Thankful

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and it was nice to have a break from the busy pace of work and school. I am thankful for the time we got to spend with family and friends. We spent Thanksgiving with my family and enjoyed a massive spread for Thanksgiving lunch. Between Dad's fried turkey, mom's baked turkey, Big Mama's ham and all the trimmings (plus some) we were all stuffed to the max. I attempted a very complicated pumpkin cheesecake that consumed five hours of my life but actually turned out quite yummy!

As you can see, Shelby, my brother's girlfriend, got in on some of the turkey carving action. Dad was pretty excited about his electric turkey carver.


Big Mama enjoyed my cousin and his wife's new puppy. I think Oscar, my parents' dog who lives half his life with my grandmother, was pretty jealous.

Somehow I managed to only take three pictures during the entire weekend, but I enjoyed having a girls night out with my mom and going to see the movie Australia. It was really good and fun to spend some quality time with my mom. I think Robert had lots of fun playing endless games of NCAA football on the PS2 with Ryan. We also enjoyed Big Mama's hospitality (she graciously hosted us for two nights) and her wonderful breakfast she made us Friday morning. Let's just say it was an improvement from the cold cereal we're used to!

I am also thankful for the new baby girl Blackwell that is coming in April. Kristi and Clay announced the gender of the baby to the family on Thanksgiving and we got to see some of the sonogram pics. Clay is going to have his hands full with all the women in his life!

On Friday, we headed to Jake's house and enjoyed an additional Thanksgiving spread with our friends and family. Jake borrowed dad's turkey frier and let's just say we had our fill for the second day in a row.

On Saturday, we had a blast hosting an Iron Bowl party for my parents, Big Mama, and some great friends from college - Collin and Michelle and Anne and Rob - who we are so fortunate to have in town and be able to hang out with frequently. We were all in a fantastic mood that day. Oscar also attended our Iron Bowl party and almost got lost in Homewood when Robert and Dad got distracted by football and he walked out the front door! I'm not sure if mom will let him come back to the house after that scare! :)

I am also thankful for our church family at Faith and our new Senior Assistant Pastor, Carl Smith. Carl's installation service was Sunday night and was such a blessing to attend. Robert and I were both very encouraged to see the Lord raise up godly men to shepherd his flock. We all miss Jamie and Michelle Peterson and their precious kids a ton (they are now in Frisco, Texas planting a church), but God has provided for our church through Carl.

I am thankful for nearly completing one more semester of school. I had my last and only final last night and only have a few more papers and presentations before this semester is complete. Robert is finished next week also. We each only have six more classes to take (plus one independent study I have) and are looking forward to wrapping our graduate studies up next year.

Other things for which we are thankful:

• Definitely DVR. Let's just say it's amazing to record our favorite shows, watch them when we want, and skip all the commercials. Dont' know how we survived without it.

• Christmastime! I can't wait to put up our tree and decorations. And now Christmas music is playing on the radio and Robert will let me listen to it because it's after Thanksgiving! And Christmas lights are starting to pop up in our neighborhood!

• Our upcoming trip to South Carolina to visit with Robert's family and celebrate the arrival of our new neice, Tess, who is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. We both have been looking forward to this trip for so long, and now it's finally here. We're hoping to leave tomorrow once we've wrapped up everything with work and school. I'll be sure and post some pics from our trip!