A Wonderful Thanksgiving

Dave and I started the morning bright and early with our annual Southpark 8k Turkey Trot.  He slowed down enough to run my pace and we actually ran and FINISHED a race together!!  I can't wait to see our finish line picture. :)  We finished in exactly 41 minutes, a record for me.  After the race, we hurried home, showered and loaded up the car for Mebane.

Pawpaw with the Grandkids

Page Family picture

Cherry with her great nieces/nephews

So after travelling for a very long time (traffic was awful and we were stuck in Concord forever just sitting on 85) we finally arrived at Denny's house.  He had a house over-flowing with Sara's family there too, but it was a great day!  The food was great, but the company was even better.

Preston has talked for days and days about the wishbone.  As the turkey sat on the table he kept walking by and asking where it was.  So, after everyone was finished someone pulled it out for the little ones to take a pull at.  They were super excited at first . . .

But quickly became confused at how the process really worked . . 

It was such a fun (and loud) day, but what treasured time with our sweet family!  I'm so, so thankful for being able to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends. We truly are blessed and have a lot to be thankful for!

Love from Aunt Cherry

Savannah and Preston have been waiting for "forever" for Aunt Cherry to come to Charlotte to spend the day with them.  For the past year all of her trips have been working trips for the remodel, but this time it was all about the kids!!!  She came bright and early in the morning and surprised both kids with beautifully wrapped Christmas presents.  They each got amazing Christmas outfits that they will proudly wear on Christmas day. Aunt Cherry even had a special surprise for me, a new entire bedding set for our bed . . complete with about 10 pillows!!  It looks beautiful on our bed and I'm thrilled to finally have a new comforter (after being in the house 11 years)!  After a quick trip to the mall and a stop for me to pick up our race numbers Aunt Cherry treated us to lunch at Chick-fil-A.  The kids were so excited to eat out for lunch!!!

Then it was right back home to start the project with Savannah, making an American girl outfit!  They sewed and sewed and sewed until everything was just right.  And the outcome was ADORABLE!!

Preston enjoyed his special time of building his own butterfly house.  He was very patient as Savannah's project took a bit longer than his, but I think the excitement of having Aunt Cherry here was enough for him.

Once the projects were complete, she whipped up an amazing dinner to put in the oven.  Oh, the smell of it baking during the afternoon was awesome!  And while I continued to work away at the computer catching up she even agreed to join the kids for a game of Life. :)  Once that was over Aunt Cherry even volunteered to hang the garland on our stairs. . . with an extra special ribbon touch this year.  That's my least favorite part about decorating for Christmas and now viola, it's already done!  Hip hip horray!

It was such a full day, one overflowing with love and joy.  I can't decide what the best part was . . . entertainment for the kids, the delicious dinner, having the garland hung, or my amazing new bed furnishings.  All I know is that as she pulled out of the driveway way after dark we were all filled to the brim with happiness.  What a special day!  Thank you Cherry for giving and loving on us today!!!

*UN*Urgent Care for Savannah

Waiting to see the doctor, still smiling even though she was expecting stitches!

As I become older and more "experienced" as a mom I'm learning to expect the unexpected (to borrow a line from Big Brother).  The most perfectly planned out and scheduled days can end up being the hardest, craziest, most challenging ones to survive.  Today was certainly one of those days!  I had two scheduled doctor appointments for me this morning and thought I would have the entire afternoon to get caught up and enter all of my mystery shop reports before the big, yellow bus arrived.  NOT!  After getting home from the grocery store, unpacking the groceries, and sitting down to work on a friend's meal sign up my cell phone rang.  It was the nurse at the kid's school.  Uh oh!  My first panic was that she was calling to tell me Savannah had lice.  Yesterday was the first day we got the letter home saying that some kid in her class had the critters so of course that's what my biggest fear was.  However, after finally getting some reception on my phone, she said that Savannah had a bad cut that needed "immediate attention".  Of course the pediatrician's office was completely booked since only a few doctors in the practice do sutures, so we ended up heading to urgent care. There were only two people waiting in front of us, so I figured we'd be out of there in an hour tops.  HA!

As we waited . . and waited . . . I got the whole story.  Apparently she was trying to grab paper out of a group members hand and when he pulled back, the scissors in his hand chopped the tip of her left thumb.  Ouch!  Of all days to have a substitute teacher too. :)  She said that there was blood everywhere!  Anyway, long story short after it was all cleaned out the doctor determined that she could glue it and put steri strips to close it just fine.  Whew!  But it was 2.5 hours later before we finally left that place!  

Even in the midst of chaos and an afternoon spent at urgent care, it was Savannah that started counting our blessings . . . it's her left hand, not her right one . . . the doctor had an ipad for the kids to play while they waited . . . she didn't have lice, but rather a finger that could easily heal . . . she didn't have to miss a day of school since it was at the end of the day . . and the list goes on.  For me, it's a day to be thankful I was just around the corner and could be there quickly to take her to get all fixed.  

Savannah's Fairy Garden

This week our sweet, previous neighbor Ms. Marlene posted some pictures of her new fairy garden.  I e-mailed her and asked if she was interested in doing a little one with Savannah and of course she said yes! :)  So before the holiday craziness begins we decided to spend the afternoon today (while Preston was at a birthday party) picking out the special pieces and creating Savannah's own fairy garden.

First the soil went in

 Next they carefully added the plants

After the miniatures were added the pebble walkway went in

 I'm so thankful for the time that Marlene pours into our family.  We lover her so much and miss her like crazy!

Marlene & Savannah

Savannah's own fairy garden

Preston's Soccer Finale

Preston had his final soccer game today.  We were all excited that we actually go to play and that it was so sunny!  With all of the rain many of this season's games were cancelled, but today was awesome! He scored a goal and had a blast running and playing.  Of course the best part was the long-awaited trophy that he got afterwards. :)

Movie Night Under the Stars

Tonight the kids' school had it's first ever movie night under the stars.  It was so much fun, but man was it chilly!!  We came prepared with our chairs, warm coats, hats, and blankets which made the super cold night manageable.  Monsters University was super cute and even held Preston's attention the entire time.  What a great way to spend a Friday night as a family. :)

The Game of Life

So my kids have a new favorite game . .the game of Life!  I never realized just how educational it is with teaching about loans, paydays, careers, insurance and tons more.  Plus the math skills they are practicing are incredible. :)  The conversations overheard have been hysterical, as I'm sure you can imagine.