Thanksgiving visit with Grace

Our Thanksgiving weekend started off on Wednesday morning when we left to go to Columbus to see Jay's grandmother Grace.  We only get to see her about 3 times a year and we looked forward to getting to see her.  Jay's granddad passed away almost 2 years ago and holidays are still tough on her as can be expected.  We haven't seen the tombstone since he passed away and the kids have never seen it so after we took her to lunch, we drove over to see it.

After lunch we came back to her little apartment and the kids were so excited about "decorating" for her.  Last year she asked us to put up her tree and the kids remembered it and was excited to help her.  

The kids with Grace

Thankful to see her and hug her sweet neck!

Our week in review...

Hi y'all!  It's been a whole week since I have updated the blog which isn't like me but this picture explains exactly the way I have felt this week ha!  I laughed out loud when I saw this on Facebook.  Anybody out there relate?!?!

However, I do have some pics that I took in the midst of the chaos!  Sunday night (a week ago) Brayden was playing at Splash (a kid's program we have at church) and followed a bouncing ball under a table and hit his face.  He cut his eye pretty good which thankfully didn't need stitches but he gave himself a good 'ole black shiner too.  We saw our buddy nurse-in-training Ambere to help us mend our wounds.  We put some liquid band-aid on it and it has healed pretty nicely although it was ugly for a few days.

This was day 1, 3 and 5.  As the days passed the cut got better and the black eye got worse.

 This week Karis and Brayden both got progress reports.  Karis has straight A's for now but it is just as important to me that she behaves and it appears she is.  It makes my heart smile!

And Brayden had a great progress report too!  Proud of all that he is learning...but got to work on that handwriting.  Looks like being a doctor may be in his future ha!

 A teacher texted me this pic the other day when Brayden went on a field trip.  He and his buddy Eli are two peas in a pod at recess every day!

Lulu the princess....

We were pleased to get a letter from our Moses this week and we sent him one back along with drawings from all the kiddos.

It has been getting dark sooner lately and we have very little time outside after work.  But we did squeeze in one afternoon walk before the sun went down on us.

The kids and I did some fun crafts this week for Thanksgiving.

Brayden came home with some neat crafts he made at school...

This past Saturday on opening day Jay took Brayden hunting and B was soooo excited.  He LOVES doing things like this with his dad.  It melts my heart!

 

Saturday night we got a new table which we all LOVE!  The kids love the booths!

Our first meal at our new table...

My fav from this past week...

When Brayden went on his community field trip they went to the post office and he sent this postcard and was thrilled to get it in our mailbox!

 Brayden had a Thanksgiving feast at school and his sweet teacher texted me this picture.  Thankful for pics when I can't be there!

Jay surprised me with Starbucks one night this week and then sushi one day for lunch.  I loved my surprises...2 of my fav things!

This past Saturday one of our favorite people got married to the love of her life.  We were so excited for her and thankful we got to celebrate with them!  Congrats Kerrie and Andrew!!!

She was one GORGEOUS bride!

Saturday we went ahead and put up our Christmas tree because I like to come home from Thanksgiving and it be up.  The kids always love putting on the ornaments and I love the memories made while doing so.

Jay was looking at a Bass Pro magazine the other day and Lucy has discovered she likes pink camo!

Sunday after church we had our church-wide Thanksgiving lunch and then the kids and I went shopping at Target with Amy and Camden.  We enjoyed some Starbucks as we strolled through for several HOURS.  Karis had a gift card burning a hole in her pocket so she bought some makeup with it.

 

Then we went to a missions conference and saw Sudhir before he heads back to India this week.  It was so great to see him.  Those of you that know Lucy, you know that she is shy and needs time to warm up to people.  Well she loves Sudhir so much she saw him from the other side of the room and ran up to him with arms open wide.  My kids LOVE Sudhir!

They had this little gym there and the kids loved playing on it!

Karis gave Lucy several make-overs this week with her new makeup.  Lucy was in makeup heaven!

 Lucy helped me make some chocolate cake this week.  I love it when they help me in the kitchen.

Brayden was so thankful to have a short week at school!

Thankful I get to spend my days working from home with this sweet girl....

Karis got to go on a field trip today to the Orpheum and she had a blast!

Lucy decided to play dress up tonight in Karis' closet and she picked out a lovely outfit ha!

We have a busy few days seeing family for Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be thankful for and am counting my blessings this year.  Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Best Roast Chicken

This is one of our favorite "go to" meals that the whole family loves and it is fairly simple which I always appreciate!  I do NOT like any kind of chicken on a bone (seriously wouldn't even eat chicken if it was on a bone until just a few years ago).  However I always have to put my big girl panties on to cook this and then bleach the heck out of my counter tops usually more than once!  But it is GOOOOD and it looks super impressive too!

I got the recipe from here and here it is...

Roast Chicken

3-4 lb. chicken
1 lemon, halved or quartered
1 head garlic, cut crosswise
1 bunch thyme (25-30 stems)
2 tblsp. butter
Salt
Pepper
Carrots
Potatoes (I used sweet potatoes instead of white)
Onions
¼ cup chicken broth (I use more like 1/2 or 3/4 cup and make sure you stir up the vegetables or the top ones will get crispy and won't cook through.)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

Dry the chicken with paper towels before beginning. It helps the butter, salt and pepper stick to the surface of the skin. You could use olive oil if you want, but the butter gives the skin a richer color and helps it crisp up better than oil.

Start by lightly salting and peppering the inside of the chicken. Then place the lemon, garlic and about 2/3 of the thyme into the chicken. Spread the butter all over the surface of the skin (I just use my fingers) and then liberally salt and pepper the skin.

Prepare the vegetables by cutting the carrots and potatoes into bite-size chunks. Roughly cut the onions into large pieces. Place all the vegetables in the bottom of a roasting pan. Add the chicken broth and scatter the remaining thyme over. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the pan. The vegetables act like a roasting rack to keep the chicken off the surface of the pan. Pretty neat, huh?

Cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil. Allow the chicken to rest at least 10 minutes before slicing. If desired, return the vegetables to the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes while the chicken rests.

***And for tips for those that don't like handling chicken (like me!) or haven't ever cooked a whole chicken, remember when you buy a whole chicken the "innards" will be in a bag in the cavity of the chicken and you must remove that and discard them before stuffing the lemon and thyme inside.  Yep its gross but do it quickly and don't think about it.  Also, have the husband carve it afterwards...it's a daddy job!  Did I mention I don't like dealing with chicken on a bone?!?!

Colors of Fall

Our property is always so pretty in the Fall and it is most definitely one of my favorite things about living in the country.  These are just some pics I took around our house yesterday.  The Lord certainly is an INCREDIBLE artist!