Happy Thanksgiving

Hope each and every one of you has a very Blessed Thanksgiving weekend with your families and friends ! Everything you see above... is everything I am SO THANKFUL for. Of course I am also very thankful for our wonderful extended family and friends. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend !

http://www.michaelhalephotography.com/

Belated Birthday Wishes....

How on earth I managed to fall behind on this blog post is beyond me.. lol ! That's such a joke... I find these days I rarely have time to breathe. I was grateful to be offered an 'as needed' school nurse substitute job in September and they said they would probably keep me busy on my days off from the Dermatology clinic and they weren't kidding !! The flu season has taken quite a toll on the county schools here and it's been nice working in the local schools with the kids !

Our Ella is TWO !!!! SOOOOOO hard to believe this sweet child is two. Well..... let me re-phrase that... so hard to believe she's already two. She defintely has the 'two year old attitude' let me tell ya' ..... Oh... the drama with little girls !! Her vocabulary is outstanding. I hope I say that without sounding 'braggy'..... but she is very good with her words and speaks so well ! Her favorites things right now are of course, Dora the Explorer and baby dolls. She loves to put her dolls in her stroller and get her diaper bag all fixed and tell us all ' Bye... I going shopping. '

She has learned that Carter & Cole are her 'rescuer's' in that when she is in trouble .... she calls for them to come get her. We've had to explain to the boys of course that they can't rescue her and that she needs to learn there are consequenses for bad behavior. Yeah.... not workin' out too well right now...... but we're slowly getting there.....

Ella's favorite food ( believe it or not ) is tossed salad with ranch dressing ???!! She LOVES it. Always asks for more. She loves pizza too and all fruits ( grapes, strawberries, melon, kiwi..) and she still loves cajun rice and chicken !

She enjoys coloring (both in coloring books and the walls....) and LOVES to play 'waitress' She walks around holding her pencil and tablet and asks 'what you order? '

She has a bad habit right now of constantly wanting her pacifier and blanket. She walks around with her blanket dragging the floor all the time. It makes me crazy... but I know this too shall pass......

She is a blessing. A blessing that we cannot even imagine being without.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY ISABELLA ROSE WE LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH !!!

Happy Fall Y'all

The kids and I took our 'annual' Pumpkin Patch farm trip last week and we had such a good time ! Ella enjoyed 'climbing' on all the mountains of pumpkins and loved eating apples and helping us pick out pumpkins to decorate the front porch. We are looking forward to a family picnic soon to Roan Mountain and (weather permitting) taking a plane ride across the mountian and dispersing my Dad's ashes across the beautiful terrain. This was his wish for as long as I can remember and I can't wait to finally do this. It has been a hard 5 months for us. Losing my Mom 4 years ago was heart-wrenching...but losing my Dad this past summer has taken quite a toll on me. I have had to remind myself frequently that I was blessed to have my parents as long as I did... which has NOT been easy. They were both so young. I miss them both so much and my life, while soooo rich with God's blessings and so very appreciated, will never be the same without them. Please visit my shop blog http://www.fiddlycat.blogspot.com/ I am selling a book that I compiled this summer of my personal home made family recipes and folk art patterns of which all proceeds will be split ( 50/50) to both the Susan G. Kommen breast cancer Foundation ( in honor of my Mom ) and The Black Diamond Search & Rescue Foundation in SW Virginia ( in honor of my Dad ). Have a safe and fun Fall weekend .....

Mark your Calendars !

I have been a busy bee.... sewing...painting... hooking. I will have a small booth set up ( An outside tent) at the annual Fall Folk Arts Festival at the Exchange Place in Kingsport, Tn. Really neat !! If you've never visited.... please be sure to !

Uno... dos... tres...

One Year 'Gotcha Day' !!!!

Now

Then

It is hard to believe that one year ago today.... we were in Guatemala City pacing our hotel floor with one very unhappy 8 month old little girl who's whole entire world changed in a split second. It was probably the most bitter-sweet experience We have ever endured. She cried continuously.. (never stopped) for a solid 6 hours. Ella lived with her wonderful foster family from November 21, 2007 to July 16, 2008. It was a day that will never be forgotten ! Ella cried... I cried...Wendel cried... the foster family was sobbing... and it was all because of one little girl that was leaving one family and uniting with another. I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult it must have been for Ella's foster family to say good-bye to her...but we have over the months kept in touch through email and letters. We are blessed to have her and fall more in love with her each day !

~*~ The Wedding ~*~

Rather than take up alot of room with writing... I just wanted to share some photos of my brother and sister-in-law's beautiful wedding this weekend ! Congratulations Brack & Jenny ! We Love you guys !