Thankful.

I was so thankful for Thanksgiving.

A time with cousins.

A time with little ones. Lots of little ones.

Good quality time with Hunter. Sweetest boy ever.

Time outdoors with Reid and Tanner.

Fun times with Uncle Owens.

Family time with Kelly and Tommy and Abigail and Addison. 

Time for smiles and laughter.

Time to snuggle with little ones. 

Seeing my grandmother, Mama Jean, snuggling on her great-grandchildren. Six great-grandchildren to be exact. 

A time to watch my baby brother being a daddy.

A time for family members to gather around a meal prepared by many different hands.

Love all around.

Cousins.

Growing up I was fortunate to not only have brothers close in age, but cousins as well. Many of us were born nine and six months apart. These cousins were and still are very much like siblings to me.

I'm so thankful that Morgan Kate has the same.

These two love each other so much and are inseparable when we are all together.

They play together and laugh together and share snacks together.

They hold hands and have their own little conversations. 

They are both just the sweetest things.

And I love seeing them grow up together. I am so thankful for them and for the relationship they have. I hope they are always as close as they are now.

Long, fun-filled days with cousins and no nap equals a girl who falls asleep on the ride home.

A girl who falls asleep in the car, stays asleep as she's being carried in and just barely wakes as she is  dressed in her PJs. But then begs to go right back to sleep and then sleeps a solid 13 hours. Wow. 

Melt my heart.

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Recent conversations with Morgan Kate:

MK: Mommy, I want a babe.
Me: A baby?
MK: No, a babe. 
Me: What do you mean?
MK: You know, Mommy. Like you call Daddy your babe and he calls you his babe. I want a babe. 

MK: Mommy, it's not fair.
Me: What's not fair?
MK: You and Daddy get to sleep together every night and I have to sleep alone. I want a husband to sleep with.

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Morgan Kate's parent-teacher conference last week went so well. Of course, we think our girl is smart and sweet and kind and helpful, but it's so nice to hear from others too. Her teacher said that she is such a sweet girl and so concerned about others. She said MK is always checking on her friends and asking about people when they are upset or get hurt. She said that MK loves to play dress up and build with blocks and ride the bikes and swing on the big swings and occasionally she just likes to walk around the playground and collect nuts. Go figure. Our girl, the acorn collector. She also loves to read books and figure out patterns and she has a fantastic memory. Morgan Kate told me beforehand that she thought her teacher would mention what a good "cleaner" MK was and she was right. Mrs. C said that MK loves to clean up. I wish she loved to clean up at home. 

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I am so excited about a two day work week and family and food and turkey. 

Mid Week Randomness.

-Last night one of my besties, Raven, gave birth to her second beautiful child - baby girl Emi. She is precious and beautiful and sweet and so tiny. She was so soft and smelled so good. I could have held her all night, but I knew I needed to share. I might not like to share, but I knew I needed to. Raven is one of the most patient and loving people I know. She is THE best mommy to her babies. She was made to be a mommy. 

-This afternoon we had parent observations during Morgan Kate's dance class. Love, love, love. Seeing my girl in her little "dance get-up" and moving all around just puts the biggest smile on my face. My stressful day at work was immediately forgotten the minute I saw her. I think I've mentioned this before, but Roddey is also Morgan Kate's dance teacher and she is THE best. We are just so, so blessed to have Roddey in our lives. Morgan Kate's class is a combination class of tap and ballet. I think it's perfect for that age because they like "change" and frequent change. They are able to tap for a while and then do some ballet and vice versa. I think it's also great because at this age they can really discover what they like and which type they prefer. I think MK loves both, but she talks a lot about ballet. 

-I have lots of things and lots of people on my mind right now. People I'm concerned about. People I love. People who mean the world to me. I try to find the right things to pray for and pray about. I try to be a listener and not a fixer. I try to be patient and optimistic and level headed. Some days all of that works out and some days all of that is a total mess, which in turn means I'm a total mess. 

-Tomorrow is parent-teacher conference day at Morgan Kate's school. I'm anxious to hear what her teachers have to say. I asked MK what they might tell me and she said, "Mommy, they are going to tell you that the girls always clean up and that I'm a really good cleaner. I'm also a good listener and I'm kind." 

-This past weekend we were hungry for lunch and decided to make our own personal pizzas. MK thought it was the greatest idea ever. And she did really good with it. We may have put on all the toppings, including cheese and then remembered we hadn't put the pizza sauce on and had to add it at the last minute, but they turned out delish!  

I love the holidays and decorating and shopping, but my mind just cannot wrap it's self around the fact that the holidays are NOW. Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas is like in forty something days. What?!? 

Dear Weekend.

Dear Weekend,

You have been so kind. So wonderful. So needed.

Friday evening you brought an opportunity for MK to spend some time with Kaka and Gator. And for me to spend some one on one time with my hubby, eating sushi and enjoying our outdoor fire pit. 

Saturday you brought more one on one time with my hubby as we ate breakfast together, who cares if it was only Hardees, as we drove down to Orangeburg for the day. We spent the day riding fourwheelers with family and enjoying the beautiful weather. 

Few things in life bring me as much joy as spending time with family. Saturday did not disappoint. Not only did we spend the day with family at our family farm, but we ended the day with a family dinner celebrating my dad's upcoming birthday. My 85 year old grandmother cooked the biggest pot of Brunswick stew I've ever seen, baked two different birthday cakes and fifteen of us sat down for dinner together. Heaven.

Today was a day of rest, relaxation and catching up on household "chores", but it too, proved to be such a nice day. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please return very soon.

Always yours,
Me

Coffee Date

Good morning! I guess technically it's more early afternoonish. 

It's not often that I get to sip coffee on a Tuesday mid-morning, at home and in my jammies. However, not only is today Election Day, but a day off from work/school for Morgan Kate and I. I've already texted Travis to ask him to remind me why I ever went back to work. Being at home with my girl is heaven.

If you were here we might be curled up on the couch or sitting in my kitchen. It's a little too chilly out to sit in my favorite area - the back porch. I'd be sipping my coffee, my second cup, with Warm Cinnamon Sugar Cookie creamer - a holiday special. Delish. Morgan Kate would be running between rooms, still in her pajamas, playing and singing and dancing. She loves being home too. You'd smell the big pot of vegetable soup cooking on the stove. And you'd hear the quiet hum of the washer machine and dryer. Still catching up on weekend laundry. 

We'd probably start by talking about the big topic today - the election. I'd tell you how I'm not really a big political person. And often times I'm more confused than anything. I don't consider myself strictly a Republican or strictly a Democrat. My thoughts are kind of all over the place. I'd tell you how I had to call one of my besties, who's super smart, and have her break it all down for me. I'd tell you how the presidential election is important to me, but the local school board election is just as important. We might would share our thoughts about the election and who we might vote for or we might not share at all. I'd be perfectly fine with either, but I would want to move along to something else fairly quickly. Like I said, I'm not really into politics. And I'm perfectly okay with that. I just pray that whoever is elected makes the right choices for our country. 

I'd ask you how you've been and what you've been up to. I would then share with you about our awesome weekend. Full of family. Full of fun. Full of birthday parties. We left Saturday morning for Jillian's 3rd birthday party. Her mom, Amy, is super talented and the party was a blast. We got to see not only the birthday girl, but lots of our family on my dad's side. We left there, just the three of us, and headed to the South Carolina aquarium. I'd tell you how it was really pretty and there were great fish and sharks, but that it's way overpriced. Thank goodness South Carolina teachers get in for free. Wowzers. After our adventure there we spent the afternoon and evening trying to find good seafood. We weren't super successful. The most exciting part of the evening was spending the night in a hotel with one king size bed. And no, I'm not being sarcastic. It was AWESOME. No agenda. No dishes to wash or laundry to do. No distractions. No rooms or toys to pick up. No beds to make. Just the three of us, total relaxation, all snuggled up, enjoying each other. We've decided it's something we need to do at least once a month. Seriously. Sunday morning we did a little shopping and then headed to Abigail and Addison's first birthday party. Again, another super talented and creative momma and an awesome party. We had the best time! And on this day, we got to see both birthday girls and most of my family on my mom's side. Awesome weekend.

After catching up on all our weekend excitement we might talk about how beautiful this time of the year is. The leaves and colors and smells. And just all of the stuff you can do. Fall is my new favorite time of the year! However, I would have to mention that I am not particularly fond of this whole daylight savings time thing. I would much rather it be dark on my way to work than get dark just an hour after coming home. 

I'm sure at some point our conversation would turn to Christmas and all it's fun. I would tell you how, for the first time ever, I have already started my shopping. I've only purchased one gift, but that's one more than I had last year this time. I'm still trying to decide what to get our little one, but I know it will come.

Before long, it would be time for me to start lunch. I'd definitely invite you to stay, but you might not be really into Easy Mac and Ramen noodles. 

Until next time...and next time will probably be Thanksgiving or Christmas break.