much to be thankful for...

We went to my parents' for Thanksgiving this year (as we usually do) and got to spend time with them, my brother and his family and my grandparents.  It's always a good time and, of course, we eat good, too.  :)

 

You wouldn't know from these photos that it was Thanksgiving; I think I stopped taking photos of the food table once the kiddos came along.  They're MUCH cuter than a pan of mashed taters.  :)

 

Momma and Daddy soaked up as much time as they could with their grandkids -- so fun to watch them interact!

 

 

My Daddy and Jeff "built" this house for the kids, and Deacon had the best time with it!  He loved going in and out of the door and closing the door.  He also invited all of us into the house at one point or another.  And we all, without exception, got ourselves into that house.  Ha, ha!  Fun times! 

birthday getaway!

For my birthday this year, Jeff decided to go big.  While my birthday is at the end of September, he told me that he had something big planned but we wouldn't be celebrating until mid-October.  I love surprises so I was stoked.  I told him to tell me only what I absolutely needed to know and that's all.

 

And he followed that rule.

 

All I knew was that I needed to take a Friday off from work (so a weekend thing) and that the temps would be low to mid 60s during the day, low 40s at night.

 

I honestly didn't know and really couldn't even speculate where we were going until we rolled up HERE:

 

Ridgecrest is a retreat/conference center where the Festival of Marriage is held each year, during the fall season (among other things throughout the year).  Our church is a big proponent of this event but Jeff and I have never been able to go.  He decided to change that this year.

 

That man of mine...I love him.

 

This is how the plan rolled out (and keep in mind, all of this is news to me as it's happening. ALL.OF.IT.):  we, the 3 of us, left our house Thursday after work and drove to my parents' house in Lexington to stay overnight.  Jeff told me right before we got there that we'd be staying overnight and that we -- he and I -- would be continuing on tomorrow, leaving Deacon with my parents.

 

I was super-excited about that for numerous reasons, not the least of which was that it looked like we were getting away together for the weekend.  Suh-weet!  It pretty much didn't matter at that point where were going.  :)

 

We headed out Friday morning around 9am to...well, I still didn't know, of course.  I was loving this!  We traveled further into mountainous regions over the next couple of hours and it just kept getting better and better.  I know I commented at least once to Jeff that it didn't matter where we were going, that this scenery we were traveling through, with all the gorgeous fall foliage, made me so happy.  :)

 

We stopped in a small town called Black Mountain for lunch and to do a little shopping around the quaint little town square.  Jeff had heard that there were a few pottery shops there and he knows how I love pottery.  The thought he put into this birthday gift, whatever it was turning into, was becoming more evident.  And making me feel so special.

 

It was nice to get out and stretch our legs.  It was a beautiful sunny day -- just cool enough to keep from getting warm, but not cold enough to have to wear a coat/jacket.  We ate at the Black Mountain Ale House and both of our meals were delicious.  The pub was actually underground.  Very cool!

 

After hitting a few shops before and after lunch, Jeff said we needed to get back on the road.  Little did I know that we were only going a few miles up the road.  I soon found out what he had planned.

 

 

We had a great time!  It was so wonderful to be away with my man, in a gorgeous part of NC, with picture perfect weather the entire time.  We met new people who were there doing the same thing we were and there's such a connection in that.  The breakout sessions we went to had great information and the group sessions with worship and messages from our keynote speakers were wonderful, too.  It was so refreshing -- a welcome change of scenery, literally and figuratively.

 

 

During the weekend, we had a span of about 5 hours of free time, and we chose to spend that time driving around the area (well, after our nap :).  We went and drove around on the Blue Ridge Parkway...

 

 

And on the way back to Ridgecrest, we drove through a little place called Montreat (apparently, Billy Graham has a place there, which I didn't know about until later on)...

 

 

We headed home Sunday morning after our last group session, stopping to see a few sights...

 

 

...and then on to Lexington to get Deacon.  My parents had a blast with him all weekend.  I'm so thankful they had an opportunity to spend that time with him.  The whole weekend was fantastic -- for us and for them! 

 

Thank you, babe, for making my birthday this year so very special.  You are the best, and I love how you love me.

NC Aquarium...

My brother and sister-in-law came for a visit a few weeks ago and we all drove down to the NC Aquarium in Fort Fisher.  It was all new to everyone (except me and Jeff) so it was time well spent.  Deacon enjoyed seeing everything, as did my niece and nephew, Cora Beth and Bear.

 

Considering that the kiddos are now so busy (which I've commented on before), I was pleasantly surprised to see so MANY of my photos come out so good.  Because of that, I had a hard time choosing what to post here -- that's why there are so many...

Love this one I snapped of Bear and Deacon -- looks like Deacon's educating Bear on something about those "fishies"...they are only 3 months apart.  Deacon is 3 months older than Bear.  Sweet boys.  :)

 

 

 

And as always, we attempt a photo of the cousins (Cora Beth, 4 yrs / Bear, 18.5 mos / Deacon, 21.5 mos).  This one isn't too bad, except for the uncharacteristic non-smile on my otherwise smiley son's face.  Lovely.

For more photos from our visit to the aquarium, click here.

Four, already?!

I don't know how 4 years have passed already since our family gained a precious little girl named Cora Beth, but that is what we celebrated last weekend -- her 4th birthday.

So when your daughter is born in the dead of summer, you look for the coolest way possible to celebrate...which means POOL PARTY!

We celebrated at her Nonna's house in Lexington since they have a pool.  The party began at 6pm so the temps had cooled down considerably, and it was very overcast.  So overcast, in fact, that the sky dumped a fairly big thunderstorm on us before it was all said and done.  It's okay, though, because by that point, most everyone was out of the pool anyway, eating cake and watching the birthday girl open her presents.

It was a good time and she racked up, as usual...

Okay, so let me just pause here for a minute.  Cora Beth is now to the age where she can tell you what kind of party she would like to have to celebrate her birthday.  And bless their hearts, my brother & sister-in-law asked her what she wanted.  And then had to scramble to make it happen.  She wanted a "pink tool pool party".

Uuuhhhm, okay.

:: whispering ::  How are we gonna do THAT??

Okay, okay.  I've got it -- we'll have it at my mom's house, right?  Cuz she has a pool.  So there's that part done.  And, and...we can get her a new pink bathing suit, huh?  That can be the pink part.  So now...the tools.  Hmmm.  What if I just make a cake and we stick some plastic tools on the top?  How 'bout that?

Sounds good to me.

Oh, and then your awesome sister can find a cute little tool set to give her as a gift! She is the best aunt! :)

We love you, Cora Beth!  Happy 4th birthday to you!

Happy 4th birthday, Addison!

I had the priviledge of witnessing the sweetest thing this past weekend.  One of my dear friends has a daugther who turned 4 last weekend and they had a TEA PARTY for her birthday party!  It was the cutest thing -- so girly and fru-fru.  PERFECT for all these girly-girls at Addison's party.

Bekah did so many amazing things to make it special for Addison -- lots of sweet little girly details, and I had the best time photographing everything for her so she could enjoy the tea party with her daughter.

Here's a sneak peek:

Happy birthday, sweet girl!