a sister. (I caught him talking to Anderson the other day about their older sister, Ha!)
He loves reading books and singing. Everything is a song right now.
He loves cowboy boots.
He loves his blue dog blankie, lsu blankie, and pillow.

He is mine and I am so proud of him!!!

My Favorite Time of the Year

It has just hit me with in the past few days that I am in LOVE with Fall! The weather, the trees, the feeling... it's like no other. It make me excited to know the holidays are just around the corner. I appreciate nature so much more now and am thankful for these blessings. I have been seeing people post on Facebook of things they are thankful for and I thought I would post about all the things that "I" am thankful for. I pray that each of you that read this blog wake daily with something to be thankful for. If you focus on the positive rather than the negative, your whole life perspective will change.

I am thankful for:
My husband that loves us unconditionally and works daily to provide a better life for his family.
My boys that are healthy and happy and perfect.
My salvation. God gave me this gift and I am forever grateful.
My Mom and Dad and step parents that have raised me and help mold me to be the person I am today.
My grandparents that taught me things that I will always remember and will pass the memories to my children.
My In-laws that love and support us and graciously gave me my husband with open arms.
My health.
My Home.
My Job.
My freedom.
My friends, near and far that are there for me whenever I call or text.
My sisters. Each are so different but teach me to be more open minded and free spirited. I, however, keep them grounded! ;)
My sister-in-laws and brother-in-laws that provide us with extended family to laugh, cry, love, and celebrate with.
My mornings that usually bring me joy or none the less, a new day.
The power of prayer.
Children that will hold our future, but I have a heart for kids and they always seem to put a smile on my face.
My food. That I can afford to buy what we need (even if it is off brands!)

I am certain that I have left something off that is important to me. I hope this month will be different for you and you can find something to be grateful for. So what if it's not the life you dreamed of having right now, you have a new day to tell someone you love them or show them you love them. In the past week, I know one family that lost a loved one by surprise and another that received a negative report about a loved one. We live for today and today, I am thankful for!

 

Louisiana...Home At Last!

Where to begin...we had such a great time being back in Louisiana last week. I love, love when Mark is on vacation. It's so nice to wake up and be able to do things as a family and have no set schedule. We took full advantage of that last week. We had our first fire with the boys and cousin, Kylie as we roasted weenies for hotdogs and marshmellows for smores! They weren't too interested, but sure ate their share of both. I had the best time loving on our new nephew, Nolan. He is the sweetest thing and seems to best the best little baby. We had family pictures made and much to my surprise, they turned out rather cute! I love having pictures made at this time of the year because of the boys birthday. This way I will always remember how old they were when the pictures were made!

Halloween was a lot of fun, but we all wore out rather fast. We had the cutest two doctors in town or so I think, but I'm very partial! ;) I made special pumpkin muffins for Bently's birthday and he enjoyed lunch with the guys that day at Fieldhouse. It wouldn't be a trip home if we didn't visit Cotten. As always, it was delicious, but the laughs and conversations were the best part! Nothing like best friends and being able to pick up where ever you left off. They are good for the soul!

Friday, Mom and I snuck away to Shreveport for a little shopping and to pick up the boys' birthday cake. I never realize how much I miss a place until I visit there. Shreveport is filled with so many little shops that are locally owned. We don't have near that here or I haven't discovered them yet...probably a good thing!!! It was nice and I enjoyed that time with my Mom. Thanks to Louisiana weather and high humidity the cake began falling apart on the way home. I was stressed and upset I had spent so much on it and there wasn't a thing I could do. So...realizing I couldn't do anything, I let that stress go and focused on everything else that needed to be done.

Saturday was party day, ULM game, and LSU game. We tired out at PARTY! I spent WAY too much on this party, but the boys had fun and were excited and that's all that mattered to us. We don't know if we will make it back next year for a party, so we made the most of this year. It was so hot that day! We crashed and never made it to the ULM game, but we watched at Mom's as we packed. That night we went to a friend's house and watched the LSU game. They had the best food!!! So needless to say, we came home with a few extra pounds, but it was worth every bite! ;)

Thanks to all that made a point to see us. Time seems so short when we are in and we try so hard to see as many as we can. If we missed you this visit, hopefully  the boys and I will see you late December. We will spend Christmas here as a family and make our way back there after Christmas. I dread the drive already, but I know some will be ready to see the boys again!

Love to all,