Oh yeah, Thanksgiving!

How on earth is it already December 9th?

Good grief.

So. Um.

Thanksgiving was a decade ago, apparently.

But it was super fun, with some Pinterest inspiration thrown in by Grammy.

It was hard to get any true photos during the festivities because Aunt Mel and I were wrangling our wild turkeys the majority of the time...

 But the day was certainly filled with lots of love, gratitude, and delicious food.

Which is exactly what makes Thanksgiving so wonderful!

Spring Break, Grammy / Pop Pop Edition

We spent the second half of our Kentucky Spring Break at Grammy and Pop Pop's house.

And, like most of our trips to Kentucky, the time seemed to fly by.

Speaking of flying by...

Aubrey loved flying kites at Grammy and Pop Pop's house!
Why just fly one kite when you can fly two?

Poor Mina had a hard time and just yelled at her kite (or anyone who tried to help her). It was pretty comical considering she rarely gets mad at anything!

But Mina sure loooooved getting to see her new cousin. 

She begged, "Hold Baby!!!!"

This was our compromise... 

Is he not the cutest thing in the world?! Even when he's fighting a nap... :)

Grammy and Pop Pop let the girls get in a practice Egg Hunt before Easter.

They even filled the eggs with fun things like candy, bath/water toys, and money! 

And, as luck would have it, we were in town over my grandmother's birthday!

We wanted to do something that she'd never done before...

81 years old, and this was her very first pedicure!

Fun week of memories!

Only three more months until we'll be back in the good old Bluegrass for good!

Oh Yeah...

We went to Kentucky at the end of October!

The hope was that my little nephew would adhere to his due date, and we'd get to meet the little guy.

But, as with most kids, he didn't follow the schedule we had all planned out. ;)

I did get some maternity pictures of his Mama on his actual due date, which was fun!

Even though Mr. Henrik didn't show up during our visit, we ended up having a downright lovely weekend just hanging out at Grammy and Pop Pop's!

That delicious treat Mina is holding is a Caramel Apple Cupcake -- click here for the recipe. 

It's also so nice that both sets of grandparents live in the same city -- we got to see Zubie too!

We're already counting down the days until Thanksgiving when we'll get to see everyone -- yes, I'm talking to you, Mr. Henrik! :)

9 Months of Love

I remember calling my sister to tell her we were starting the adoption process.
"You'll have a baby before we have our little one!" I told her.

Adoption is notorious for taking a long time, and she and her husband had already decided to start "expanding" their family.
Any day now I just knew I'd be getting a call from her squealing on the other end, "I'm pregnant!"

Months went by.
She still had no pregnancy news to announce.
Daniel and I started the massive amount of adoption paperwork.
We continued to flip pages on our calendars.

More and more adoption paperwork.
Pregnancy expectations mounting.

Seasons and holidays passed without even acknowledging the pain they brought.
My sister didn't have her baby, and neither did I.
We both felt hollow inside.
We took turns sharing tears on our phone calls across the miles.

Daniel and I received news that we would finally be traveling to bring our daughter home.
We could see the light at the end of our tunnel.
My sister felt trapped in hers.

It had been over a year since the original conversation about pregnancy and adoption.

My sister decided to meet with a specialist to figure out why she wasn't getting pregnant.
The day she arrived for her appointment, she was told there had been a mistake in scheduling.
Sorry -- come back next month to see the doctor.

My sister never ended up going to her appointment.

Halfway across the world when Mina was placed in my arms, my sister became pregnant.
The week we brought Mina home, my sister saw her very first positive pregnancy test.

This week marks nine months since God placed this precious gift in my arms...

Nine months.
Just enough time for Him to deliver another precious miracle...

God truly amazes me with His intricate details.
Weaving lives together all over the world.
He has a plan.
For everyone.
And it's filled with immeasurable love.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.

Getting Ready for Baby Henrik

I can't believe my sister is having a baby.
Actually, I guess I can.
She was always the child who bathed her babydolls so frequently their eyelashes fell out.
I, on the other-hand, was more interested in ruining my white Keds outside or watching Superman.
My sister (or Aunt Mel as she's known around here) has always exhibited strong "motherly" genes. Now she is less than two months away from welcoming her firstborn, and I don't think I've ever seen her happier.
It's been an all girls club around our family for awhile, so knowing there's a bouncing baby boy on the way has us all giddy with excitement.

To help Aunt Mel get ready for her little blue bundle, I hosted a baby shower for her last weekend.
It was such a fun afternoon celebrating the upcoming arrival of Mr. Henrik!

There were lots of sweets: chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, chocolate buttercream brownies, petit fours, and bon bons (4 different flavors: keylime, coconut, caramel, peanut butter). 

I tried to incorporate some "dude food" into the mix too: BBQ pork sliders, chicken strips, bowtie pasta salad, fruit salad, and chips.

Mel isn't a huge fan of baby shower games (I can't say I blame her...), so I just had a station for people to participate only if they wanted.

One area had three containers where guests could guess how many items were in each. 

What Every New Mom Needs:

1. Caffeine (guess the number of coffee beans) / Prize: Starbucks tumbler with a Starbucks giftcard

2. Chocolate (guess the number of chocolate chips) / Prize: Gift Certificate to Great Harvest Bread

3. Pampering (guess the number of cotton balls) / Prize: Free Manicure or Pedicure at a local nail salon

The other station was called "Late Night Diapers" where guests could write a funny or encouraging message for Mel to read when she's changing Henrik's diapers in the wee hours of the morning. Hopefully these will bring her a smile when she's struggling to keep her eyes open!

I wanted to have a special little space for Mel to open her gifts and thought these ABC Scripture cards would be a fun backdrop...

Along with the invitation, I included an insert that asked guests to bring a book in place of a card. 

Baby Henrik's library is definitely off to a good start!

The guests were sent home with one of Mel's favorite cravings: white cheddar popcorn!

Family, former co-workers, friends (old and new) all came to celebrate --it was such a wonderful afternoon!

We love you, Aunt Mel!

Can't wait to meet baby Henrik!

Christmas Vacation

We spent 10 glorious days in Kentucky over the Christmas holiday.
We have not had that much family time in, well...I can't remember how long.

I realized after getting back to Oklahoma, I didn't take my "real" camera out nearly as much as I normally do.
It was nice, actually, and between the few camera shots I did take and the ones captured on my phone--I'd say Christmas was adequately documented...

Christmas Eve Candlelight service at First Baptist.
It was beautiful, warm, welcoming, and such a joy to take the time and really focus on the True Light.

Aubrey was really into Rudolph this Christmas.

Zubie and Aubrey decorated this tiny tree one late afternoon. 

It was just begging for some Christmas cheer. 

It's hard to really see here, but trust me, it was cute. :)

We ate well over those 10 days, that is for sure (the scales can attest to that!).
These Christmas morning cinnamon rolls...oh my...more like sinamon rolls!

Anytime Zubie was in the kitchen, there were always two male scavengers roaming around licking their lips...

I don't know why exactly, but this picture just makes me happy...

In addition to all the food...there were lots of gifts to be given!

And as Uncle Jacob said, "If anyone could 'win' Christmas, it would be Aubrey."

(That would be chocolate on her face, by the way.)

All that and Santa had yet to come!

Luckily Old St. Nick kept it super simple this year.

He went with the 4-gift motto:
Something she wants (kitty cat)
Something she needs (new panties)
Something to wear (Aurora dress)
Something to read. (Big Picture Bible)
Along with just a few extras.

Aubrey had wanted a "real" kitty that goes to the potty in a "glitter" box.
Santa brought her a robotic cat that purrs/walks/meows instead.
Thankfully, she didn't seem disappointed.
Oh, and for those interested, the kitty has been named Violet.

And just for kicks: the customary scraggly Christmas morning family photo...

(I wore my nightshirt with LOVE on it in honor of Shisi.)

Of course we couldn't forget the Birthday Party for Jesus on Christmas morning!

This year Aubrey requested a chocolate cake with strawberry icing.
She put the candles on herself, and then realized, "OH NO! I made the J for Jesus backward! Sorry, Jesus!"

We had snow over the holiday! Oh what fun!
Catching snowflakes...


Making snow angels...


Snowball fights...

Building a snowman...

Now, let's take a moment and get the full effect of Daniel's snow gear, shall we?
A 1998 Daviess County High School Cross Country State Champs wind-breaker.
Oh how I love that man. Even wearing that outfit.

The majority of the holiday was spent loungin' and lovin'...

One of my favorite evenings was getting together with my mom and sister at a local coffee shop.
We talked, we laughed, we cried.
I wish we could do this more often...

We also got to stick around for Pop Pop's birthday! We grabbed some hometown BBQ for dinner and finished it off with an ice cream cake. It was a fun (and loud!) evening celebrating this guy...LOVE YOU, DAD!!

It was an incredibly wonderful holiday...
I can't wait to add another little munchkin to our family picture next Christmas!