Thanksgiving

I will praise the name of God with song, And shall magnify Him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

I have so much to be thankful for.  So much that is obvious and abundant, and so much that I often take for granted.  As I stated on Facebook - "Blessed and thankful doesn't begin to describe it."

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister's house.  They just moved in a few months back and this was their first time hosting a holiday.  She did a remarkable job!  We celebrated this joyous day with my sister's family, our parents, my husband, and my sister's husband's family.  Full house, full hearts and full tummies were abundant!

 Two of my favorite people... my sister and my husband.

Like Mother, Like Daughter.  I love these beautiful girls!

This is how we do.  Dancin' fools! 

Who needs a potato masher or a mixer when you have a PASTRY CUTTER! 
"My turkey didn't come with giblets!"
One hungry dog who was happy to see his momma and daddy.  Gimme the turkey!!!

 

They have my heart!

For the past 12 years I have had the honor of being an auntie.   It has been one of the best things in my entire life.  The love I feel for these two precious kids is incomprehensible.  It is huge.  They have my heart and they always will.

They spent the night with Jer and I this weekend.  When I went to pick them up, I was greeted before I even made it all the way out of the car.  They both had handmade birthday cards for me.  I am loved and it is wonderful.

I have been so quick to fast forward through the Fall this year.  I have something big taking place this winter and I guess I'm anxious to get there.  Having Livi and Grant over this weekend gave me the chance to slow down and enjoy the Fall, which is my favorite season, and have a little Halloween fun. 

We made mummy dogs for supper and sipped apple cider.  We got in our jammies, stopped at the corner store (Corner House Store, as Grant calls it) to grab some snacks, and the four of us set out to Romeo to see all the cool Halloween houses on Tillson Street. 

After a fun night, we settled in at home.  I woke up early the next day to make everyone breakfast.  I love these two kiddos so much.

Our Baby Shower

It was a lovely day.  We were surrounded by friends and family.  Friends and family that love us and will love our precious Nella just the same.  Jer and I are blessed to have each other and blessed to have a collection of amazing people who fill our lives and hearts with goodness.

My mom and my sister, again, put together a beautiful shower to celebrate another milestone in our life.  Last year it was our wedding... this year, our sweet baby Nella.  We are so grateful!  I love you, Momma! I love you, Beck!  Thank you for an amazing day.

A week and a day away

Can I be so cliche' and say that "the time has flown by"?  Well, my friends, it has.  Here I sit, one week and one day (plus 1 hour and 39 minutes) away from marrying my love.  My sweet, special, stubborn workhorse of a man that I love so freaking much!  I awoke this morning well-rested.  After the day I had yesterday I thought a restless night and bad dreams were sure to be what I had to look foward to.  Thank you Jesus, I was wrong.  I slept good.  Crazy dreams, sure.  Bad dreams, no.  I decided to take a quick peek at Facebook from my iPod before I left for work.  Know what I saw?  A message from a girl I've grown to love...not because I had to, but because of who she is.  My soon-to-be step daughter.  I'm not necessarily ready to be a step-mom to a 19 year old girl, but I couldn't ask for a better girl to be a step-momma to.  Here is the message I had from her:

So in a week we will be leaving for traverse city, in 8 days i will have an awesome step mom! this time has flown by lik crazy! so im sure this week will just come by so fast. I'm excited :) love you

Well, sweet girl, I love you too!  Thank you for making my day that much brighter.

That's how we get down

I can't imagine a life without a sister and a momma.  I was blessed from day one with the best of both.  My sister and my mom are two of the most cherished women in my life - my world.  We had a little getaway this past weekend.  We just packed it up for a night (bottle of wine in tow) and headed to Soaring Eagle...a beautiful little casino/resort. 

They surprised me with beautiful pearl earrings for my wedding day.  Thank you!  We laughed a lot. We played some slots. We danced and drank a little (or a lot.)  We enjoyed each others company and made some memories.  That's how we get down!

12 days

In 12 days I will marry my best friend.  I will say I do...for better or for worse.  In 12 days I will turn the pages of a chapter that's passed and begin to write the best chapters of my book.  That is hard for me to comprehend, because the chapters up until now have been pretty darn amazing. 

I was born into a family of love - my momma, my daddy and the best big sister ever, my Beckey.  That was my family.  That IS my family. There has always been someone to kiss my boo boo's, wipe my tears, share my laughter.  We took family vacations, sometimes big and sometimes small, but we were together as a family.  We surely had a great childhood.  I grew and we grew.  We had our challenges and overcoming them made us stronger...and closer. 

Babies were born and I was blessed with the most beautiful little niece and charming little nephew.  My heart grew.  It was so full.  I love those littles and I've watched them grow.  Somedays I think my heart might burst.  They make me laugh and bring me joy.  Those two make me so proud and so excited to one day be a great momma, like my own and like my sister.

I am having a hard time with taking on another name.  I am marrying into a family nothing like my own.  The only love ever felt from this other family is from my Jerry.  My sweet fiance'.  His childhood was nothing like mine.  His adult life hasn't been like mine either.  I love him so much.  I will honor him and cherish him.  I am blessed to be his wife. Whether I hyphenate or take his name fully, I will love him with all that I am and all that I have.

I am 29 years old, but feel like a little girl.  I'm a bit afraid of what's to come...leaving the comfort of what I've known for so long.  I'm filled with anticipation and excitement for this love I have and all the things to come.

5 weeks

I will be a wife in 5 weeks. 5 weeks from this very moment in time I will be settling in with our closest friends and family and my husband for a big Mexican meal after a private sunset cruise.  (No, we're not Mexican, but our favorite TC restaurant is.)  I will be a wife.  I will be his wife.  J's wife.  The Mrs.  I want to laugh and cry and hide under the covers for a bit too.  I'm excited.  I'm anxious.  I'm a bit nervous and overwhelmed too.  I feel like once it's all over, I will have to learn a new way of life.  A life without color swatches, floral choices, venue location decisions, alterations, menus, invitations and anticipation.  What will I do with my time?  I can't believe i'm feeling a little melancholy.  I keep telling myself that this is all normal.  But heck...what do I know about normal?  What I do know is that our shower  was this past Sunday.  It was beautiful.  I loved every bit of it.  Thank you to my amazing sister (my Maid of Honor) and my momma for a day that will be remembered as perfect.  I love you both!

(Here's a little sneak peek.  I'm still waiting for all the shower photos from our photographer.)