Thanksgiving 2014

Somehow, I took exactly zero pictures of either of our familial gatherings this year! I guess I was too focused on cooking, eating and napping after turkey!

We have enjoyed the same family traditions every year (with maybe one or two exceptions) since we were married. Thankfully we have family who understand it's less about an exact date and more about being together. In our growing-up years, Thanksgiving was Mike's family's BIG holiday and Christmas was my family's. So, we decided our very first year as Mr. & Mrs. that we would make a point to spend Thanksgiving Day with his family and Christmas Day with mine. It's worked well for us and I'm thankful we have family who are just happy we get to be together sometime over the holidays!!

So, as I was saying, we spend Thanksgiving Day with Mike's side of the family at our house. I make the turkey and dressing and a number of other goodies! And everyone brings whatever their little heart's desire to go along with the birdy. We never go hungry and enjoy each others company immensely! It's been a lot of fun these past couple of years with two new babies being welcomed into the Williams gang. I'm so thankful we all love each other and have loads of fun together. I know it's a rare blessing. And, to sweeten the deal, Mike's baby sister has a birthday on or near Thanksgiving, so we get to celebrate her then too!

On the Saturday following T-Day, we gather at my parents' house and do it all over again! We love being able to retreat to the country and turn the girls loose in the woods. We eat like royalty and revel in good conversation until late! Outside of the three people the Lord has placed in my little family, my Momma, Daddy and Brother are far and above my favorite people. I love them like crazy!

One of the most fun things for me about Thanksgiving this year was having Gracie in the kitchen with me. She has spent the past few holiday seasons helping and watching, but this year she picked out her own recipes, made her grocery list and prepared them all herself! It was the tiniest glimpse of her 10....let's make it 15 ;)....years from now as she and her own family gather to celebrate Thanksgiving with us! I definitely don't want to rush into that season, but there was something beautiful and comforting to me to know that just because she won't be little forever doesn't mean we can't still enjoy these holidays and times together as Mother and Daughter. She is such a beautiful blessing to me. She made several different things. She's like her Daddy in that, she loves to bake and create sweet treats. A few of her delicious offerings: Cranberry Pie, Apple Cake, & Pumpkin Bread.

Autumn has only a small interest in the kitchen happenings so far. She's far happier romping around outside with her little cousins!

I do regret that I don't have any pictures, but at least I have the memories!

Attic Man...

Having sweet skills like: electrical, painting, (ah hem, bow staff) and such usually means you are called upon in times of electrical and painting need. This day was no different.

But when it's to help your friends, there's bound to be a little fun going on!

Attic Man. Oh yes, he's going into that attic. And those wires are never gonna know what clipped 'em!

A Spontaneous Daddy Daughter Lunch Date...

Gracie and I were spending the day together doing a little Christmas shopping. So, Autumn was hanging out at work with her Daddy. I had packed her a little lunch, but he surprised her with a lunch date!

These are the pictures he sent me. Autumn with her hero and Mike with his! :)

I'm sad I didn't get any pictures of Gracie and I together. We had a great time though. We got to check out some new local shops along with several other favorites. As much as I miss the season with tiny tots at my feet, I also love this sweet time together. I am blessed to have my three most favorite people with me each day. It doesn't get any better than that!

It's Snowing! Well Sort Of...

It's the first snow of the season. At least, I think it's snowing...

You see it too, right?!?

Family Fun Day...

We had a unique opportunity to get away together as a family this past Sunday. We love worshiping with our family and friends. It's the highlight of our week. And we rarely aren't there. But, on occasion, it's nice to sneak away and find an adventure together!

We usually have an undeniable bend toward getting outside, on the trail, or at least into the country. This time we chose something outside our norm, but it ended up being a ton of fun! We decided to do some pre-Christmas window shopping. We had to check out the aquarium in the mall. I don't have pictures, but while we were there the Marine Biologist was feeding some of the fish. It was pretty cool! I had to laugh...I remember saying to Mike several years ago when I was making a decision about college: "Well, Marine Biologists just aren't needed in TN!" Who knew...

We ended the day with some delicious Mexican food. All in all, a great time!

October Glory and A Photo Shoot...

October in TN is like why people live here.

It's stunning. Usually, the weather has gone from the deep, smothering heat of summer to the cool kiss of Fall. You're met with gentle breezes and perfectly blue skies. The leaves float through the air like little golden and crimson sailboats. The days are dwindling into the onset of winter and holidays, but for a few short weeks, it's absolute perfection. My Daddy always calls it "free weather", meaning the windows are open and the bugs are dead!

So, outside of spending every spare second in the yard, starting up a good evening bonfire, and picking the perfect pumpkin, what are Octobers made for?

Why, a photo shoot of course!

Here's my attempt (with a lame camera and not a single photographer's gene in my body) to snap some fun pictures of my two sweet girls...

Gracie (12 years old)

Autumn (9 years old)

Sisters

Silliness

Ok, Mom. We're done...

Wizards, and Elves, and Parrots, Oh My....

Halloween 2014 brought a fun mix of characters our way!

Gracie was Hermione Granger this year, inspired by her time reading through the Harry Potter book series for the first time.

Autumn was Turiel, a woodland elf in the new Hobbit movie.

We have celebrated the past several years with our friends in their neighborhood. It has become such a fun tradition. This year, however, they were in the middle of a move. Staying with us in fact until they close on the new house. So, we had to find a Plan B. We've never really lived in a place where we could walk from house to house, but we always find somewhere to go and this year was no different. The girls got dressed and we headed out to a local neighborhood to trick-or-treat. The weather was unusually COLD! We all pretty much ran from house to house and laughed the whole way. Although the invitation was for our entire congregation to meet in the Hickory Wild area, we must have missed most of them because we ended up doing the rounds by ourselves. We ran into a couple of friends along the way, but no one was particularly excited to stand around. It was FREEZING! So, after an hour or so we packed up and headed to see our little niece before calling it a night.

The Living Room Sessions & A Missionary...

When you have the pleasure of being part of a body of believers that value multiplication and sending out as much a we do, you get to watch God do amazing things. One of which is praying our dear friend through the process of taking the Light to Tanzania.

We've known Katherine for a couple of years and not once in that time have we ever wondered what the Lord might be calling her to. God has written Africa on her heart and planted it deep into her soul. She has taken many short-term mission opportunities there over the past several years all while patiently waiting for her one-way trip. Although the process has been going on for quite some time, she is now in the active phase of preparing to leave for a two year immersion mission opportunity in early 2015! Amazing!

There is much to be done. She has an enormous amount of planning and packing to do. Some travel. And, most of all, a lot of fundraising. You can check out what's going on in more detail here.

So, we pray. And we cheer. And we pray. And we do whatever we can to help. Mike has some pretty amazing gifts and talents, so he's doing what he can to contribute. A couple of things on the horizon include: a local worship night and an album. Several of the folks of Community Life Church have hopped on board to make it happen!

All (as in 100%) of proceeds will go toward funding the eternal work that God has called Katherine to in Tanzania. And this is how we are each called - in some way - to international missions. We go. We pray. We give. Sometimes it's all of those things, and sometimes it's not. But it's always SOMETHING! We are simply thankful to be a part of advancing the gospel...however it looks!

Apples...

It's apple time again in TN! We had several apples to harvest this year. They seemed to ripen a bit early, but maybe that's due in part to a warm, dry summer. I attempted my first batch of apple butter. It turned out beautifully and could not be more simple!

Yay for Johnny Appleseed and yay for brilliant people who come up with easy-peasy recipes that help me feel a little more like Ma Ingalls. Enjoy apple season!!

We Voted...

Politics can be a difficult and touchy subject for a lot of people. Mike & I have our own opinions and this blog isn't really the place we'll normally choose to share them. However, the election being held today is important for us on a lot of levels, many of which I won't write here. One reason though, is because our very dear friends will be personally touched by how the polls roll out this evening. And we aim to do our very best to support them...

And no matter where you stand politically, please vote. It's not only our duty, but our privilege. And to quote one Mr. Forrest Gump, "that's all I have to say about that"...

A Girl and Her Horse...

I can't actually remember if I've mentioned AJ taking horse riding lessons in previous posts. I guess I could go back through the posts, but I don't have the extra time at the moment, so I'll just tell you about it again!

She has always loved horses. I can't really remember a time when she didn't. She has pictures, books, and sheets all covered with her favorite animal. When we took a trip to MT a couple of years ago, she was decidedly in her element. There were horses at the ranch where we stayed and she rode with our friends there for hours one afternoon. She's a cowgirl, through and through. Her self-chosen role models are Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. She loyal and won't even watch a Roy movie if the starring female isn't Dale. Good girl. She has a homemade "Roy & Dale" kit she keeps at the ready. Just in case a scene in her head needs to be played out in the yard.

We enjoy our little home. We're blessed with a big yard and mature trees. What we don't have on our little acre of paradise though is a pasture. There's no place for a horse here. Only those in the pictures. The kind that don't need room to roam or food to eat. So, for a very long time, AJ has only had daydreams of horses. She would occasionally ask about riding lessons, but around here you have limited choices and honestly, we couldn't foot the bill for any of them. Then one day, I found a potential option on a local site much like Craig's List. I contacted the owner and we surprised AJ with a visit to the farm and a chance to meet her new buddy, Phillip. And her trainer, Ms. Stephanie. She was overjoyed and so were we...

She started lessons back in April and looks very forward to every other Saturday when she gets to saddle up and ride the range. She's been working on horse care and learning how to ride. She laps it up. Every morsel. Her eyes get big and deep and I see pure joy on her face. As a Mom, it's a beautiful thing to watch.

Horse care is the best first lesson!

Here she is riding bareback and working on some fun tricks! We have said from the beginning that all of her years practicing her balance on Grandpa's knees have paid off beautifully in her riding :)

Here are some other pictures during various lessons.

Adventures in Camping, Plus a Birthday...

Christmas 2013 left us with some pretty sweet camping gear. We had a few backyard campout experiences, but Mike surprised me with a real live, full-blown camping trip for my birthday! He set everything up for us to be gone all weekend, which is no small feat since he's the worship pastor and Sundays are kind of important to his job. But, with everything in place, we set out early Saturday morning to Paris Landing State Park to make camp.

I love cooking on the open fire, but instead of doing that this weekend, Mike treated us to a dinner at the Inn for my birthday! And actually, it was very nice to get to relax and not cook.

Our campsite was fantastic! We had to reserve the site online and since neither of us had ever camped at PL, we were kinda just taking a shot in the dark. We definitely lucked out. It was fairly secluded and had shade. Which was pretty much what kept us alive. It was HOT. Like 100 degrees with thick humidity HOT. The kind with no breeze and the moisture in the air is more like a heavy, wet wool blanket than a refreshing mist. So we spent most of the night in the tent wondering if the wind had removed its presence from the Earth altogether. And, we camped near the marina, so around 2AM we were wakened by a very large boat that felt the need to use its horn to alert the entire world of its arrival. And apparently, at 2AM that's one of the funniest things ever. So we laughed and listened to the captain say fun words as he tried to figure out why his boat wouldn't start! :) On Sunday we had a great time exploring the park and just being able to unplug for a while. I always love the opportunity to worship outside. Our family enjoys and holds on to those rare gifts.

Any amount of time away is never really enough, but we'll take every second we can get!

Here's to being easily amused!!

A nice cold shake to end a fun, HOT weekend right!! :)

So far 34 isn't too shabby...