Thanksgiving recap.......

 

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We sure did. Boy, I can't tell you the last time I have felt so completely full. Full of blessings that is. We are incredibly blessed to have such an amazing family around us.  I hope you all spent the day enjoying the ones you love!! Here are a few of my pictures.  We celebrated with both sides of our family, but for now I just have ones mainly from our dinner at home. I will post more when I get them!

This is after Thanksgiving dinner at our house.  This is my dad and my grandpa, Wren's great grandpa.  Both of them are literally the perfect examples of what a grandfather should be.  I have amazing memories with both of them and Wren is already working on hers.  

 We found out that Wren LOVES pumpkin pie. She was tricking my grandpa into giving her her second piece. It of course worked.....

 Happy she could be outside for a few minutes during our annual photo shoot.

 Go-cart rides with her bubby. 

 This is her second time out of her life. Hitting has entered her repertoire.  There will be thousands more but we had to capture it.  She sits there completely still and just looks at everyone.  We all say, "Don't look at her!" but we are all looking while we say it!  : )

 Me and my tiniest blessing! And her with her tiny pony tail!

  Look at those little turkeys!! I loved these!!!

 All the pies from our dinner at home. First time making a pecan pie.  It was a success!

I finally hired a housekeeper............

I have been wanting one for awhile. I found one that prefers to get paid with oranges and toothbrushes, which is great because that's all we can afford.  I can't say that she is entirely efficient, but she works cheap.  Plus, she is so darn cute!

 

She loves to wear my aprons.  This is after she made all the pies for Thanksgiving. I let her take a 5 minute break.

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween to all of you!! I hope you all have a wonderful
night with your families and friends. I on the other hand will be in class! What a Trick!!

Little Red at the door of her Grandma's house.

 Thank goodness it wasn't a wolf who answered!!

Lauren's favorite treat, baby Goldfish!

Burlap and Kale (Hmmm....they probably taste about the same.)

 Whew...what a jam packed weekend we had! It was a wonderful weekend full of Trick or Treating, spending time with friends and family, crafting and cooking!  Real quick I wanted to share the last two with you guys. Have you ever made Kale chips? I had heard of them but never had the chance to try them.  I had a beautiful bunch of Kale from the farmer's market and decided to give it a shot.  I LOVED them.

Here is the super easy recipe I followed. Kale, Kosher salt, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Use a Misto is you have it to spray it on the leaves I love mine!!!). Thats it! Wash and spin your Kale and separate it from the large stem, lay it on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes. No longer than that! I tried a few variations of seasoning salt, Ranch powder, and BBQ seasoning.  Kosher was my favorite flavor.

Here they are out of the oven. They shrink considerably.  
They are so light and have a great consistency!

 Here is the burlap fall banner I made for my sun room. I love how rustic it turned out.

 I made a couple of pillows too. This one is my favorite. A fall tree

made from felt and scrap fabric from my scrap box.

What we've been up to......

Jeez....blogging once again has been put on the back burner.  Sorry to the family members that had to stare at our 5 year anniversary post for 3 months due to no updates.  On a personal note, I am officially half way through grad school! Happy and scary all at the same time. Happy that I will be able to reconnect with the world and scary that I will have to get a JOB!! I can't say it enough, I am so THANKFUL that God has given me this opportunity.  Never a day goes by that I don't practically yell it in my prayers how grateful I am.  Any whooooo....on with some pictures from the past weeks! 

This picture is purely PITIFUL!! This is Lauren's first boo boo.  

She fell at my grandparents house and caught herself with her nose and 

forehead. She cried for a minute and then went back to playing. The no

shirt look really adds to the pitiful shot.  

 Lauren has been giving us little "lovies" here and there. 

This is unheard of for her, so we are really taking full advantage of it!!

 Paci Bunny and Blankie have become more of a permanent fixture during the day.

They are always present during naps and bedtime but lately she has been 

pulling them through the slots of her crib and toting them around the house (or at a wedding seen here : )).

 

I despise these little car naps. If she falls asleep in the car for a 

20 minute car ride, she wakes right up as soon as the car turns off and is 

refueled and won't take her real 1 hour and 45 minute nap that she desperately needs twice a day!

 

 Skinny jeans...I love them on her. Since she is the only one 

that can get away with them in the house, I make sure to put 

them on her as often as possible.

 The 87th trip to a pumpkin patch this month. We went with the Settles last week. Lauren had a blast watching the tractor and corn husk launcher.  She loves any type of heavy equipment. Maybe she will drive a backhoe one day.

 The girls taking a break in the silo of corn. I can't say I'm a fan of this. 

I'm not a germ freak but I can't see how rolling in corn that 475 other kids

did that day can't get you a whole mess of germs.  I let her stick her 

feet in, she of course wanted to put a fistful of corn in her mouth.

I love this picture. It's Wren and her Great Grandma Phyllis during one of our visits. I can't remember what she was doing in this shot, but I think it is a dear moment.

 Celebrating with our friends our 5th Anniversary and a baby on the way (for another couple!!).

One of my only Fall projects.....super pitiful!! Burlap pillows. I loved these but gave them a good home elsewhere. If you look closely the O and the R on each pillow line up. Next time I will chose another font that shows up better.

Neighborhood pets, bubbles, and baths

 

 Lauren loves to tour the neighborhood.  We usually go to Great Grandma and Grandpa's across the street first.  Next we hunt for her neighborhood pets.  Lulu a HUGE "puppy" at the end of our street and Buddy a black cat who lives next door (which she tried feeding a graham cracker to).  Amazingly, these "pets" tolerate her and will allow her to scream in their face and pet them way too hard.  

 These next ones were taken at my parents house.  My dad and Wren were playing with bubbles.  It was hilarious to see her trying to pop them.

Bath time at Nanny and Grandpa's.  Their sink is the perfect size.

Watching the police cars and firetrucks go by during the homecoming parade.

5 Years Ago.....

 Today we celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. I can't believe how young we look here in this photo from our honeymoon!! Happy Anniversary Ry I love you!!!!

More Pumpkins

 We stopped at Grants Pumpkin Farm in Herrin to pick up some pumpkins.  They were so nice and gave her two little ones while we shopped.  She carried them around with her all day.

She was choosing the perfect ones.  Some she had to taste before she was really sure....

Pumpkins and more pumpkins

 

 We and our parents took Wren to a pumpkin patch this weekend.  I can't say that she was in awe about it but I think she enjoyed it.  The baby animals were the highlight for her.

 

 She didn't know what to think of him!

 

She thought this pony needed her bow more than she did.  He did have pretty great hair, natural blonde too.

 

She loved these baby goats

 

Come back!

 How was I the only one looking into the camera!

 Smiley happy...

 Going "shopping" in the cornfield with her favorite purse.

Lately.....

She has been doing "touch down"!! 

 She loves riding the bike with her Nanny

 We have been doing a lot of picnicking in the sun room.  She likes to 

carry around her basket and other bags in the crook of her arm. She looks so 

grown up toddling around "shopping" throughout our house.  

 These are from her 1 year appointment.  She is still in the 90's for her height and weight.  She is as healthy as a horse...or a miniature pony I guess. 

 Right before the 4 shots! Cool and calm but not for long!

Herrin Tiger Football!!

 

Last weekend we went to Lauren's first football game.  It started to rain so we lasted all of 30 minutes.  She loved the band and kept dancing throughout the night.  I whipped up a little Herrin Tiger pillowcase dress for her which I need to get monogrammed.  She loved the game and I think her daddy was proud  that he might have a football fan on his hands.