Addy's Dress

My friend Krystl let me go through her Goodwill pile before getting rid of her stuff, and I found a few items that are perfect to upcycle! For instance, this was once a super soft small t-shirt. I cut it up, sewed up the sides, followed this tutorial to make the braided collar, and then I tried my hand at a little embroidery, and voila! Now it's a summery play dress for her little girl Addy.

Theoretically, this should have been an easy peasy project. But let's just say that my my machine revolted against the jersey knit and gave me trouble for a few days. But the pay off for hard work is great, and I hope Addy wears it out!

Sneak Peak

Um, how cute is this pocket? Way cute right?! Imagine the dress it's going to go on!

Family of Chucks

Hannah Met Santa

Thursday, Santa and Mrs. Claus stopped by Hannah's school to visit with the kids. At first, Hannah was terrified of Santa, but eventually stood in line to go meet him. She absolutely did not want to sit in his lap, but decided on her own that she wanted to ask him for candy canes. She immediately warmed up to him and talked his ear off! She had all of the grown ups laughing as most of the other kids had very little to say and she apparently had lots. He asked if she was really just 2-years-old because of how well she speaks. :) I wish we could have heard everything or videoed, but here are a few pics!

Let Them Eat Steak

Our Thanksgiving Day was off the chain. We relaxed all day long. In fact, I don't think Hannah ever got out of her jammies! It was so nice to spend quality time together, and especially nice to enjoy a good Southern meal for our Thanksgiving feast. Fluffy mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, big juicy steak. Mmmm.

Pity Party - Table for One

Bah. I'm like the Ebenezer Scrooge of Thanksgiving this year. While everyone I know is daily updating their Facebook or Twitter with the things for which they're thankful, I'm counting down the days until this month is over. Bah.

Don't get me wrong - there are many things I'm thankful for.

We've got a beautiful family.

We're all healthy.

We have a roof over our heads... for now.

We have jobs... for now.
We live in the best town ever!
We live so close to our dearest friends... who have abandoned us this week! (How dare they.)

Our church is growing slowly and steadily.

But really, I'm stuck wallowing in my own self-pity, and all of these thankful people are reminding me that I should be giving thanks right now. And I kinda don't wanna. Our family has had so much up in the air for so long, that right now I'm really exhausted with all the unknowns and getting my hopes up. I know I'm being a little near-sighted by not considering all that God has in store for the future, but it's time I say it out loud that I'm discouraged.

So for Thanksgiving this year, we're foregoing the turkey. We're having steak and potatoes, dangit. And maybe when this month is over, I'll put my big girl panties on and be a little more thankful. But for now, I'll be at my own pity party.

Dirty Thirty

You only turn 30 once, and there's no better way I could have celebrated my birthday than with my family! Chris, Hannah and I met my parents at my sister's house in Charlotte, North Carolina where we had an amazing and memorable week. There's so much to recap from the trip that I don't know where to start! So here's a run down of moments I won't forget:

• Running the fastest I've run in my adult life through the DFW airport to make our connecting flight to Charlotte.
• Watching Tangled with Hannah over and over again on our iPad, right before she dropped it and cracked the screen. Yup. And we were just about to sell it.
• Finally landing in Charlotte and discovering that Hannah soaked the seat she was sitting in. The poor girl warned me, but we were landing and the 'Fasten Seatbelt' lights were on!
• Being greeted by my family after a long day of traveling.
• Pulling up to my sister and brother's awesome house for the first time and being reminded that we're all grown up... mostly.
• Staying up late and watching Hannah and Gina paint each other's toenails.
• Chasing Mia around the house and snuggling with her on the couch.
• Visiting my sister at work and seeing my Dad hug her boss. :)
• Going to an incredible petting zoo called Lazy 5 Ranch and almost losing a finger to a giant cow deer monster thing... with fangs.
• Painting pottery with the girls (including Cindy Crawford) and meeting some of Gina's best friends!
• Going out way past our bedtime to hang out with the Fambroughs and the Buehlers... who don't appreciate Ferris Bueller jokes.
• Sharing a full size bed with my toddler who throws punches in her sleep. 
• Having Siri tell me Happy Birthday.
• Attending my first ever NASCAR race - WOO! I've never been more proud of my brother-in-law! This actually deserves a posting all of its own with a paragraph dedicated to how my sister nearly threw down with a she-man who was three times her size. It was awesome.
• Listening to my little girl lead our family in singing Happy Birthday to Mommyyyyyy.
• Eating the most amazing chocolate birthday cake.
• Laughing harder than I've laughed in a loooooooooong time.
• Going to my sister's church and helping her teach first graders in Sunday school. I especially appreciated hearing how they would be willing to help their friends through hard times, which for some reason centered around simultaneous hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and floods.
• Eating dinner at Pike's Soda Shop - a diner where a scene was shot from Shallow Hal.
• Watching Hannah gradually warm up to Mia to the point that she actually snuggled with her while watching Tangled.
• Spending an evening out at the U.S. National Whitewater Center!
• Passing President Obama on the Interstate on the way to the Biltmore Castle.
• Going to the Biltmore and having more fun playing chase in the garden than site seeing inside the castle.
• Packing up and saying goodbye without crying like a baby.

I think it's true what they say - absence does make the heart grow fonder. My family is close, so you can imagine we cherish every moment we have together. I have to say that this trip was one for the books! See more pictures from our amazing trip HERE!