Wordless Wednesday

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Over the weekend we were able to get our Christmas decorations up, including our tree. It's a dreadful old artificial tree. It certainly won't be gracing the cover of Southern Living any time soon...and Martha Stewart is probably weeping somewhere on her large country estate....but it is our tree and we like it.

Ainsley and I wrapped a TON of gifts on Saturday night so it's looking very festive in there. Can't believe Christmas is less than four weeks away!!!!

Fantasy of Trees: Part 2

Yesterday after church we took the whole family over to Fantasy of Trees. Anastasia and I had already been for her performance but the other girls wanted to go too.

We started out with Santa. Allie was really excited until she saw him, then she was quite unsure. She sat very seriously on his lap and then at some point decided she liked him.

As we left she shouted, "Bye!" and everyone laughed. She later told Jamie and I, "I love Santa!" After Santa we did some of the crafts and had our faces painted.

Then it was time to ice cookies! (After princess manicures of course!)

While her big sisters shopped in the Secret Santa area Allie and I rode the carousel.

We had a great afternoon and it was the perfect way to kick off the Christmas season!

Cades Cove Afternoon

We aren't really Black Friday shopping kind of folks. Not that we have anything against it, it's just we're not up for fighting crowds and driving around town in the madness. Plus, all my shopping is done.

So Friday afternoon we took advantage of the beautiful weather afforded us and set out for Cades Cove.

The cove's wildlife were in fine form and abundant.

The girls had a blast riding around the 11-mile loop road and seeing all the cove had to offer us.

It was a wonderful afternoon as a family.

And Ainsley even spotted a coyote!!!

I hope to take the girls back up there one day this winter when it snows. Hopefully...it won't be too much longer.

Armed (with a Glue Gun) and Dangerous

It's no secret that I'm not really a crafty person. One of my pinboards on Pinterest is called "Things I Would Make If I was Crafty."

With our new kitchen nearing completion I began to brainstorm ways to display my girls' art projects/spelling tests/stuff. I found some ideas on Pinterest but none that really fit my style or my new kitchen. So I set out for Michael's.

I bought a five-pack of white canvases. They were $9.99...for all five. (Yes...I had a coupon...of course I had a coupon!)

Then at Wal-Mart I found these little clips, they're magnetic which didn't really fit my project, but I had an idea.

I borrowed a hot glue gun from my sister and hot-glued the clips to the canvas. I oriented some vertically and some horizontally.

They look SO amazing on the wall and are a much cleaner way to display their art.

And at less than $15...it was a project that fit my budget too!

Thanksgiving...Minus the Turkey

My family has never been big on turkey. At least not as the centerpiece of Thanksgiving meals anyway. What we are big on....is ham!

My favorite way to prepare it at Thanksgiving (or anytime for that matter) is the way my Mother, grandmother, and aunts all prepare it. You start with a ham....I usually do two halves, but since it's just the five of us this year, I went with a smaller one.

Then you cover it in cloves. It's SO good this way, I promise. It may be a pain to poke a billion tiny little sticks into your ham, but the taste far outweighs the process.

The you cover the top in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard (none of that fancy stuff!) and brown sugar. When I first started making cloved hams none of the women in my family seemed to be able to give me exact measurements of the three ingredients, so I just wing it. You really can't screw this part up. You pour the mixture over the top of the ham and let it bake for an hour and a half. Every thirty minutes....pour more of the brown sugar/vinegar/mustard over the top. Then...simply de-clove and enjoy!

And enjoy we shall. We may be small in number at our Thanksgiving table today, but we have much to be grateful for this year. I'm so glad I'm able to be with Jamie and the girls as we celebrate this holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Sounds of the Season

Today was a big day for Anastasia. She had her very first performance with the school choir. They were the first group performing at Fantasy of Trees. They were an amazing little choir!

But of course there was one 2nd grader on the front row that really stood out.

She was SUPER nervous about being on stage in front of all those people but she did GREAT!

Here's a picture of her with her good friend S and S's siblings M and J. They're all in choir together.

Fantasy of Trees is such a cool event...we're taking the rest of the family back Sunday after church!

Wordless Wednesday

Official Renovation Update #8

Because inquiring minds want to know, and because I am sitting here twiddling my thumbs until the crew downstairs finishes I thought I'd update.

With the kitchen out of the way, we turned our sight back downstairs. Jamie and dad worked hard to get the walls of the bathroom back up and painted.

Then yesterday....the magic happened.

Those are our AMAZING new floors. The are literally finishing up the last of the trim as I type so as soon as they vacate the premises I will be hauling all our stuff back to the basement. I have big ideas for the playroom....in fact, I've e-mailed said ideas to my idea guys to see if they will work. I want to create a little "book nook" for my girls and make sure Jamie and I still have room for the treadmill as well. Can't wait to get life back to normal....well...as normal as things can be for us!

She blinded me with science

The Christmas of 1987 Santa brought me a microscope kit. I lOVED that thing. I had no idea, but apparently my dad held onto it all these years and he brought it over for the girls this weekend.

They are loving seeing things under the lens, including some blood that their father happily sacrificed for the sake of science.

I hope it continues to foster their love of science!

Official Renovation Update #7

I have much to be thankful for this year, but right at the top of my list is a fully-functioning kitchen. On Friday, the countertop folks arrived around 11 a.m. They quickly got to work and had the countertops installed in no time. Then, the plumbers came at 3:30 p.m. We were really surprised because we were told they couldn't get to us until next week and possibly not until after the holiday. They were able to get the sink and dishwasher hooked up in less than an hour. It was funny because they hadn't been to the house since jackhammer day so they were quite impressed with the progress.

So here are the drawers pre-countertop.

And then after....

And here is the new set up by the stove and fridge before...

And after.....

I cannot believe it is our kitchen. Last night after dinner we ran the dishwasher. Dad and Jamie were also able to hang the shades I selected for the windows. We still have to paint in there, but that doesn't stop us from using the room. Now if we can just get the flooring laid downstairs, our house will be back to normal!

Old Timey Photo

I love Facebook, seriously...I do. Because when your cousin tags you in a funny photo from like 1994 or something...the whole world can see that awesomeness.

Approved Graffiti

There is a small concrete bridge near our favorite park and the girls' school. It's one of those places where it's okay to spray paint. We always love driving by and seeing what's been done. Recently Anastasia and her classmates had the opportunity to put their own mark on the bridge.

It's kind of hard to see the figure Anastasia painted, but it's there.

She had so much fun and I think the message that "Friendship is a Bridge" is a great one for them to learn!

Thanksgiving Feast..The Early Edition

I love our school. It's such a wonderful place for learning and for being a part of our community. This week they helped all the students celebrate Thanksgiving by serving a free lunch for students and their families. Yes, you read that right...free. And it was a full meal. Turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, green beans, and pumpkin pie for dessert!

Anastasia's feast was on Monday, which was awesome because it was also her birthday.

And today it was Ainsley's turn.

We had great meals both days. I'm so grateful for a school system full of wonderful people who are nurturing the whole of my children. That's what I am thankful for this pre-Thanksgiving week.

Wordless Wednesday

Running with Purpose

As if running a half marathon on Sunday wasn't enough, I capped off last weekend with a 5K on Sunday afternoon. But this wasn't just any run, it was one that works to help cancer patients in my area. Those patients include my dear friend and co-worker who is battling brain cancer. The station had an entire team and even had t-shirts made to show M how much we were behind her. As it turned out...behind her meant both figuratively and literally!

It was my job to record footage of M during the race. You will see us at the starting line below and you will notice a small camera in my right hand.

Running sort of takes all of my faculties, so running and trying to film M proved to be more challenging than I thought. It didn't help that she runs faster than the speed of sound. I tried to hang with her but dang - she was running quickly! Two other hard-core runners were with us at that point and I told them that I had enough footage of M and to go on without me. M and her pals were undeterred and refused to leave me behind. I wanted to say that it was a race course and not a battlefield, but it became obvious these good people were not going to give up on me. One of them took the camera from me to free up my arms so I could pump them up a particularly nasty hill. They were all wearing Garmins and knew that I was close to breaking my 5K PR. I refused to look at my own (non GPS-enabled) watch because I knew we were running much faster than I was used to. Despite my best efforts to lose them and drop behind, M and the others insisted I keep going. The dragged me kicking and screaming across the finish line in 23:44. Just two seconds shy of a PR.

It was thrilling to see see how hard I could push myself and just what I was capable of. But in the end, my near-victory paled in comparison to running with and being pushed by M.

She has taught me so much, about running and about life and I am very thankful we were able to be together on Sunday. And in case you were wondering...she came in first in the Cancer Survivor division. My hero and inspiration as always. You can click here to watch video of Mary at the race on Sunday.

These Shoes Were Made for Running

After my runs lately, I have noticed that I've been sore in places that I should not be sore. Which led me to realize I really needed to replace my shoes. Typically runners should replace their shoes every 400 miles or so. I knew I was well past that but finances were causing me to ignore just how many miles I had put on them. After yesterday's race, I looked at my training log and realized that my current shoes have logged more than 670 miles. Yikes.

So today after work Allie and I headed out to my favorite local running store. You know how I feel about buying from the local guys who know my name as opposed to the big box stores.

I was thrilled because they actually had ONE pair of the exact style shoes I bought last year. Running shoe companies are always "updating" shoes which often just means a slight modification and new colors.

Not only did they have the same style, they had my size! I consulted with the experts there and they agreed I should stick with the tried and true shoe that really seems to work for me. Can't wait to start breaking them in...but not just yet. It's supposed to be wet and icky tomorrow so I don't want to get them muddy on their first go around.

Happy Birthday Anastasia!

Anastasia is eight years old today. It actually doesn't seem possible because it was only yesterday that we welcomed her into our family.

She is an amazing kid and one I am so proud to call my own...even when she's a picky eater...

She makes me laugh......

She makes every day an adventure.....

And I love seeing the girl she is growing into.

Happy Birthday Anastasia! We love you!

Eight Years and Pierced Ears

My darling oldest child will be turning eight tomorrow. Her big gift this year was to have her ears pierced. Yesterday when dad and I got back from the race, I took her to the mall to have it done.

She had been really nervous and I was worried she was going to chicken out. She's JUST like me in that worrying about it is way worse than actually doing it. But she was all smiles as she sat down.

She (of course) picked the most expensive starter studs. But that's okay, it's her birthday gift after all. She freaked out on me a little but I told her to grab my hands and shut her eyes. Then it was over!

She says they don't hurt at all and she is counting down the six weeks until she can change the studs and wear other earrings.

For now though, she'll wear the pink peace signs she picked out.

I should have known my hippie child would choose the peace sign ones. And as my sister pointed out, "Who's going to tell her no when what she wants is peace?" We're doing cake and presents tonight since tomorrow is a school day. Still cannot believe she is 8!

Battlefield Half-Marathon

On Friday afternoon Dad and I drove down to Chattanooga. We met my grandparents, two of my aunts and one of my uncles for dinner. It was such a nice evening! We crashed pretty early since we had to get up around 5:30 on Saturday for the race.

We were hitting the road for the battlefield when all of a sudden a rather large buck jumped out in front of the car. Fortunately dad had enough time to react and stop before we slammed into it. I'm thinking that when it comes to deer vs. compact car, I know who's going to win.

It was MUCH colder down in Ft. Oglethorpe than it had been back in Chattanooga. Fortunately dad had a large mylar emergency blanket in his hiking pack so I wrapped it around my waist to stay warm until the race started.

The race started late, which really peeves me, but it was out of my hands so I just hopped up and down for 20 minutes trying to stay warm. The race started with a bang...literally! Most races begin with the firing of a starter's pistol, but being on a battlefield sort of ups the pre-race ante and a canon was fired to send the runners off.

It was incredibly loud. It made you realize how terrifying those fields would have been with dozens of them firing at once. So with the canon fired, it was time to run. My feet felt like solid blocks of ice so the first mile or so was pretty painful.

Once I got moving though, my feet thawed out and I settled into a pretty good pace. I had to escape some annoying runners in the beginning....you know, the ones who talk SO loud that the entire course can hear their conversation (which included how many times they had run Boston....). Once we got out into the park, the scenery was breathtaking.

I've run this race before but the fall leaves and early morning light bathing the battlefield was stil a beautiful sight. It's interesting to run past all the historical sights along the way. We also ran past a cardboard cutout of Justin Bieber and some great marathon signs like, "Pain is temporary, Internet results are forever!"

To be perfectly honest, I had a great race. I rreally pushed myself, especially on the back half of the course. I ended up running the last 6 miles much faster than the first.

It was good enough for a new PR. The chip times aren't posted yet, but the gun (er...canon) time was 1:54:04. It was a wonderful race and I'm thankful dad was able to share it with me. It was really nice to enjoy time together. I am also thankful for a husband who supports me as I leave him home with all three kids and go run for hours on end. It means everything to me!