I hope you all are hung over from a wonderful day of family and turkey, or whatever traditional foods you may eat! We had a rather last-minute, make-shift Thanksgiving, but it was truly wonderful.

I'm so excited for later today. A train in the area does The Polar Express experience and we're taking Michael! It's to kickstart our Christmas season officially with some amazing quality time. Michael is going to L-O-V-E it. He's been all about The Polar Express and trains in general. I can't wait to see his face!


Dear Snow, Thank you, thank you for coming to our little mountain town Wednesday! It was so wonderful to get out in the early morning and play in our PJs. Michael had such a blast, and I didn't mind so much staying out there until I couldn't feel my fingers or nose. He clearly didn't, either.

Dear Thanksgiving, You were wonderful. Sometimes I think the true reason of being thankful gets lost on people in the hustle and bustle of cooking, preparing, and all that jazz. But, I must admit, you really are in my top three favorite holidays. I'm so thankful we were able to make you extra special, regardless of surprises.

Dear December, Please crawl. CRAWL. I do not want you to come speeding up and pass us by before we are ready. Just... take your time. I love this time of year, and I'd love it even more if you took your time so I could soak you in just a little bit more.

Things to look forward to:

Gingerbread Cookies

'Tis the Season #TBT

The idea for this post came from Ashley over at The Sweet Season.

I've had a hard time really putting this post together. Possibly because I am overwhelmed by how blessed I am when it comes to my little family.


My husband, Clark, continues to amaze me as he rises to new challenges. These challenges can be anything from a broken toilet to stress with his job. He always puts Michael and me first, and only stops to think of himself after he knows we are taken care of. It is his most admirable trait. He is our provider and caretaker, and I have no idea what we would do without him. I was blessed to find him at the ripe age of 18 and only continue to love him more each day.


We were blessed with Michael in 2011 and life has not been the same since. I don't know if Clark and I truly knew what the word "family" meant as a unit (when it came to us) until Michael came along. Now we are continually learning to put our little family first, everyone else second. Michael fueled that. He is our biggest joy, even on his "bad days", and I can't imagine where we would be or what we would be doing if we didn't have him.


These two together are my entire world. When Clark is home the smallest things are the most memorable to me, and sometimes I admit I like to sit back in the shadows and watch these two play... but not too long before I join in on the fun (as long as Michael lets me-- sometimes he'll tell me it's "Dada time", which I definitely don't want to intrude on). It doesn't matter if my kitchen is overflowing with dirty dishes or the blinds haven't been dusted. What matters is the quality time and love I get to experience with my boys.

What are you thankful for today?

A little change from the typical since I missed Friday this week. Once again we've had a little glitch in what we thought we had planned, and we're having to lean on God and know He's leading us in the right direction. But let me tell you friends, I'm struggling. I keep feeling like we have the carpet pulled from under us. It would be nice for a little more stability. I know this is what God offers if we put our faith and trust in Him, and that's really what I'm working on. I guess when things don't go the way I thought they were, the sand shifts and I'm not always standing on the solid rock I thought I had my feet planted on. At least I know I have a loving God and forgiveness for my humanity through Jesus Christ!

"For I know the plans for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11


Dear Michael, Thank you for being patient with me as we both recover from being sick this week. I know you were on the mend a lot quicker, but you definitely took care of poor Mama while my sickness dragged a few days past yours. I'm planning a week of fun and playdates to make up for this past one of picnics and too much TV time. I'm thankful you enjoy quiet crafts these days as much as you enjoy romping around in the leaves and cold. Well... almost as much... right?


Dear November, How is it you're more than halfway through and it's nearly Thanksgiving already? 2013 is flying by and I'd appreciate it if you'd slow down just a little bit so the holidays can seem a little less crazy and I can feel like I know what I'm doing as December approaches.

Here's what you have to look forward to :) :

Cara Box Reveal

[Cranberry-Chocolate] Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Crockpot Beef and Broccoli

Thankful Thursday: My Boys
The idea for this post came from Ashley over at The Sweet Season.

Yesterday was a busy day. So much so that Michael slept an extra thirty minutes (woooohoooo), making his current wake-up time 5AM. Hey... it's better than four... right?

Annnnnnyway.

Yesterday we got up (early, of course, because of Michael), got ready, and ran late to get to family pictures with one of my dearest friends here. After getting a fabulous dozen of pictures with a grumpy, tearful two-year-old and two tense parents, Clark had to rush to an interview that was about 2.5 hours away. The reason these two just happened to line up is because his interview was switched from Tuesday to Wednesday somewhat last minute.

Because Clark had to rush, we put Michael's carseat in said friend-photographer's car with the plan of having an impromptu playdate (she has a three year old... see this post for pictures of these two wonderful people), and then go home afterwards. Until we discovered (luckily before she started to drive us home), that I had forgotten to get the house key off the key ring.

Oops.

So, we had a whole day with Porter and his mama. The kiddos surprisingly did really well considering everything. What's more, our lovely friends had us over for dinner to complete the day and completely turn it around.






If you're in the Asheville/Fletcher/Brevard area check out DeVane Photography on Facebook. It's definitely worth it, and she's so reasonably priced!

BTW, Michael's cardigan is from The Wishing Elephant and my absolute favorite. Make sure to check out Carolyn's shop! And my boot cuffs? A custom order from Diana Meredith Designs! She does custom orders all the time, so make sure to check her out.

This Thankful Thursday I am thankful for our wonderful friends who kept us all day to make life easier, who suffered through a morning of grumps to get some amazing family pictures for this year, and who have been constant supporters through prayer and encouragement as we faced tough times and upcoming changes.

What are you thankful for today?

Michael and I have been struggling with sleep... again. While he seems to have a bedtime set(between 8 and 8:30 these days, he's been waking up between four and five determined to get up. I may be a morning person, but even four in the morning is ROUGH. I had success one morning in telling him we weren't getting up, and we slept until seven... but every other morning it's been by five am AT THE LATEST that we were out of bed. Needless to say I sometimes feel like I'm in a bit of a daze.

Easy dinners are my favorite. When using my crock pot I do have to plan ahead, but I love letting things cook all day and not having to really worry about them. When Mrs. Healthy Ever After posted this recipe, I immediately added it to my to-try-list, and boy am I glad.


It's the best. thing. ever.

AND MICHAEL EVEN ATE THE TURKEY!

Enough said... if you love Thanksgiving food, then you'll love this recipe.

Ingredients:

- 1 box of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice (sans seasoning)/ 3/4 C wild rice
- 1/2 to 1 small butternut squash, cut into cubes (I used half because I didn't want to be overwhelmed by the flavor)
- 1 to 2 lbs turkey tenderloin (I just used 1)
- 1 onion (I used white), cut as you like
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 C chicken stock, low sodium
- 1/4 C dried cranberries
- 2-3 C chopped kale

Directions:

- Put your rice in the crock pot. Top it with your squash, onion, and turkey. Sprinkle with your seasonings (thyme, salt, pepper).
- Pour your chicken stock over it all. Cook on high for three hours or low for six hours, this also depends on how much turkey you use.
- Add your cranberries and kale in the last hour of cooking.


Ready... set... DEVOUR.

Original recipe found at The Fountain Avenue Kitchen.

When our second-swing of holidays came around, it was a tad bit difficult. Clark was working for Walgreens, and since he was a "new" employee he was required to work two holidays.

Can you guess which ones they scheduled him for? Yup. Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The parents on both sides were thrilled.

So Thanksgiving came and it was up to me to be a true "wife" and cook dinner while he was at work all day. While I managed to watch the Macy's Day Parade (by myself) without completely losing it (aka crying), cooking was another story.

I had it planned out. A turkey. Sweet Potato Casserole (for Clark... I preferred mashed potatoes). Veggies (I honestly don't remember what I served). Rolls. Deviled Eggs (for Clark again). Pumpkin Pie.

I was so excited to cook. I mean... it was the first time I got to have my own Thanksgiving.

And then I faced my turkey.

Clark had said he was going to cook the turkey because that was the "husbandly" thing to do, but I protested. My mom did all the cooking. I wanted to do all the cooking.

I should have listened.

First I didn't give it enough time to thaw. As I prepared to stick it in the oven I realized that the middle of it was still rock solid with ice.

Great. Just what I needed.

It was ok. Clark was working a little late and if he had to wait 30 minutes longer for his turkey, he could wait.

Next was the sweet potato casserole.

Never had I ever cooked sweet potatoes before this day. I hadn't done a practice run of the dish. Nothing. I was so determined to make them perfect for Clark, I thought I was a good enough cook to wing it.

Boy was I wrong.

Let's just say that the casserole didn't quite cook all the way through. And it wasn't what Clark was expecting, either.

Everything else (in my opinion) turned out top-notch. But the two things were enough to devastate me against ever having my own Thanksgiving for quite some time.

And, because of that, no pictures survive to show you.

Clark was wonderful. He went over the top with compliments to me as well as his family. Compliments I thought I didn't deserve.

It was strange. Since we had been married, holidays had still always been celebrated with family. Watching the parade and cooking all by my lonesome wasn't something I really enjoyed, but I endured. Clark's job was important, and luckily our families were very understanding of that.

Even with just the two of us, we went around the table and said what we were thankful for. As always, the other was at the top of our list. I was so thankful for my husband who was being responsible and working on a holiday to support us.

It's amazing how much I took him for granted, and even at the beginning of our second year of marriage I realized that. We both had a lot to be thankful for, and many more things coming our way that would remind us to be thankful for our time together.