Christmas Decorations

I debated a long time about whether or not we should go ahead and put up our Christmas decorations . . . I mean our house is a huge mess and getting the Christmas stuff out would definitely make it even messier, but as Savannah pointed out it might make me feel better to have the decorations out.  So we compromised and only put the upstairs tree up for now.  It was certainly *fun* trying to get just one tree up after dinner tonight, but many laughs were shared!  Hopefully, we can get the rest of the pretty stuff out soon. :)

 

Operation Christmas Child

One of Savannah's favorite holiday activities is processing shoeboxes at the Charlotte Operation Christmas Child warehouse.  She usually goes with friends or church but this year she really wanted us to serve together as a family.  So we made it happen!

Preston loved his job scanning and packing the boxes!

It was such a fun (and exhausting) evening!  We met a lot of interesting people, had a blast serving together, and wow, what a joy knowing we helped spread the love of Jesus to children around the world.

 

Counting our Blessings

 This year we were able to be with my family in Mebane for Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful day and such a joy to be able to see everyone and enjoy a delicious meal together.

This kid was THRILLED to go with Uncle Denny for a crazy ride on the side by side.

 

All of the cousins!

Even though life is insanely crazy right now with the kitchen remodel, college/scholarship applications, work, and holiday busyness, today was a chance to reflect on just all that we have to be thankful for!

Refresh 2023

 

Anna Kate, Rachel (Ryan's wife), and Savannah

Savannah was so thankful to be able to attend our church's high school Refresh retreat this weekend.  It was a great opportunity to unplug and spend some time with the Lord in the beautiful mountains!

Serving So Many So Well

 

I was reading through the church e-mail and saw this picture of some of the Carmel seniors who helped pack boxes between church services.  It just reminded me how much I love Savannah's servant's heart.  She not only pours into special needs students at Cakeable, but she also serves many groups at Carmel.  She never complains but rather looks at it as a blessing and opportunity to be able to pour into all ages and is always willing to step up and help where needed.

Kitchen Renovations Begin . . .

 

Once last baking session in the old kitchen!  And the packing begins . . . 

Demo day was 11/2 and Preston was thrilled to take a hammer to a cabinet!

My entire kitchen is in the driveway . . and garage and dining room and anywhere else we threw crap at the last second!

All demoed and ready for cabinets

And so the creative cooking begins.  We've used the instant pot to brown meat in the laundry room, the skillet to make pancakes, the toaster oven for pizzas in the garage, the microwave for LOTS of stuff in the garage, and plan to learn to boil water on the grill this week.  Fun times!  Said no one!

I'll be honest, it's been a bloody nightmare for the past 11 days.  We picked out some amazing handmade tile out of California only to learn the estimated delivery time was after Christmas; which would leave us with no power in the kitchen for all of the holidays. So we scrapped that tile and went to plan B.  I'd forgotten how awfully messy renovations are and there are still SOOOO many details that need to fall into place, and fast, so we can enjoy Christmas at home.  Praying for this all to work out and hoping for a miracle!  In the meantime I'll be cooking in my garage and laundry room LOL