Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you and your family a happy Thanksgiving holiday this week!

Weekend Wrap Up ~ Pre Thanksgiving

Happy Monday Pre-Thanksgiving!!

I enjoyed my Friday after working a few days last week.  Y'all, I am out of the groove of working & a few days is all it takes to make me exhausted!

I spent Friday at home because my girls were preparing to go out of town for the weekend.  Isabella had lunch plans with friends, so Brook & I went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

The girls went to a retreat with church, so Avery and I went to eat at Red Robin because I had a free birthday burger coupon to redeem :).

This is a view of our yard Saturday morning.  We have officially been invaded by leaves.  Fall has fallen!

I brought out my Christmas decorations & made lists of what I needed ( or what I wanted) since I was missing some Christmas things, like a tree stand and a wreath. I made a trip to Hobby Lobby & Michaels over the weekend.  I decorated the house this weekend, with the exception of our tree and a few other small things.

Avery worked on our window seat & I added some final touches.  

 We added cushions and pillows., and I also painted the bottom wood part that you see in this picture.  I'll post an updated picture later.

Avery and I practiced for our Senior Citizen days by looking for a coupon and eating at Captain D's at 5:41pm.  Why Captain D's?  We had a coupon, there is a new one in our area, we haven't eaten there in years, and knew we would never go there with the girls.  The fish wasn't terrible, but I don't think I'll go back there for a long time, even though they had a sign that said "See you tomorrow!", ha, ha!! 

Sunday, the girls came home from their weekend and had a great time, but were tired.  These are two pictures the church posted on their website:

Brook and a friend after they completed the rock climbing wall 

Isabella during worship time 

Let it be known I watched 4 or 5 Hallmark Christmas movies this weekend.  I lost track somewhere along the way!!  Looking forward to this holiday week & loving having some Christmas decorations in my home!!

Friday Favorites

Here are a few favorites from this week.......

This is a picture of our dining room a month after we moved into our house.  Take a look at the chandelier.  I liked the look of it, but wanted to make an update to it.  If you can notice, there were glass panels on each side of the light fixture.

I removed the glass panels that hung vertically.

And then I replaced the light bulbs, so this is what it looks like now.  I may possibly spray paint the fixture at another time.

The lake by our house is so pretty in the fall with the trees showing their colors.  Pictures are always so hard to capture the beauty of fall trees.

Listening to Huey Lewis on the radio is always a favorite, even as I begin to listen to a little bit of Christmas music.

I did a cycle class this week at the gym.  I've worked several days, so I have only been once this week.  I am still a little sore though!  

This picture appeared on my memories of photos from 9 years ago.  Brook's cheeks and that foot are so sweet! 

I worked 3 days this week, and I was exhausted by the end of the 3rd day.  A little Christmas shopping was what I needed, followed by some Hallmark movies! 

Me by 6pm :) 

Happy Weekend!

Thanksgiving Touches

Thanksgiving will be here in a week & I have a few additional Thanksgiving touches to my fall decor.  I needed to share these this week because yes, I think they may be gone by Thanksgiving.  One trip to Hobby Lobby last week & I am ready to decorate for Christmas. We will be thankful with our Christmas decorations & I am not hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year.  I do have some Thanksgiving plates that I will use that morning for breakfast.  The Macy's parade will officially usher in Christmas on Thanksgiving!!

When will you decorate for Christmas?

Reflections

Yesterday was reflective for me.  I'm not going to lie, I shed some tears yesterday morning on my drive to bible study thinking about this day last year.

The day before I left Bogota, we had lunch with these people.  These people.  These are our friends.  Friends in Bogota become like family.  The other Americans in this picture were teammates.  The Colombians in this picture saved us in many ways there.  God used them to help us in our journey.  These are Colombians we keep in touch with today, along with a few others, including the 3 girls we came to love.

The next morning, November 14, 2016, I was so nervous for our flight process.  Check-in is so different in Bogota than domestic travel.  Once we were checked-in, immigration was always a little nervous for me when I was traveling without Avery & had the girls with me.  I had to have notarized papers giving me permission to leave the country with them.  Keep in mind the fact that we were traveling on a way ticket and checked 20 bags.  I was nervous the airline wouldn't accept them all, but they did...for a fee :). There was a luggage embargo beginning the next day so this was the maximum number of bags we could check.  The other 10 bags came later through others.  Along with checking 20 bags, Brook and I also had 2 carry ons.  

Whew, we finally made it to our seats.  First class.  Last time that happened!!  It sounds crazy, but on a one way ticket, first class was more affordable since we were checking so many bags.

Colombia.....we are so thankful for all you taught us.  You really are a beautiful country.  

We landed in Atlanta & had customs where Brook & I had to claim all 20 bags, carry them through customs, then drop them off again for checked luggage.  Once we did that, we made our way to the Delta Sky Miles Club because we needed a "free snack", and it was included with our first class ticket!!

Here we are, finally at our gate waiting on our flight to Memphis.  One of the pilots let Brook put on his hat!  It was just Brook and I returning home this day for her to attend a church camp & Isabella stayed behind with Avery to say her goodbyes to church & school friends.

It is honestly hard for me to realize I have spent 365 days in the USA.  That was my goal.  Goal complete!  Now, I think I could go back & visit Colombia.  Maybe in the next year or two that will happen.  In the meantime, we are thankful for visitors we have had from Colombia & for goodies we receive :).

If you ever have the chance to visit  or live outside of the USA, I would encourage you to consider it prayerfully.  I am so glad we said yes to God's call on our lives to live as foreigners, showing the love of Jesus to people.  May we do the same here.  

Birthday ~ Part 2

I am blogging about my birthday in two posts to avoid picture overload :).  Here is the continuation of my birthday weekend......

After lunch with my parents, I went to see some of my favorite little people...

I brought this cute 1 year old a fire truck as a belated birthday gift.

And this chill girl....she is adorable.

I loved just sitting watching them do their thing.

Post visit, we went to my favorite yogurt place for birthday dessert.

I was tired by this point of the day, but Avery & I rallied and attended our friend's annual Texas night party (he is from Texas).

Texas trivia

Texas night food....so yum!

Sunday morning, I had my own 13 year old make-up artist before church.  She knows her stuff! :)

After church, we had a potluck meal and yesterday after working, our family went out for pizza with a free pizza birthday coupon I had, so I've had a few days off from cooking, but will be back to it tonight.

I am thankful for another year of life. Thanks for reading along!

Birthday ~ Part 1

I had a birthday this weekend, so here is a re-cap of my birthday weekend!

Avery & I went to dinner Friday night and had a beautiful view of the sunset. 

We also tried a pie place near us, and it was very good & reminded me of a diner in a Hallmark movie! 

When we returned home, the girls had put streamers on my door.  This is something I have always done for them.  So thoughtful.

They left balloons on the bed & a note. 

Saturday, 11/11 was my birthday.

Things that only happen in the USA on your birthday....a card from your insurance agent :)

And Veteran's Day!

I had always wanted to attend a Veterans Day event, so we went to a ceremony at the outlet center. 

After the ceremony & a little shopping, we met my parents for lunch. 

Part 2 will be coming up tomorrow!