Preston's First Basketball Game

Today was the start of Preston's first basketball season.  Although he didn't score any baskets, he did get some time handling the ball.  I have to say the game went much better than I expected and all of the kids had a blast!  Here's to a fun season at Champ Sports!

Girls on the Run 5K

On Saturday Dave and Savannah braved the weather and headed to Huntersville for the Girls on the Run 5K.  I prayed all morning that it wouldn't rain and the weather actually held out!  They had a great time and enjoyed running together despite all of the "walkers" in their way. :)

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!