Full Circle

I love Thanksgiving.

It's one of my absolute favorite holidays.

It's filled with traditions, gratitude, food and my favorite....FAMILY!

Through the years we've celebrated Thanksgiving many different ways.

When we were in the Navy for almost 10 years, 

the majority of those we weren't able to spend with family.

But the last 10 years, we've lived a little closer and I have hosted most of them....which I love!

But last year was my favorite!

It was a major milestone for this momma.

Thanksgiving came full circle for me.

My daughter was the host in her home!

And might I add, she and my son-in-law outdid themselves.

First let me show you a picture of how many she hosted....

 Try having 18  guests for your FIRST Thanksgiving in your home.

And we didn't just eat for lunch....

No, we were all houseguest for several days... all 18 of us.

Well, let me just tell you..

She and Chris were "The Hostess with the Mostess" for sure.

They went above and beyond to make it special.

For any of y'all that are having ,as we say in Louisiana, "beau coup" (pronounced boo coo which means ALOT) of house guests this Thanksging and are wondering where you are gonna seat them all for lunch... look what my two clever and resourceful youngins did...

They transformed their garage into a something AMAZING!..

 She mixed fancy with easy..

Fancy being real tablecloths and round tables.

Easy being the gorgeous paper plates AND PLASTIC silver utensils.

Yes...those are plastic!

 This was my place setting!

 And the food was just as wonderful as all of her decorations!  

Ok...are you wondering where we all slept?

No problem for these two incredible hosts...

After all the eating was over, they cleared out all the tables and transformed the garage into what we lovingly named...

"The Village"!

(It's where all the cool people slept!)

Told you they were amazing hosts!

It was a wonderful time.  We had all the grandparents and almost all the great grandparents together!

Here are the Great Grandmas...are they not just GORGEOUS!!

And if you wonder where I get my silliness from,

well the apple don't fall far from the tree.....

  Here are two of the great grands...the one with the polka dot scarf on her head is my momma.

The other is MiMi...Chris's grandma. (She just opens her mouth and I giggle.)  I love them both.

We were playing the game of Quelf.  Fun stuff.

Of course, one of the hilights for me was having all my girls together.

I love it when that happens.

This years Thanksgiving will be at my house..

I'm a little nervous following behind these two Super Heros of Hosting.. 

It's a great thing coming full circle.

What will  you be doing this year?

I'm sure whatever it is it's gonna be a blessing.

Stephanie :)

Linking up today at Gussy Sews for this weeks theme...

Thanksgiving.

Paw Paw's Jacket

This is Rosalyn.
She is our firstborn grandchild.
She is two.


See that awesome jacket she's wearing?
It was my husband's.
Her Paw Paw.
The jacket is forty years old.

Vintage.

I have saved it all these years through all the many moves.
Like.. over 20 times we have moved.
Each time we do..
I clean out.
Throw away.
Lighten the load.
The box with this jacket was always a keeper.
It always traveled with us everywhere we go.





You see..
I had a vision.
I always could picture my grandkids wearing it.
....One day.



That one day is now this day.
She is the first grandchild to wear her Paw Paw's Jacket.
The plan is to pass it down and let each one have a turn.

Little sister

Litte brother

Future cousins

My grandchildren

Paw Paw's Jacket

This will probably be her reaction when it's time for her to 

pass it down to her little sister.

She loves wearing her Paw Paw's jacket almost as fiercely

 as she loves her Paw Paw.

For once I'm glad I'm a pack rat.

I'm glad I have always loved vintage.

I'm glad the Lord let me see the third generation to wear

Paw Paw's Jacket.

If you want to see a bunch of other vintage stuff

go check out

Stephanie :)

The porch

The theme for the "Inspiration Workshop" this week is front porches.

What kind of porch inspires me?

Well, this one does for sure..

sourceI mean, don't you  want to curl up with a cup of coffee and your bible on this thing?

This one inspires me..sourceI could just picture myself with a slew of grandkids running down this porch.This one is long enough for all my family to sit down together and enjoy a glass of sweet tea.

And this one inspires me..sourceIt whispers peace to me.Come slow down and just ..be.

All those are nice and great to dream about.But honestly the porch that inspires me the most is this one.....
My porch!

It's small and simple.
  I doubt anyone would ever pin in on Pinterest nor would you find it in the pages of a magazine.

But its real.

And its mine.

I love what takes place on my porch and the people I get to share it with.

This is hanging on my porch. 

A gift from my daughter.

It reminds us both to bloom where God has planted.
(and it's really cute like her)

We blow bubbles here.

Eat supper here.

Make masterpieces here.

Eat popsicles here.

Make messes here.

 We learn stuff here.

We have fun here.

We make memories here.

Stephanie :)


 linking up today over here..

Welcome to My Little Neck of the Woods

This weeks theme for the Inspiration Workshop at Gussy Sews  is "A Day In My Life".

Well, I'm kinda in a new season of life right now...

The Almost Empty Nest.

I am not as bound to schedules as I used to be so each day is different.

I love days spent with my grand kids...to see what a day like that looks like, 

click here or here or here or here.

I love hanging with my girls.. to see what  a day like that looks like,

click here or here or here.

Of course, I love love days with my man.

In the place of ministry the Lord has us planted right now, 

I  get to spend 24 hours 7 days a week with him.

To see  what a day like that looks like, click here or here.

But since my days are kinda different lately, 

I thought I'd just share what took place in my world yesterday.

• 71 meatballs 
• home-made sauce from tomatoes from our garden
• 3 pans of enchiladas (chicken and beef)
• 2 roasts
• 2 dozen stuffed bell peppers

All cooked yesterday....

 ( yeah, I kinda need to wipe off the backsplash..gross)

That's a whopping 10 lbs of ground meat ya looking at!

My peppers before they got stuffed.

In my excitement of being finished....I forgot to take a pic after they got stuffed and  all packaged up and on  the way to the freezer.

my sauce: pre-meatballs

Can you say mucho enchiladas? 

 (Sorry for the blurriness.) 

My roasts getting a little brown before the crock pot.

These were the two little dishes I kept out  for us to munch on cuz the rest of this food.....

IS GOING TO THE BEACH!!  woo hoo!

~I'm working hard now, so I can play then~

You can click here to see what I'm talking about!

This is what my "I accomplished a whole lotta of stuff today"  face looks like!

What is a day in your life like? I'd love to know!
Come check out Gussy Sews  today to see a bunch of lovely ladies.

Stephanie:)