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Birthday

Michael Goes West: North Carolina

9:27 AM
We have landed in Arizona, which now means I can share bits and pieces of our journey with you! The New Year is approaching and I appreciate your patience as we get things together in our new home and I then proceed to get the blog back in my routine and running! Our move began a bit complicated. We had a friend watching...

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#TBT

'Tis the Season #TBT: There's No Place Like Home

6:00 AM
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! We had such a wonderful day full of family and fun. I will make sure to share details with you very soon. At the moment, we are on the road once more headed for our new home. Please keep our travels and moving process in your prayers! Two years ago we spent Christmas with...

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Christmas

Date Night: Biltmore Estate

6:00 AM
Last week was our last week in NC, and Clark decided we needed one last amazing date night to commemorate our time in NC. And, boy, did he go all out. That means, of course, I have to praise him publicly. On my site. I may be bragging just the slightest bit. He hired the babysitter, made the reservations, and told me my...

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2013

Friday's Letters

6:00 AM
Boy has it been a week. Not only is our move in full swing, but we faced some serious challenges earlier in the week. Do you ever feel like you're making the right decision, and then everything comes crashing in and you wonder what the heck you were thinking? No... we haven't been feeling that way at all... I was just curious, that's...

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#TBT

'Tis the Season #TBT: North Carolina Christmas

6:00 AM
2010 was the year we spent Christmas with Clark's family. We always tend to do Thanksgiving with them, Christmas with mine. This was because my family has always been the farthest away and Christmas is ALWAYS the time of year we have the most time to go somewhere. But, in 2010, my family was about the same distance from us as Clark's... so...

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Bread

[Vegan] Citrus Cranberry Scones

6:00 AM
CHRISTMAS IS ONE WEEK AWAY! We are also leaving to begin our move TOMORROW. While you're reading this we are probably frantically trying to figure out how we accumulated so much stuff over the last few years and trying to convince each other what's really important to take in the UHAUL. Can you picture it? Well, while you are, maybe you should think...

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Chocolate

Be Our Guest: Breaking Out of the Bubble, from ShaCarol

6:00 AM
Today I've asked one of my dearest and oldest friends to post and share her story. ShaCarol is trying to raise money to go to Belize to work with people who are deaf and hard of hearing. But, why read what I have to say, when ShaCarol herself has prepared something so wonderful for you? Last spring, ShaCarol visited Gallaudet University—the world’s only...

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Chocolate

White Chocolate Chex Mix

6:00 AM
I love Chex Mix. It's a tradition in my husband's family to make it this time of year, and our PaPa really makes it the best. However, I don't seem to have the knack for it. And unlike my husband, I can't eat the "something salty" nonstop. Something salty AND sweet, on the other hand... that I can do. Enter White Chocolate Chex...

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2013

Friday's Letters

6:00 AM
This has been a busy week. We've been trying to squeeze in time with as many people as possible. Moving across the country means, of course, that people suddenly want to see you as much as possible. I'm not complaining. I feel so incredibly blessed and loved, and with that comes the sadness of leaving all our friends behind. That's not to say...

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#TBT

'Tis the Season #TBT: Germany

6:00 AM
When Clark and I were first married, my parents were stationed in Germany. It was like a fairy tale getting to spend our first two Christmases overseas in a place where Christmas is taken very seriously. Now whenever Christmas time comes around, we can't help but miss it. We always think of the Christmas markets, the hot apfelwein, and all the glorious food....

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Candy

Peppermint Oreo Fudge

6:00 AM
This fudge is pretty much made up of my three favorite things: chocolate, peppermint, and, well... it's fudge. This is pretty much holiday-perfection in my book, and so easy to make, too! Ingredients: - 1 bag of chocolate chips or morsels (I used dark chocolate) - 1 bag Hershey kisses - 1 bag of Candy Cane Hershey Kisses - 2 bags white chocolate...

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Bread

Hot Chocolate Brownies

6:00 AM
When it's cold and snowy outside I crave hot chocolate more than coffee, even first thing in the morning. I got in the habit of mixing hot cocoa and milk in with my coffee... so, really, just adding a dash of coffee to my hot cocoa. It just feels more seasonal, which may sound a little silly, but it works for me. Then...

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Adventures

The Polar Express

6:00 AM
The Great Smoky Railway in Bryson City, NC does multiple train tours. They range from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! to a tour including the history of the train itself. At Christmas time it turns positively magestic and does The Polar Express. As soon as we found that out, we knew we had to take Michael. A train and Santa Claus? And...

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2013

Friday's Letters

6:00 AM
It's the end of the first week of December. That's a scary thought. I'm SO excited for this weekend, though, because my friend Nikki is coming to visit! You may know her as Mrs. Healthy Ever After. It was a bit impromptu. We've been hoping for weeks for a visit and it finally came down to the wire since, ya know, we're moving...

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#TBT

'Tis the Season #TBT: Family Carols

6:00 AM
The holidays were really a time of tradition for my family, and still are. Christmas always involved the Advent Wreath, lots of singing, and lots of baking. One of my favorite memories is the picture above from 2006. It was the Christmas my sister and my now brother-in-law were first engaged, my great uncle was visiting, and was actually around the time Clark...

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Beef

Homemade Biscuits & Gravy

6:00 AM
This is the first time I've made Biscuits & Gravy. I know. I don't know what my problem is. I guess I had this sort of premonition that if I made them, I'd eat way too much. But Clark really wanted so, so I finally gave in. Michael, much to our surprise [sarcasm sarcasm], wouldn't try it. He stuck to his eggs and...

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