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I cannot believe that Christmas is two weeks away. 14 days. Well, less now considering that today is almost done. Wow. This year has positively flown by, hasn’t it? Doesn’t seem like last Christmas was that long ago and another one is almost here.

I do love this time of year though. I love decorating our house and yard for Christmas. I love receiving cards and letters in the mail. I also must confess I love receiving packages in the mail because I do so much of my shopping online. I love baking Christmas goodies and sharing with family and friends. I really love the spirit of giving and helping others. And, of course, I truly love sharing the joy of the season which is the celebration of the birth of our savior, Jesus. Our preschool hosts an annual “Happy Birthday, Jesus” party and that was held this week. We went as a family and had a ball. Mariana was excited that they even had cake for Jesus. I love it!! It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the busyness of this time of year. There is always something to do, something to buy, something to ship, etc. But, I encourage each of us (myself included) to make a special effort to remember each day what this Advent season is really all about. We celebrate the birth of the One that came to save the world from our sins. It’s not always easy to remember the greatness of this Gift, but I am reminding myself to do just this.

Hope you all have a blessed Advent!

Allison over at Petit Elefant is having a giveaway for an entire Shade outfit. And, it’s SO cute! I have put my name in the running to win, but I couldn’t keep this great giveaway opportunity all to myself, so I’m sharing the love over here on my little blog. Click here to see the gorgeous outfit and you can also get the details on how to enter the giveaway contest. If I win, you’ll practically hear me shouting from the rooftops. If one of you win, I hope you’ll post here and let me know so I can celebrate with you.

I owe a proper update. I realize I fell off the blogging band wagon. Gracious, things have been SO busy. I hope to get to catch up properly tomorrow.

I am so thankful to be on a wonderful Disney vacation with my family. We are having such a blast! The girls are loving it! They have met so many characters and just think that is too cool for words! We have ridden fun rides, seen great shows, had the best possible seats for the electric light parade, eaten delicious food and much more. This trip has been a dream come true for us as a family and we feel so blesssed to be here! I’m taking tons of pics and will share some next week.
Happy Thanksgiving week!!

Today I am thankful for being on the road. We got up bright and early this morning to finish our travel prep and now we are heading South. We have had breakfast from Chick-Fil-A (yum!) and we are rolling on down the interstate. Our travel time should be about seven hours plus whatever stops we need. We are soooo excited!!

I am also thankful for our new truck (Ford Escape), Sirius Satellite Radio, portable dvd players, Color Wonder marker coloring sets, books, iPhones (posting from mine now) and portable refreshments.

Disney or bust!!

As I sit here today, I am faced with a “to do” list (which is mostly mental, not at all written down) that is about a mile long. This is because we are preparing for a family vacation. Tomorrow we leave for our first Disney experience as a family. How cool is that?! We are so stinkin’ excited!! So, that brings me to today’s thankful post…

Today, I am thankful for the opportunity to travel. I am grateful that we have had the opportunity to go on some trips as a family this year. Over the summer we went to Tennessee and had a wonderful time. We visited Nashville and Chattanooga and had a blast. In fact, the girls keep asking to go back to Chattanooga, so we need to figure out when we can go again. It was truly the best “mini vacation” we could have asked for this past summer.

Ever since I can remember, Mickey and I have wanted to take our family to Disney World. Well, that time is coming SOON! Tomorrow morning we’ll get on the road bright and early to head down to Orlando, FL. On Sunday, we will visit the Magic Kingdom for the first time. I can’t wait to see how the girls take to Disney World. I hope and believe that they are going to flip for it!! On Monday we are having a character breakfast and then we’ll spend the day at Hollywood Studios. On Tuesday we’re going back to the Magic Kingdom and that day we’re having a fairy tale lunch at Cinderella’s Castle with all the Princesses.  Seriously…cannot wait!! On Wednesday we have one last character breakfast and then we’ll get on the road and head to my mom’s house for the rest of Thanksgiving weekend. Oh, words just cannot describe how thrilled we are that this trip is finally (almost) here. We plan to just take our time at the parks and enough as much as we possibly can. We are staying on property, so we plan to take midday breaks for naps and such and then return to the parks for parade and fireworks, etc. I just know the girls are going to absolutely love it all. Can’t wait to capture those moments on camera and, yes, we’ll share some here too!

Please pray for our health as we get ready to travel. We’ve all been battling seasonal “crud” the last few days, the girls and I in particular. We really need to stay healthy for this big trip. One more sleep and we’re set to leave. WOO HOO!!

Happy Friday and please wish me luck on my to-do list!

UGA VII, the much adored mascot of the University of Georgia Bulldogs, passed away unexpectedly today. He was only four years old and in his second term as official UGA for the team. There won’t be a live mascot at this weekend’s game against Kentucky, but a wreath will be posted on UGA’s sideline doghouse. RIP, UGA. You were a fine dawg!!

More information can be found on Georgia Dogs.com

Today I am thankful for daddies.

• I am thankful for a Heavenly Father that loved me enough to rescue me from myself. I am thankful for His grace, mercy, redemption and love. Without Him, there is nothing.
• I am thankful for Mickey being the best husband and daddy the girls and I could ever pray for. When I see Mickey and the girls have their special moments, it melts my heart with happiness. He takes them on “dates”, he loves to cuddle with them, he plays with them, they make up fun games together and so much more. These girls adore their Daddy and he gives that right back to them tenfold. We are some blessed ladies!
• I am thankful for my dad, Jimmy. He calls me “Sis” and always has. It’s been his name for me for as long as I can remember. He was there for the birth of both of our girls even if he did have to stand behind a blue curtain. (During Macey’s birth, he sat on a big “birthing” ball.) He has taken to “Papahood” beautifully. He calls to check on us and see how we’re doing. We are definitely blessed to have Papa in our lives.
• I am thankful for “Mr.” John. He’s been in our lives since I was in 5th grade although I won’t come right out and say exactly how long ago that way, let’s just say it’s been a VERY long time. We haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but we’ve always had an open communication. And, we definitely agree on a lot more than we used to. We share a fondness for good coffee and banana nut bread. We don’t agree on the consistency of good biscuits, but we can both appreciate them in our own way. We also have a fun little rivalry going between us for the University of Georgia (GO DAWGS) and Georgia Tech. The girls also adore their Poppie and it’s reciprocal.
• I am thankful to have a great father-in-law, Scott – aka PePaw. He’s the kind of dad that takes time out of his life and schedule to come down and work on our house for a week at a time. He did this when we first moved in – he painted, re-wired, moved furniture, etc. His help was immeasurably helpful to us!! And, then this past summer he came down again and built an amazing bed for Macey. It’s a play house bed that he built from scratch! (I’ll have to share pictures one day, it’s amazing) He does this out of love and it’s just obvious how much he cares about his family. He’s quite a skilled cook, I might add. And, he’s the kind of PePaw that will always have time to play.
• I am thankful that my brother is a daddy now. Charlie and Liz have a son Jackson who will turn two in just a few weeks. It’s been just incredible to see my brother come into his own with fatherhood. He absolutely adores Jackson and Jackson is pretty sure that his DaDa hung the moon as well.

A good daddy is a blessing and I am thankful to know so many wonderful men who are not just fathers, but are amazing daddies!!

As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him…
Psalm 103:13 (NIV)

I am really enjoying making this thankful list. It hasn’t been at all hard to come up with items that I am thankful for at all. I know that I am blessed and I have way more blessings than I could list anyway.

Today is my grandparents’ 59th anniversary and I am taking today to be thankful for Pop and Gran-Gran. My grandparents have always had a very special place in my heart and always will. Growing up, we spent a lot of time with them which built so many wonderful memories. They live out in the country, so we always had plenty of room to run and play. When we got older, we rode go-carts, a mini-motorbike and 3-wheelers all over their place. They have a pond where we used to fish and even swim.  Their house was like home to my brother Charlie and me.  I absolutely treasure the many memories we have with Gran-Gran and Pop.

When Charlie and I were growing up, we called them Jack and Gran. Yes, Jack is Pop’s “real” name and we always called him that. When I was little, I called him Granddaddy, but Charlie changed all that when he started talking and we called him “Jack” from that point. He loved it! He never had a problem when we called him that even though some people did. Not Jack, he let it be special between us. I called Gran “Granny” when I was little, but Charlie changed that too and “Gran” stuck with her. Macey is the one that renamed them “Pop” and “Gran-Gran” which is really sweet too. No matter what name we call them, it’s always done in love and admiration.

I could tell many a story about our time with Gran-Gran and Pop. There were the times when we’d go swimming after school in the pond and Jack would bring out a john boat for us to try to sink it in the pond. We could never sink that thing!!  Jack would often take me hunting with him even though he knew that with me in a tree stand, he’d never really get a shot at a deer. (What, with me eating crackers and whispering, etc.) We used to go camping in the summers and always loved going out on the boat when Pop drive us around the lake. Gran taught me a lot , especially in the kitchen. She showed me how to make yummy “cat head” (aka – BIG) biscuits from scratch. She took us with her when she would go to visit the shut-ins of her church and we got to see a beautiful ministry in action in addition to meeting some wonderful people. When we got sick, Gran-Gran would baby us just a little bit longer than necessary sometimes. And, she always let us have coffee milk which we thought was out of this world. Those are only a few of the many great memories I have been blessed to form with my grandparents.

Pop and Gran-Gran have been married 59 years today. That’s so amazing. And, what is awesome to me is that you can still tell just how much they love each other today. It’s beautiful and I thank God that their love created our family. We are so blessed!

Happy Tuesday, y’all! Hope all is well all around today. It’s shaping up to be a busy day for me today, so here’s to hoping I get it all done.

Today, I am thankful for the moms in my life. That’s right, plural momS.

I have an amazing mom (Pattie) who is one of my dearest friends. I talk to her every day and we have a very strong and close relationship. We are so much alike that we agree strongly and on rare occasion clash mightily. Fortunately, the clashes are very few and far between these days. (Let’s not talk about my stubborn/know-it-all teen years, okay?) We are able to lend a listening ear when needed and to “tell it like it is” when that is needed too. We have so much fun hanging out together too. We like to shop (mostly for antiques or “junk”), we like coming up with new kitchen ideas and neither one of us would mind being at the beach for any given length of time.  I am blessed to have this strong bond with my mom and I’m very thankful for it. I love watching her bond with my girls grow too. Motherly love never divides – it always multiplies and my mom is a wonderful example of that through all three of her precious grandchildren.

My step-mom Dorothy is another blessing in my life. She has been married to my daddy for over 20 years now and has really been a special person in my life for all this time. We have a wonderful relationship. We can laugh at the absolute silliest of things, but to us it’s the funniest stuff we’ve ever heard.  We share a love of music and appreciate much of the same works.  She brings a lot of joy to my life. And, I love the way she loves my girls and they love her too. The old stepmother myth from fairytales simply isn’t true here.  Far from it. I couldn’t have prayed for a better step-mom than Dorothy.

My mother-in-law Linda is the kind of mother-in-law every woman should be blessed to have. She  is thoughtful, generous and loving. She accepted me pretty much immediately. She offered to buy me a wedding planner book before Mickey and I were even engaged.    She has been incredibly supportive of me and of us as a family.  It’s so obvious how much she loves the girls (and all four of her grands!) and they love her too. We don’t get to see Mickey’s parents all that often because we live 800 miles apart, but our time with them is always very special. And, I know that I am blessed to have a genuinely precious mother-in-law.

I have also had some amazing “other mothers” in my lifetime. I moved to this area by myself in 1998. I didn’t have much money to my name, didn’t know anyone and basically starting a new phase of life on my own. I started working a hospital in Atlanta when I moved here.  There were some ladies there that really took me under their wings and helped me to not only adjust to being here, but to grow into my own. Those ladies were Joan, Janice, Mildred, Peggy-Ann, Paula and Debbie.  Almost immediately, they surrounded me with love, friendship and guidance. Sweet Mildred has gone on to Glory now and I think about her often. The other ladies and I keep in touch, mostly via the internet through email and/or Facebook. I hope they know how much they mean to me because they stepped up for me at a time when I needed it the most.

Last, but certainly not least, I am blessed to have other family members and friends who are moms. Becoming a mom has such an awesome blessing for me. Being a stay at home mom is an absolute dream come true. Still, it’s not always easy. Having other moms around for advice, support, guidance, help and friendship is so important. Other moms have offered me more than I could ever put into words. It’s a beautiful network and I know that I couldn’t make it without other moms.

Thank you to all the moms in my life. You are all amazing!!