A Thanksgiving of firsts...

Thanksgiving 2010 was our first Thanksgiving without family.  It was also my first time roasting a turkey and preparing the meal.  It was a little strange to not be traveling and be by ourselves, but I have to say that we had a wonderful holiday together!

We woke up that morning and I enjoyed the Macy's Day parade in my p.j.'s for a few hours.  Jesse was entertained for a few minutes anyway. :) We prepared the turkey around noon, all 11.5lbs of it...

Jess was a great helper in the kitchen, peeling the potatoes, chopping onions and celery, and helping me clean the turkey.  He normally doesn't even enter the kitchen when I'm cooking but he volunteered to help and I loved it!  I found that I actually enjoyed the whole process of preparing the meal and the anticipation of stuffing our faces. :) 

It was over 80 degrees on Thanksgiving day and the kitchen was also warm with everything cooking.  I don't think I've ever walked around in a tank top and leggings on Thanksgiving. Another first.

Table for two. :)

The food was well worth the wait! It tasted just like I was hoping it would. :) Every bite I said, "Mmmmm."  :) (I don't know why blogger is uploading this picture sideways, by the way).

Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without a nap on the couch, watching football!  Later that night we found the energy to pull out the Christmas decorations.  Jesse was just as eager as I was to decorate. :)  He loves everything about Christmas and doesn't complain when I say I "need" to buy some decoration(s). :)  He'll even point out things he likes or thinks will match our "theme."  I have a problem with picking themes for Christmas decorating because I like them all!  Every color combination and style is so unique and fun.  It warmed my heart the other night when he said, "We need some decoration for this table, do we have anything?" :) No we don't honey, but I will gladly go find something pretty and sparkly. :)

We went out on Black Friday and found some good deals.  It rained in the afternoon, but Jesse insisted that we were going to get our Christmas tree that day.  We headed to Lowes and bought our 4th frazier fur Christmas tree.  They have always been great trees, with minimal clean up and we love the way they look and smell. 

The rest of the weekend we continued eating our leftovers, watched Christmas movies, relaxed, got some Christmas presents purchased, etc.  We went to bed last night and agreed we both had a really nice weekend together.  I'm so glad that we love being together and are not one of those couples who can't wait to get away from each other after too many days together.  Haha. :) 

Thanksgiving 2010 was a memorable one and our hearts are full of gratitude.  God has blessed us with far more than we deserve and we are overwhelmed with his faithfulness in our lives. 

Girly stuff

I thought I would post a few pictures of our fall decor around our place.  (I'm sure the only people who care about this are my mom, sisters and mother-in-law).  Sorry.  :)

I've had this little pumpkin plate for a few years, but have never used it as a spoon rest before.  I didn't have a place in mind, so I tried it on the stove and liked it! I got this turkey towel last weekend at T.J. Maxx and thought he was cute. :)  I was on the lookout for some cute, fall kitchen towels and couldn't find any I liked.  Target really disappointed me. Mr.turkey will have to do for now.

We call this our "Hawkeye corner". :) My parents sent us this fun plate a few weeks ago and we won the salt and pepper shakers from a Christmas bingo game a few years ago.  I love that little corner during football season! Go Hawks!!

I got this cornucopia in North Carolina and I love it.  The last couple of years I've had it on the coffee table but I wanted something different this year.  I probably get a little too excited when they have the gourds and pumpkins out for sale in the grocery stores. :) I love filling them up inside my cornucopia!

The candle centerpiece is also new.  It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but I think it's pretty.  The table is kind of simple and plain, but I think I like it that way.  At least for now, haha.  The dining room table is my least favorite thing to decorate because it's so big and it intimidates me.

I think these were the first fall decorations I bought when we got married.  I bought them at Michaels on a very tight budget. :) I still love them because they remind me of that first fall together in North Carolina.

Jesse had a research conference in Charleston during grad school and he bought me this leaf plate while he was there.  It was his first time to Charleston and before I had ever visited.  So this plate is also special because now we live here!

The picture here was our Christmas card picture last year and I thought it looked cute with a mini pumpkin next to it.  I discovered the fall colored raffia in World Market and liked how it dressed up the plain, orange candle.  The fall accessories on the plate are some of my favorite things.  The big, sparkly leaves are from Pier 1 and I always regret that I didn't buy more as they've never had them back.  Oh well.

My sister-in-law knows me too well and got me this awesome birthday present!! I've always wanted one, but we've never had a yard until now.

 First loaf of pumpkin bread! Ignore the ugly top....I had to transfer it to another pan after it had baked some.  Long story. At least it tasted good!

I made cheesecake (pumpkin) for the first time and was very happy with how it turned out!  It was a lot easier than I had anticipated actually.  I see many more in my future! :)

Happy fall baking and decorating!

Birthday + Fall + Football + Pumpkin flavored anything = why I love September!!

It's about time for an update I think! I've been at my new job for about two and a half weeks and am enjoying it! Our class is a good group, I enjoy the other teacher in our room and I'm more comfortable there every day. It's a lot larger than my previous schools so I'm still learning the names of all the different teachers. My body is also finally adjusted to getting up before the sun again. Ugh. However, I'm so thankful that we are both employed and enjoy our work environments.
I had a great birthday on the Sept. 23rd and we celebrated over that weekend.  Jesse made reservations at a place called "Coast" and it was a yummy meal!! Best crab dip I've ever had.  He asked what kind of restaurant I wanted to go to but I told him to surprise me.  Before dinner, we strolled around downtown and walked through some shops here and there.  After dinner, we walked along "The Battery" and loved seeing all the gorgeous houses all lit up along the water.  It was a fun, romantic date and I loved it.  Good job babe! :)

Walking to the restaurant..

 

 Full tummies and leftovers to go!

 

 

Beautiful Bed and Breakfast

 

Happy birthday to me! :)

October came out of nowhere and the weather here FINALLY feels like fall. September was so hot and I was beginning to wonder if it ever gets cooler than 85 degrees here. And then all of a sudden it hit mid 70's and I was a very happy girl. We declared a "fall weekend" at our house and I was even a little giddy about all I had planned. :) Saturday I got out my fall decorations, cleaned, went grocery shopping, got my haircut and watched my Hawks win again. I love Saturdays like this one. Sunday morning we went to church and then ate lunch at a place we loved in North Carolina. When we discovered it here, we were thrilled. :) Amazing lemonade and tea, great soup, yummy sandwiches and awesome con queso dip! We ate outside in the beautiful breeze and enjoyed each others company.  Perhaps my favorite thing about this cafe is its location.  It's connected to Target, Pier 1, T.J. Maxx, and World Market, among other shops.  My wonderful hubby tagged along while I shopped and searched for some more fall decor and any other bargains I could find.  :)  My birthday money was burning a hole in my pocket!  I left with a few things, but knew the hubs was fading fast. :)   We came home and I arranged my new things, baked some pumpkin bread, went on a walk, watched some more football, grilled out, etc.  It was a great weekend and I didn't want it to come to an end.  Beautiful weather over the weekend makes Monday mornings so much more uninviting.  Looking forward to another beautiful weekend...

Uncreative title here

It's been a hard week and one I wouldn't want to relive again. Dinner and housework was somewhat abandoned this week, but Jesse picked up the slack and knew I had to grieve the death of my precious Tiggy. He constantly sent me texts and emails making sure I was ok and wanted to know if I needed anything. Friends sent me their condolences, which made me feel loved. But no one truly knew the pain besides our family, which brought the greatest comfort. Sharing memories, looking at pictures, watching videos. It still stings and the tears continue to fall. Moments of sadness come and go, but it only takes one little reminder to set me off again. Seeing a commercial for his flea medicine. Reading an article in the newspaper about pets. Ugh, it's no fun saying goodbye to someone/something you truly love....

*****
On a totally different topic, I promised some pictures of our new place. They are on facebook and I assume most people who read this are friends with me on facebook, but oh well.

This is our foyer, looking from the living room.


Standing in the foyer, looking at the living room. One of my favorite things about our condo are the big windows in the living room!

So, that at least gives you a feel for our place. We feel so blessed to live here and love our neighborhood. God has also blessed me with a job, which I will be starting on Monday! :) I will be a K-4 teacher at Summerville Baptist Church. I sent my resume to probably a dozen church preschools since we moved here and I hadn't heard about any openings for the first couple of weeks. I was getting discouraged and bored at home all day, looking for jobs. We moved at a bad time, as far as the school year goes, because schools/preschools had already hired all their teachers. I really wanted to work at a church preschool, with a flexible holiday schedule. I got a voicemail two weeks ago saying they had received my resume and they had an opening. I was scheduled for an interview a few days later, not really knowing anything about the position (hours, age group, etc.). I told Jesse, "I just hope this isn't a huge waste of time or something I know, within minutes, I won't want."

As I got ready for the interview that morning, I was nervous but also felt at ease. It was strange and I thought, "ok, God is either preparing me to feel this way because it's going to work out or it's so wrong that there's no need to feel anxious." :) I arrived ten minutes early and sat in the parking lot and watched the kids and teachers on the playground. No red flags yet, this is good. I went in for the interview and felt comfortable right away. Phew, good sign. I talked with the director and assistant director and I felt it went really well. I was hopeful, but I knew they had more interviews too. I waited for a few days and heard nothing. I was going to call back on Friday afternoon but they beat me to it. They offered me the position and I was so relieved and excited! :) God answered my desires for a church preschool with a flexible holiday schedule. Thank you Lord for your continued faithfulness in our lives!!

Another awesome and unexpected blessing we received this week came in the mail. We have been waiting for our deposit from our apartment in VA Beach for the past several weeks. We were really hoping for the whole thing back, but knew they were really strict. Regardless, we just needed that money! Haha. :) Well, I went to get the mail on Wednesday and see an envelope from them. Sweet! I ripped it open and read,

Dear Mr. and Mrs. ____,
"Thank you for taking care of your September rent prior to your departure from C.S. on 8-14-2010. Due to your early departure, we were able to turn your apartment earlier than anticipated and because of such, we were able to move a new resident in on 9-3-2010.

Lucky you, as this means you're entitled to a refund from the third of September to the end of September. That total equates to $______ plus $______ of your original deposit........."

How awesome is that?!?! I called Jesse immediately and told him the great news. We were not expecting this at all. This was a huge break for us because we had been paying rent for August and September in Va Bach and our condo. That is 4 months worth of rent over 2 months time. Plus the deposit on the condo. Plus the very, very expensive moving truck and gas. The list goes on and on. The expenses were outrageous. We gladly accept any refunds that want to jump back in our bank account. :) Another example of God providing for our needs.

So, I've been trying to enjoy these last couple of days of freedom before I start working full time again. 6:15am is going to come reeeeeeeally early for this girl. :) Throughout this job hunting time, Jesse has been very supportive. He always said, "I want you to find something you really like, so don't just settle because you think you need a job" or "I don't want you to come home every night stressed and exhausted, so just wait for the right job to come along." It's pretty much impossible NOT to come home exhausted after being with kids all day, but I don't think this will be stressful. And I do think it's the right job for me right now so I'm looking forward to it. I had a day of orientation this week and the staff was friendly and the kids were adorable. I'm sure I'll have more to share next week!

Well, I haven't showered and it's noon so I better get my day going. :) Happy weekend!

Sir Tigger Turry Ferguson

Today is a sad, sad day for our family. :( Our "precious baby boy" as we like to call him, was put to sleep last night. Tiggy has been a part of our family since 2003 and we will all miss him soooo much. It will be so weird going back home for the first time without him greeting me at the door and licking my face and wagging his tail as fast as he can. I had never been an animal person before he came into our family and now I will never look at another dog without thinking about my little Tiggy. No dog will ever replace him, he was one of a kind. His spunk and feisty personality brought so much love and laughter to our family. I could go on and on, but it will only make me miss him more right now. I love you and miss you Tigger!!!

I found a few videos that made me laugh...