Savannah's First 5K ~ Charlotte Checkers Race

I am so, so proud of Savannah!  This morning she ran her first 5k race as a culmination activity for her running club.  The course was beautiful and we had a great time.  We finished in 37:26 . . not bad at all for her first race. :)

Full Hearts & Tummies

Grandma with her 5 Great Grandkids!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Page family in Mebane this year.  I have to say that they had one amazingly delicious spread , including the sweet potato soup. :)  It is always so much fun watching the kids play together, especially since they don't get to see each other that often.  They played hard, laughed a lot, and enjoyed every second together.  There's just something special about family time . . . something I've learned not to take for granted.

We are so blessed and thankful to be in Charlotte where we have the best friends ever, but we are also very thankful for our family from Georgia to Mebane.  God has sure been good to us!

"My Family"

Preston's artwork from November

There are just some days you need a gentle reminder about what is important . . . and today when I picked Preston up from WEE school (almost in tears from the stress of the remodel) I was greeted with a big smiling face, wide open arms for a bear hug, and his sweet art work that he made of our family.

It's been a very long two days filled with lots of "little" decisions that I have toiled over again and again.  With an appliance ordered canceled, trying to figure out insurance for next year, and a few little issues with the cabinets I've been quite overwhelmed.  But we're making it.  Thanking God for my family, our health, and for our precious friends Mr. and Mrs. Karhan who graciously invited us over for dinner tonight.  We have a lot to be thankful for!

Savannah's Sunday School Class

Savannah's Sunday school small group leader sent this picture to me this morning.  Here is Lily, Bloom, and Savannah making a replica of the alter.  The girls were so proud of their work! I'm so thankful for Mrs. Keefer and the love she pours into their little group each Sunday.

Remodel Week One

After months and months of planning, meeting with contractors, gathering information and too many decisions to remember the day finally came for our kitchen demolition!  We waited WAY too long to pack up the kitchen and let me tell you, packing up 10 years of junk drawers and cabinets was no easy task.  Here's a recap of our week.

Sunday night ~ still trying to empty out the cabinets and decide what to do with the junk

Monday morning ~ before school I had Preston sit on the sink one last time. 

I have to tell you that it was a tiny bit sad knowing that the place we bathed both of our babies was getting ready to hit the dumpster.  *I'm not sure I could ever fully move out of this house!*

By the time I got home from class all of the cabinets had been ripped out already!

A "small" uncalculated problem

Monday afternoon, the contractor showed me this.  The previous homeowners decided they needed to redo their kitchen vinyl floors; you can see why!  Only they took the lazy way out and just put the hardwoods on top of the vinyl. So this meant we ended up needing to rip out all of the flooring and redo it with ALL new hardwoods. ;(

Tuesday morning with everything gone!

Tuesday the plumber came and moved all of the pipes.  Wednesday the electrician was here ALL day redoing the lighting and moving the outlets.  Thursday the hardwoods were laid.  The contractor finished up patching the ceiling and walls to get ready for the mud crew.

My nice new hardwoods

Today the mud crew has been here all day long.  They finally finished and we are ready for the cabinets to arrive tomorrow morning at 9am. :)

So we've survived the mess and inconvenience.  Dave commented once this week that he's not sure we would have done it if we'd known what it was going to be like living out of the office and dining room.  BUT, he has done it and made it work.  We have certainly been a team this week.  I'll try to share some pictures of how we are working the system: where we're eating, prepping meals, etc.  For the record we've only eaten out once and that was because I had a mystery shop.  It's been an adventure for sure . . . one I'll be glad to be done with hopefully sooner rather than later!

Family Night 2014 ~ Staring Preston

He was very proud of his pumpkin art work

And couldn't wait to show us the apple tree . . with the apple that fell off. :)

Today was Preston's last WEE school family night.  He was so excited and ready to sing with his classmates on the stage.  They sang the cutest Waves of Mercy song and were the loudest class (out of all 15) by far.  Afterwards we went back to their classroom to see their wonderful artwork . . then we rushed home to call it a night.

Side note ~ huge thanks for my precious friend Elizabeth who let us borrow a shirt at the last minute.  After spending all weekend packing up the kitchen and then all day adjusting to have our kitchen torn out, it was literally 8 minutes before we had to leave when I realized that Preston didn't have a white button up to wear!  oops.  Thankfully Elizabeth came to my rescue and left one of Lukie's hanging on her mailbox for me, which we picked up on our way to church.  Whew!

Preston's First Y Guides Longhouse

This weekend Preston and Dave ventured out to their first Y Guides longhouse!  To say that Preston was excited would be the understatement of the century.  He could. not. wait. to get to go camping with his dad and buddies . . and told everyone that he saw the entire week before all about his plans!

They enjoyed canoeing

Preston rode his first horse

He loved the zip line too

  These 5 sweet boys had a blast with their daddies at Camp Thunderbird.  

I love that Dave is so willing to invest in both of his kiddos in such a meaningful way.  They are truly making memories that will last a lifetime! :)

Halloween Hoopla

What a wonderful day the kids and I have enjoyed!  Savannah had the day off from school so we had a girls day while Preston was at school . . . and then when he got home the kids (oddly enough) played together for hours before time for our annual block party.

So, right after Ms. Kelly picked up Preston Savannah and I began the fun morning!

* We started at CVS with a quick stop for a few things and to meet a lady from craig's list
* Next up was the library.  Savannah was thrilled to pick out 16 books and to be able to scan them all herself.
* Then we hit Old Navy to spend my super cash.  She loved getting a ton of new workout clothes for all of her running activities and upcoming races too.
* After Old Navy we enjoyed a fun lunch at McAlisters, her restaurant of choice.  I was thrilled that they were doing free kids meals for kids in costume. :)
* My birthday coupon was expiring at Hallmark so we enjoyed shopping for cards together too.
* PSE was our next stop for her school conference.  Let's just say she is rockin' third grade!  All 100s for averages, other than math where she has a 97 for the quarter.
* And it wouldn't be a complete day without a trip to Harris Teeter for some fill in items.

We made it home just in time for Preston to arrive car pool.  After unloading and having snacks the kids enjoying playing lots of games together and then the Curious George Halloween special was just enough to fill in the gap before the block party started.

Kids at the block party

Dave's pumpkin creation

 After a full night of craziness and trick or treating with Dave the kids were still wired!  They ventured to Katie's grandmas again for hot chocolate . . .

and then called me to come get them in the car because they were tired and cold!  But once they were home the hoopla continued with examining their candy. Check it out!  This doesn't count the 5, yes FIVE, bags of candy we have left over and the family treat bag that is already exploding from super doubles.  Good grief!

I'd say that it was safe to say the kids both had a fun-filled Halloween.  And thankfully we were all safe and warm inside when the crazy rain and hail storm came. :)  Happy Halloween!!!!