Giving Thanks

Each year during this season, we are reminded of how thankful we are to the Lord who provides every good thing for us. He is faithful even when we are not, He causes us to persevere through trials, He guides us down a path where He is glorified most in every detail & we are refined to be more like Him.

This year we are thankful for more than could ever be listed in a blog post.......but, just to name a few things:

• our growing family
• the Lord's provision in our jobs that we both enjoy greatly
• seeing the beginnings of Charlotte's sweet personality, and her teeth!
• our friends in Orlando that seem more like family when we are all far away from home
• God's goodness in our marriage in keeping us faithful to one another & helping us deeply love & cherish one another
• the joy we are experiencing in serving at Celebration Community Church

This was our third year to host a Thanksgiving Dinner in our home & one thing we love is how the guests vary every year. This year we enjoyed time with Steve, Jenny & Karis, Eric & Jennifer, a couple from our small group & Diah, a neighbor.

Robby has become the best chef around especially when it comes to Turkey. The process begins at least 48 hours prior to Thanksgiving Day with making a homemade brine for the Turkey to soak in for 24 hours before going in the oven. After soaking, the Turkey is stuffed with an array of spices, apples & cinnamon sticks. As many of you have experienced, the smell of a turkey cooking is amazing.....and it was! We had homemade rolls that are Jenny's dad's recipe, Kickin' Potatoes (one of my favs), green bean casserole & stuffing topped off by some fabulous desserts.

Here we are with the Turkey......notice the growing baby bump.

It looked much larger after the meal if you know what I mean ; )

the fam, Karis is now 3 months old & Charlotte is 16 months

These two are so cute together : )

Karis gets LOTS of kisses every time she comes over!

Jenny, Steve & Karis eating dinner

I think the photo below belongs in a magazine! Seriously, this Turkey is to die for!

Jenny made our pumpkin & pecan pies & I made the mini chocolate pies. The chocolate pie is a recipe that my Grandmother Alene made for holidays for as long as I can remember. I will say it has never been replicated as delicious as she made it but I hope to get closer with each attempt : )


Black Friday for us involves NO shopping unless we are picking up a few last minute ingredients for our yearly supply of Turkey Soup. We have given the day a new name...."Dia de Zuppa." It involves pretty much an entire day of work returning nearly 7 gallons of soup. We did two types this year, one basic Turkey Soup with celery, onion, carrots & tomato base. The other, my favorite, Southwest Turkey Soup. This one has rice, corn, black beans, caramelized onion, jalapenos, rotel, green onions & LOTS of spice. I am basically assistant to the chef doing lots of cleaning and moving things around to make room for whatever he needs. I personally am thankful for the husband I have today & everyday, my personal chef, Charlotte entertainer, dog caretaker.....you get the idea. I spent a good part of the day on the couch fighting off pregnancy induced nausea & vomiting accompanied with major sleepiness : ) He was a wonderful husband today!

Here is the finished product & oh how I wish could capture the smell for you!

We pray your Thanksgiving was filled with thankfulness to the Lord for what He has done in your life & those around you. Crazy enough, can't believe Christmas is just around the corner! Bring on the decorations!

Virginia

Charlotte and I returned home earlier this week from a fun filled trip to Virginia. One thing that made it so fun is that my mom came with us! She flew in a few days before & watched Charlotte while I worked then we flew together on Wednesday. I am ALWAYS thankful for an extra pair of hands on the airplane, especially if they belong to someone who loves Charlotte as much as I do : ) She was a HUGE help the whole time we were there and took excellent care of Charlotte while I was busy with all the wedding activities.

The wonderful reason we got to go to Virginia in the first place is that my good friend Amanda got married! Amanda and I met on our very first day of work in Labor & Delivery at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. We became good friends very quickly & had a blast learning & working side by side. She left to do travel nursing in the Fall of 2007 & ended up in Orlando a few months before I moved there. So, we got to work together again! So fun! After her time there, she joined the US Navy as an RN & moved to work in Maryland. I have missed her so much since she left!

I have always admired Amanda for her trust in the Lord & her contentment in waiting for God to bring a man into her life worth spending time with. God brought Pat into her life during summertime in 2009 & they immediately hit it off. After a year of dating, he proposed after a hot air balloon ride & the rest is history! They got married in a teeny little church in the country north of Ashburn, Virginia & celebrated with a reception at a vineyard. It was all absolutely gorgeous....especially the bride herself : )

Growing up with brothers, I never expected to get to serve anyone as their Maid or Matron of Honor. Jenny, my sister in law was the first to surprise with with that special opportunity & then Amanda was the second. It is funny because both Jenny & Amanda have two brothers also : ) So, I have twice loved getting to enjoy that role, standing beside a precious friend as they become a wife & being a person to encourage & challenge them throughout their marriage.

Another special part of our trip is that we got to stay with my parents good friends, the Machesney family. They lived next door to my parents when they were all newlyweds through when I was maybe 3. They have carried on a close friendship through all of these years & we had such a good time catching up! They were wonderful hosts providing some delicious home cooked meals, an evening out to dinner across the Potomac River with the Washington Monument & Capitol in view, pets for Charlotte to love on, good company & lots of hot tea. It was my first time ever to see leaves changing in the fall & I was blown away with how gorgeous it was. We took some walks & Charlotte picked up countless leaves.

Onto some pictures of our trip....

Charlotte & Grandma riding on the bus to get our rental car

the beautiful trees on one of our many walks

Charlotte, me & Marybeth

Char & her pal Sandy. I think sometimes that Charlotte liked Sandy more than Sandy liked her ; ) Unfortunately Sandy is getting old and couldn't get away from Charlotte as quickly as she may have liked.

Me & the bride to be at the rehearsal dinner

Us two girls at the church. My mom made Charlotte the adorable jacket to go with her dress.

Here we are at the reception

I am so sad that this is the only picture I have of the bride and groom but they do look great : ) Amanda looks like Cinderella to me leaned over talking to a little girl who thought she was very pretty!

What a fun trip we had! Lots of relaxing amidst the busy wedding activities! Thank you to the Machesney family, you were such gracious hosts. We hope we can have you visit us sometime!

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Pat Nicklas! It was such a joy to be a part of your special day!

Kayaking

We have spent the past 2 Sunday afternoons at Blue Spring State Park doing a little kayaking & just plain enjoying the great outdoors. The weather has been gorgeous & we couldn't deny ourselves a couple relaxing afternoons : ) Charlotte had never been in a kayak before & I have actually not kayaked since we moved to Florida. My idea of kayaking is different than my hubby. I prefer to float along the water with as little paddling as possible searching for the perfect moment to pull my legs out and get a tan. Robby likes to go go go : ) Although, I did start paddling like a professional white water rapid kayaker when we saw a 10 foot gator along the side of the water : )

Charlotte did great! The first Sunday, just the three of us went. She was in my kayak for about an hour and was super relaxed. She got lots of compliments on her hat & her courage. This past Sunday we took Steve, Jenny, Karis & Jenny's friend Brooke along. The boys + little miss Charlotte were the only ones who kayaked this time. Us girlies relaxed by the playground. It was wonderful.

I love her little grin in this one : )

Char & her Daddy

this was so beautful!

the boys

Char & her Uncle Steve

There is water everywhere you look here in Florida & much exploring to be done! We need to get some more trips in before my belly gets too big!