all she wants for christmas...

...is to lose her first tooth!


ohhhh my! have we been waiting for caroline's first tooth to fall out!!!

caroline has been anxiously awaiting her first loose tooth. ethan has lost several, and her cousin karina lost her first tooth this summer. when caroline's tooth finally became loose, it was such a big deal. i received hourly updates on the looseness of the tooth, including her running ecstatic into the living room one day. i thought her tooth had fallen out, but no... "it's LOOSER!" she exclaimed. yeah, this was gonna be a long few weeks.

it has been hanging by a couple of threads for a while now, but she was very insistent that i not pull it out. "i want God to pull it out," she would say every time i suggested that i yank it. she was going to the dentist on wednesday for a filling, and i told her that he could just pull it while she was numb and it'd be over. that really didn't fly with her Holy Spirit Extraction Plan... so we have just kept wiggling it and wiggling it.

on thursday night, after brushing her teeth, caroline had the idea to pop her tooth out with her flosser (SEE, DR. DENTIST!??! WE ARE FLOSSING!). not sure how her idea falls in line with God pulling out her tooth, but i just went with it. one little pop, and out it came!

and then she lost it. uncontrollable crying... with a big smile on her face.


by the time i grabbed my video camera, caroline had calmed down a little, but she was still pretty happy/upset. (warning: there is blood in the video!)


i am so thrilled for this big "first" for my first little girl.

blessed

we were blessed to have brian's family, my mom, and some dear family friends over to our house for thanksgiving lunch. it was kind of a last minute decision to host thanksgiving when brian's mom became sick over the weekend, but i enjoyed preparing for company and getting my house all "fall"ed up. (yes, it had been fall for a good two months already, but it just didn't look like it inside my house!)

plus, i had been saving this bib for hallie to wear since last year!


my adorable scentsy pumpkin warmer made the house smell like fall...


and everyone needs at least a dozen children's books about the pilgrims!


i went simple with the table decor. i love the fall colors with my new blue walls in the dining room!



i am thankful that brian's mom felt good enough to come over on thursday!


my mom made a delicious cinnamon cream cheese fruit dip and this cute turkey fruit tray. i also made my husband's favorite rotel cheese dip, but it was devoured before i could snap a picture.


a big thank-you to my brother-in-law, who was up bright and early that morning to smoke some turkeys... doesn't my grandmother's apron just fit him perfectly?


neil and jeff did the honors of carving the turkey...


and yes, it tasted as amazing as it looks!


speaking of turkeys...


we got all the food ready, and kristie and i were doing our usual thing... taking pictures of all the food! here is brian's mom's corn pudding with her grandmother's hand-written recipe. (this is my favorite part of thanksgiving!)


then glenda and martha asked if we could stop taking pictures of the food and eat it! ha! so we loaded up our plates and headed to the tables.

the men had their own table for politics and gun talk.


and we ladies had our own table to talk about anything BUT guns. :)


yum. double yum.


the funny thing is that martha and i came to the table first... i sat down and then got back up to get my camera to take a picture of my plate. martha didn't hide her chuckle as i snapped away at my mound of casseroles and meat. :) a few minutes later, kristie sat down with her plate... she picked up her fork and then paused, looked at me, and said, "did you get a picture?" i LOVE my sister-in-law. :) (and then martha laughed at both of us!)

hallie is thinking, "i have a feeling y'all are chewing on something with a little more flavor than this thing!"


the big kids ate their lunch earlier, which made for a nice quiet dinner for all of us. :) it wasn't long after we finished that they started asking for these cute little acorns that martha had made. (my little squirrel had her cheeks full!)


after dinner, everybody went outside for a little shooting and swinging.



brian's grandmother had some hallie time.


and then the turkey enzymes hit. (or EMzymes, as brian's dad says...)


my favorite memory from this thanksgiving is this sweet lady playing our piano.


our piano used to be her piano. then brian's parents' house burned to the ground. most things were lost. most things that weren't lost were incredibly damaged. Through this loss, God reminded us over and over of His protection and His provision. there was little hope that nana's piano could be restored, but they put it in storage anyway. fast-forward a couple of years later, and that piano has been restored! oh what a priceless gift this is for our family! the gift of music is a beautiful one within itself... the gift of a piano is a huge blessing... but to have this piano, this physical reminder of God's provision for our family? that is truly a reason to be thankful.

and i forgot to add that the piano sounds amazing!

brian's mom has had a busy and stressful few months, and it did my heart good to see her go over and just start playing. my mom, kristie, and i came over and sang as she played hymn after hymn. i hope this night was the beginning of many, many more nights of music in our home.

so this thanksgiving included old recipes, a new baby, a restored piano, precious friends, and sweet, sweet family. the top of the piano says it all.


praise God, from Whom all blessings flow
praise Him, all creatures here below.
praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

amen!

thankful

what shall i render to the Lord for all His benefits to me?
psalm 116:12

almost 6

i walked in the school room today and found this message on the chalkboard...



how has it already been a year since this?



and three years since this?



and six years since this?



we will be celebrating our sweet caroline tomorrow!

my backup

we went to another wedding today, and i decided to leave my camera at home and just relax and enjoy myself. it was a special treat for ethan and caroline to join us, and we loved celebrating with friends and family (and a candy bar). by the end of the night, i was wishing that i'd brought along our camera. my phone camera just didn't cut it, but i tried.

i tried to capture caroline chugging her 167th cup of punch.


and i really really tried to capture this sweet moment of my girl dancing with her daddy.


the photographer was also snapping away, so there's a (really) good possibility that i'll end up with a clearer picture of this... and if not, i surely have it imprinted on my heart...