FEELS LIKE HOME TO ME: November 2011

Thanksgiving Fun

Thanksgiving week has come and gone and we survived! It was fun, relaxing, exhausting and delicious all rolled into one. We spent time with family, I finally saw the movie The Help (a must see if you haven't yet), put up our Christmas tree, decorated the entire house, snuck in a few hours of Christmas shopping and went to the Iron Bowl.

We started the week celebrating with my parents Monday night since they were headed out of town on Wednesday. We had a great meal and enjoyed our time together.

Wednesday night we stayed at the farm with Drew's family so he could wake up early and hunt. Libby thought it was so neat to get to sleep in the room her daddy grew up in. She had lots of questions about "when Daddy was a boy".

Thursday morning we enjoyed breakfast, watched the Macy's Thanksgiving parade and looked forward to a big, family lunch. Libby was ready for an exciting day!

As usual, lunch at Mot's (Drew's grandmother) did not disappoint. There was a house FULL of family and so much good food. The younger cousins played and played. Cousin Elizabeth (center) even made this Thanksgiving vest for Libby. She loved it!

After lunch wrapped up, a big group of the family took a walk on the farm down to David and Nona's house to check out the the play set. The kids climbed and slid and swung for almost an hour. It was fun to spend the afternoon together.

It was a really good holiday. I wouldn't change a thing...well, maybe I should have squeezed more naps in, maybe next time.

I'll be back soon with updates on our trip to the Iron Bowl. Spoiler Alert: I left the game a happy fan!

10:30 AM
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Thankful Thursdays

Happy Thanksgiving on this last Thankful Thursday of the month! I hope the week leading up to this holiday has been good for you. Mine has been full of eating. I saw the scale in my bathroom this morning and refused to make eye contact. I figure it can't be good, so for today, I will choose denial. Tomorrow, I will pledge to burn calories and not scoop gooey, delicious casseroles onto my plate! But that's tomorrow - today it's fair game!

I debated what exactly to be thankful for this week. I've covered family, friends and my home so far. But there's just so many more things to be thankful for. Mine and my family's health, our jobs, our relationships with Christ, my really fluffy, warm bed - well, you get the idea. I AM BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE.

So this Thursdays I am thankful for this blog and what it means to me. I enjoy documenting our lives. Every time I share pictures and stories, I am expressing my love and excitement for all the things in my life that are special and important.

I've also met so many people through the blog world that I don't know other than from reading their blog and them reading mine. Very cool!

I also am able to keep up with so many people that I probably wouldn't otherwise. It happens every few weeks, someone out of the blue tells me they read the blog. I am usually surprised, but always excited when they tell me they are a reader. So thank you to all who check in periodically to keep up with the Parkmans.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, friends!

6:00 AM
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It's here!

Thanksgiving week is here and I'm looking forward to spending the week celebrating one of my favorite holidays.

Libby's school started last week with a Thanksgiving lunch and invited parents to come dine with them. Libby thought eating with Mommy and Daddy was cool. Who wouldn't?

We kick off the week of eating tonight as we celebrate Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. Tuesday is a pot-luck luncheon at work and Thursday brings even more delicious food with Drew's family.

Happy Thanksgiving week! I hope you enjoy time with your families and lots of good food.

"O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting." 1 Chronicles 16:34

12:40 PM
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Thankful Thursdays

This Thursday I am thankful for my home. The physical structure AND what it holds - my family, a place to play and relax and the comfort of familiar surroundings. We moved to our house this time last year. If you have any good sense about you, don't move during the holidays! We did and I vowed to never move again, well not until I'm downsizing to a condo on the beach much later in life! ;)

I love the character our house has. I love that it's older, but spacious with lots of room to grow. I love that it has a huge back yard.

I have even grown to love our pool. (We were worried at the beginning of summer that we were in over our head. But we enjoyed it so much.)

I love that I have a reason to buy new furniture. Here's our latest addition in the dining room.

Thank you Lord that we are able to own a home and have a place to retreat each night.

Don't we all have SO MUCH to be thankful for? Yes we sure do!

7:30 AM
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Long Weekend

Thanks to the Veteran's Day holiday it was a three-day weekend for us. Drew left at the crack-of-dawn Friday morning for his annual "man trip" to duck hunt and fish in Hackberry, Louisiana. That left me and Libby to fend for ourselves for the long weekend.

Libby and I stayed in pajamas Friday morning (not that she slept late...no, no!) We enjoyed a home-cooked breakfast and Libby insisted her friend, Bear, join us at the table.

We did get out and do some shopping Friday. She was a champion shopper and we hit three different stores without any yelling or threats being issued. She was excellent! You fellow parents know exactly what I'm talking about. ;) She and I even enjoyed a quick dinner at our local Mexican restaurant. That girl can put away some rice and tacos!

Saturday morning we were up early again. Coop joined us and we ventured out to support our friend, Heather, who was running her first marathon. She and her friend, Erica, participated in the 2011 Soldier Marathon that started in Ft. Benning, GA, looped through Columbus and back to Ft. Benning.

Coop and I made posters. I mean it's the least we could do for someone crazy enough to attempt to run 26.2 miles!

Heather and Erica finished the race (alive) and I am very proud of them! Can you imagine running for four hours? Oh my, I cannot!

Saturday during Libby's nap, my mom and I ventured out to conquer my quest to find a dining room table once and for all. I've looked at an empty dining room for exactly one year. I'm happy to announce that I found a table and chairs from a local interior store and they will be delivered this week! I can't wait to start decorating for the holidays. Pictures to come.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how beautiful our yard has been these last few weeks. I took this picture while we were out playing the back yard Sunday. Fall doesn't last long here, but it sure is pretty while it lasts.

Have a great week!

7:06 PM
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Thankful Thursdays

This second Thursday in November I am thankful for my friends. I have some very close and special ones that I've found along the way. I often reflect on how I got so lucky to be in the right place at the right time for our paths to cross. Of course, it was all in God's plan, but it's fun to think about how we met and how each unique relationship has developed over the years.

Friends and good manners will carry you where money won't go.

Margaret Walker

I met some a long time ago. A really long time ago!

I met these two my freshman year of college in Tutwiler Hall. Seems like a lifetime ago. We were all roommates at the blue house our sophomore year. What a fun year!

These girls are my Phi Mu sisters and forever friends!

And these crazy ones I picked up years ago at church. They still make me laugh 'til I cry to this day.

And there are so many more - friends that are out-of-town, friends from work, friends from the past and friends that I love spending time with, even if our time together is brief.

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.

Elbert Hubbard

Thank you to everyone that shares their friendship with me. Without it, I don't know where I'd be today.

6:19 AM
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Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011 is behind us and we survived three days of activities, whew! Libby made a mighty cute kitty cat, don't you think?

ME-OW!

The costume was her request and she played the part well.

The weekend started by having a parade at school where all the kids wore their costumes and collected candy.

As we were getting dressed Sunday for a Trunk-or-Treat festival at Drew's parent's church she informed me that she'd already been a cat and wanted to be a zebra. I paused for a moment and politely told her she was going to be cat. After some persuasion, she went along with it.

When Halloween finally arrived on Monday she again informed me that she no longer wanted to be a cat, but a frog. Oh my goodness. I told her that wouldn't work and she was going to be a cat. Then she asked with such seriousness, "When will I get to dress up in a different costume?" I said, "Next Halloween!" (Don't feel sorry for her, she bounced right back and began meow-ing and running wild through the house.)

Trick-or-Treating was a lot of fun. We invited our family to come to our house since we live in a neighborhood that thrives on Halloween night.

We loaded up the girls and toured the neighborhood.

It was a busy weekend and we have a ton of candy to show for it.

It was a great holiday and I was completely exhausted by Monday night. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. No costumes (or costume changes), no candy and lots of good food!

7:15 AM
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Thankful Thursdays

Several friends on Facebook are listing something they are thankful for every day in November. I like the idea and thought I'd do my own variation for the blog. So every Thursday in November I'll feature Thankful Thursdays. I encourage others to do the same. There are no guidelines, you can be thankful for one thing or five, doesn't matter. Come on, let's give thanks!

This week I'm thankful for my family. I am thankful that most of our immediate family lives near us. I often reflect on how lucky we are to have parents and grandparents (even a great grandmother) that love us so much. I love that they can stop by to see Libby or that she can spend the afternoon playing at their house. These simple moments are priceless.