Just This and That

Just a few updates about our Thanksgiving Holiday weekend! Mike was off work last week from Tuesday - Friday and it was so great! We enjoyed some nice, relaxing family time and while we missed seeing our family for Thanksgiving, we had a great time just the 5 of us! We then spent Thanksgiving night with some friends that may as well be family. Isn't it nice to have people like that? When you don't live near family, it's so important to have friends that you love and that love you back and we feel blessed to have many friends here that we truly love! For that, we are so thankful!

My meal was overall a success. The turkey could have cooked a little less, but tasted good. Everything else was totally yummy. Well, not the gravy. The gravy was my nemesis. I have decided that I can only make good white gravy - that's it. And who wants white gravy over their turkey. GAG! Oh well, we had a good meal! My favorite part of the whole day was Mike reading to us George Washington's official statement about Thanksgiving and why it was going to be set aside as a National Holiday. Mike then asked each of us to say what we were thankful for and then we held hands and prayed - it was a sweet time.



On Friday (Black Friday, that is), we got a wild hair to load up the girls and go to the mall. Do not ask me why I thought this was a good plan, but for some reason, I did. We got to the mall and became annoyed within minutes of walking thru the doors. HA! Here we were with the 2 older girls walking and pushing Mabrie in the stroller, all of us single file, because there was no way we were fitting side-by-side through those JAM PACKED WITH JUNK aisles! And what is up with people deciding that it's a great plan to stand in those aisles and chit chat, all the while blocking the traffic flow?! We went into 2 stores, got the girls a pretzel and got right on out of there. Note to self: Black Friday is hideous. Shop another day. :)

Saturday we did our decorating for Christmas! I love putting up the tree - it's always a big job, but I love when it's done! I love sitting in the living room at night just by the lights of the tree. It is so pretty! The girls loved helping and were so excited about it! We turned on Christmas music, decorated, sang, danced, laughed. You can't get these years back. You gotta make the most of them!



On Sunday, we went to church and had a great day. I love our church. I look forward to Sunday each week. It starts our week off right. Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful church and the great friends that we have there!

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend as well. So much to be thankful for!

1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.

Macie's Science Fair Project

Macie really wanted to take part in her school's Science Fair this year. She had several good ideas, but finally decided that she wanted to do something on tornadoes. Mike told her that this was going to be HER project and while he would guide her through it, she had to do the work and research. He helped her find good websites and also taught her how to write a report. She did a great job. She wrote down some interesting facts about tornadoes and learned that Arkansas is in "tornado alley". She also learned about the different levels of tornadoes and the damage that they cause.

She is such a good student and we are so proud of her! We told her that even if she didn't win a ribbon, that she could be proud of herself knowing that she did her best work and also learned something in the process. BUT - we are thrilled to report that she did in fact win 3rd place! She was SO excited! There were a lot of entries and hers came in 3rd!

Congrats, Macie! Mommy and daddy are so proud of you! You are not only a sweet little girl, but you are a great student!

We love you!

Nervous Nellie

That's me. Nervous Nellie. Why, you ask? Because this year, for the first time EVER, I am in charge of a Thanksgiving meal. THE WHOLE MEAL! Turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie - all of it. And to say that I am biting off my nails daily is an understatement. They are down to nubs. Nubs, I tell you.

Here's the deal. Every year we travel either to my mom and dad's house or to Mike's mom and dad's house and celebrate Thanksgiving as one big happy family. Since we travel from so far away, I am always responsible for things like plates, napkins, drinks, etc. I help out in the kitchen on Thanksgiving morning, but help out is a lot different than making the whole meal. I've made a turkey once - and if you know the story of me and the turkey - you know how well that went over. (It turned out fine, but the neck and giblets just about did me in - Mike, too - there was dry heaving - lots of it.)

Well, this year, we aren't traveling. Mike's sister, Mallory, got married last weekend and since we traveled for that, we decided not to load up and drive the 7-8 hours back just a week and a half later. So, Mike's family is coming here to spend Thanksgiving with us, so the meal is on this girl. Giblet girl. Nervous girl.

Thankfully, I will have Mike's mom here to help me. Do I know how to make turkey gravy from the drippings? NO! She gets that job for sure. Have I ever made homemade stuffing? Again - NO! And I refuse to make Stove Top for Thanksgiving. It has to be the real thing and if it tastes like dookie, well, then that's what we will eat. (Maybe I better have Stove Top as a back-up).

Mike gave me a vote of confidence last night and said, "It'll be fine, babe!" I hope he's right. I hope my turkey isn't raw on the inside and black on the outside. I hope my stuffing isn't a pan of bread slop. I hope my pumpkin pie doesn't gag the family. I've got the mashed potatoes in the bag - no worries there! Cindy is on gravy duty - so no worries there either. Corn, it'll rock the house. Everything else is up in the air. Wish me luck. I gotta go bite my nails some more.