Thanksgiving in Pictures

Thanksgiving with the Lawrence's was loads of fun. Mary-Michael met her cousins Jace and Makenzie for the first time, and I think they kind of liked her as was evidenced by the fact that she was rarely left unattended for more than 15 seconds.


While we waited for our turkey to cook we made pumpkin turkeys.


And we took pictures.


And more pictures.


And more pictures.


And we did handstands, which resulted in belly laughs from Mary-Michael, so there were a lot of handstands!


And we practiced walking with Grandma...all while waiting for the turkey to finish. Did I mention there was a brief power surge Thanksgiving morning, and we didn't notice that the oven cut off? Oops!


And finally - it's time to eat! Aunt Melissa introduced M&M to apple slices to gum, which she loved!


Cousin Jace helped feed M&M.


So did cousin Makenzie. Makenzie was also the official monitor checker, as she took it upon herself to make sure we knew about every peep, cry and movement that occurred while Mary-Michael slept or was supposed to be sleeping. It was really cute.


On Friday, we all took the subway into DC and ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. This is Grandma and Mary-Michael sharing a moment.


It was a very cold day, so we had to bundle up while walking to the American History Museum. Despite missing her afternoon nap she did quite well as we strolled her through the museum.


On Saturday, we had some final moments of fun with Uncle Kam and cousin Jace all while supporting both Momma and Daddy's teams.


You may think she's a Virginia Tech Hokie fan from this picture, but wait...


The dress is divided, and she actually likes the UVA Hoos, too (too bad they lost).

Giving Thanks

As we did last year on our trek up 95 to Alexandria, Geoff and I are discussing what were thankful for. There's so much we could say, but here are a few things at the forefront of our minds.

Geoff: I'm thankful for Sunshine (me), our health, Mary-Michael, our recent small group that made us refocus our marriage on Christ, all of the Lawrence family being together on one holiday (and some meeting M&M for the first time) and Mary-Michael knowing how to give kisses.

Me: I second that! I have an amazing husband and daughter, a supportive, loving extended family and girlfriends I can call to cry to, complain to and laugh with. I wouldn't trade my relationships that make life joyous and imperfect for anything. And I don't know how I got through the first 20 years of my life as I did without a relationship with my Savior. Wow. We are so incredibly thankful, too, for those things we often take for granted: a warm home, food on the table, secure jobs, religious freedom and freedom in general thanks to our men and women who serve.

May your thanksgiving be simple and focused on what really matters...remember if the turkey burns you can always order Chinese!

Fort Bragg and Santa

This weekend we took a trip down to Fort Bragg in North Carolina to welcome home a friend returning from Afghanistan. We are so grateful to him and all the men and women who serve and work to protect us and our freedoms. Offer a handshake, buy a drink at the airport or just say thank you to the next service man or woman you see.


Ash and Jerome with a little more hair than the last time we saw him...ok, A LOT more hair!


Auntie Boo and Mary-Michael.


We had to make a trip to the Harley-Davidson store upon Jerome's return. As you can tell by the smile on Geoff's face, he was dragged there...


Our sweet girl with a sweet smile.

After our visit to Fort Bragg, we had a little downtime at home and then we spent Sunday at church and followed this with our annual Thanksgiving dinner at my mom and stepdad's house. We gathered everyone at Bass Pro Shop first for a visit and photo session with jolly old Saint Nick. Though we waited for almost 2 hours, all 6 grandkids did remarkably well, and we even got a few good pictures.


Me, M&M and Cousin Layne on the ATV.


Grandad helping M&M take her first ride on a 4-wheeler.


M&M and her first visit with Santa. We had no tears, which was amazing considering she hadn't had a nap in over 6 hours by the time it was our turn.


The fam!


All the grandkids tear-free with Santa!

Staycation

So, this week and next week I'm on a staycation (aka 2 weeks of vacation at home!) per some encouragement from my manager to really take some time off since the last few months have been really hectic. I'm settling in nicely to this routine, though it's taken me a few days...if you know me well, you know I'm not that good at sitting. I was regularly "in trouble" with my mother-in-law a short while after giving birth because I was up trying to do my normal piddling, cleaning or anything that didn't involve me sitting down.

But now that I'm settled and over feeling lazy (silly, I know - there's nothing lazy about taking care of your family!), I'm really enjoying myself. Mary-Michael and I are doing lots of playing, we've visited with Daddy a few times during his work day and will have a few play dates under our belts by this time next week. I made it my goal (because I had to have some sort of goal!) to cook/bake/make a new recipe each day. I'll update this as a go along with the do-overs and those that were one-time only.

Do-overs
Molten chocolate lava cakes (if I could, I'd eat these every night!)
Black bean tostadas (Geoff was a huge fan, and he's kinda picky)
Aunt Artie's oatmeal cookies (family recipe from Geoff's mom)
Honey roasted carrots (they tasted kind of like a dessert!)
Chicken taco bake (I've found it's hard to mess up a Mexican recipe!)
Sunny frittata (the Beethoven-Wilson boys really liked this, and it was relatively easy)

One-time only
Curry shrimp over rice
Fresh blueberry crumb coffee cake
Peppered cheddar muffins

I'm also doing lots of reading. If you've let me borrow a book over the last year, I'm hoping to get to it in the next week! So far, I've read "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" and "Thursdays at Eight." Next up is "The Day the World Came to Town."

But more than these easily quantifiable goals, I really hope to have a little me time, and a lot of family time. So much is missed when we hurry through life, so I'm going to try and take it slow these next several days...hopefully, it will stick.

Maine

Our trip to Portland, Maine was awesome. If you haven't been you should go - we hear the summertime is the best because it's not quite so chilly! And if you go, you should make sure to have a local show you where the best food and sites to see are. We had the best one available, but I'm not sure her services are for rent. My friend Sarah, whom I met at my very first job out of college (I was a measly intern), is from Maine and relocated there shortly after Geoff and I were married. It was great to see her after several years apart and spend some time getting to know the place she's always called home. Here are just a few pics from the trip.


I made Sarah turn around so I could get a picture of this.


In the original LL Bean store.


Beautiful coastline.


And more beautiful coastline...


In our hotel room after trick or treating on Halloween.


Doesn't this look like a postcard?


Self-portrait.


Taking a hike at Morse Mountain - highly recommend this if you go!


Walking on the beach.


Family portrait at the end of our hike.


And beautiful Sarah with a happy M&M.

Eight months and a special celebration

My little mover and shaker,
You continue to rock our world and you really are such a blessing to us and so many friends and family that love you. You wouldn't believe all the people that came to cheer you on for your baby dedication this morning. Wow, we are lucky (ok, I really don't believe in luck, so really were just blessed!) to have such support.

You did really well up on stage in front of hundreds of people and wore a dress that one of my Godmother's daughters wore when she was a little one (Thank you Susie and Sarah!). You looked very sweet. After Momma and Daddy committed to raising you in a Christian home, encouraging God's purposes in your life and teaching you about our Lord and Savior, Pastor Carter spoke of hope, and he prayed a special prayer of hope over you with so many friends and family standing around you. As Nonnie and Grandad said in their card, "Jesus said 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Amen to that. It was a really special day.

As Momma is journeying through this life of faith (the joys and the challenges), I am often struck by how much I want you to know that you are special and uniquely created for a purposes. I want you to love yourself just the way you are and know that your personality, circumstances and appearance were well thought out and from your Creator. I know there will be times (i.e. middle school and high school) when you don't like your hair, your clothes, your parents, etc., but I hope your daddy and I can minimize those times by teaching you to believe in yourself, wonder and learn about our great big God and dream big dreams. You are an unbelievable little girl!

Lately, you are into everything! You are crawling, pulling up, walking while holding onto the couch or the coffee table, and last night I bought you a toy to walk behind. I'm still not sure that's a good idea because I'm encouraging this whole walking thing and you're only 8 months. I know once you start you won't stop! Your daddy said to me last night while you were nursing and hitting my chest, pulling my necklace, scratching my arm... "she doesn't stop moving, does she?" Hello??! Haven't I said all along she is exactly like you!

You are eating all kinds of things, and a few things you're not supposed to be eating when I'm not looking. Papa George gave you some brownie this weekend...you really liked it, naturally. I love chocolate, too. You are eating Cheerios and bites of what Momma and Daddy eat for dinner, but for the most part you're still eating lots of cereal, fruit and pureed veggies. You are not a fan of green vegetables. A book I have says it takes up to 10 tries for a baby to figure out of she/he likes a food. We're getting close to 10....so, we'll see.

Green veggies or not, your Daddy and I are smitten with you. We love you baby girl.

Momma


The children's corner at Sunday lunch.


You in your pretty dress.


You and your brownie-giving grandpa.


Carla and something to chew on - what more could a girl want!?


You and your friend, Sherry Lee.


Your new walking toy.

(more pics to come from the dedication once I collect them from friends and family)