Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Yesterday was a good day. We went to my aunt Joleen's house, ate a very yummy meal and had fun hanging out with the fam! Total there were 28 people! And believe it or not my dad has 2 brothers (and their families) that still live in Minnesota that weren't there! I love having a big family, Holidays are especially sweet! You all know me by now and know I didn't take my camera, it would have been some group shot! I wish I did!

I sat in on a sunday school class last week and and the teacher challenged our students to write a letter of Thanksgiving to someone they are thankful for or for something they have done for them. What a challenge for adults too! So often we are consumed with preparing the delicious food, then eating it and our plans for "black friday" that we forget all about the Thanks part? I absolutely love Christmas and can't wait to get the decorations out and start preparing, but this year it seemed to come so early?! Every year it seems the world is short-changing Thanksgiving as a speed bump on the road to Christmas. But really, shouldn't it be a time of preparing for Christmas?!

Thanks to my husband for putting things into perspective..he's so great at doing that!!!

31 Years...

No, I am not turning 31 today...it is my parents 31st wedding anniversary!

I couldn't help myself adding this picture before they were married!

and on their wedding day....
November 26, 1977
(mom was 18 and dad was 20)

a few years later....
February 14, 1980 Sarah Marie was born...
June 19, 1981 Matthew David was born...
and July 8, 1984 Joshua Dean was born
(I didn't have baby picture of all of us so I didn't put any:-)

But here are some family pictures over the years...

through 3 high school graduations...

2 weddings...

August 19, 2000
Mr. & Mrs. Jody T. Livingston



October 15, 2005
Mr. & Mrs. Matthew D. Goodew

after 4 grand-daughters...

January 27, 2003 Emma Marie Livingston
October 12, 2005 Anna Virginia Livingston
September 2, 2006 Elizabeth Maye Livingston
August 6, 2008 Ashtyn Reese Goodew

and 1 more grandchild on the way...

are these boy feet or girl feet?

Just some photos over the years...

Every year since 2003 my brothers and I have taken an "anniversary" picture for my parents...I thought you might enjoy seeing them...

I couldn't find the one from 2003, I'll add it if I find it...


2004

2005


2006

2007

and this year's picture...

2008

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM & DAD!!!

Our 1st Lost Tooth

Emma has finally lost her first tooth! It has been wiggly for quite a while now along with it's neighbor. The 2 new teeth to replace them have been in for a while too (2 rows of teeth)...Aunt Diana, who is a dental assistant for an orthodontist, feared we would have to take her to the dentist to have them "removed". I am not a teeth kind of person, so Jody was on his own in aiding the removal of these stubborn teeth. When I was younger I had a lot of problems getting my own teeth out and I still dislike going to the dentist more than any other doctor. Emma has not been too happy when we told her they would have to "extract them with force", so she's been working double time and finally today she pulled it out! Anna & Lizzy didn't understand why Emma was so excited about the lost tooth because there was blood all over inside her mouth, face and hands! Now we are hoping the other one will come out soon!

Harvest Day

Yesterday was Harvest Day at our church. Everyone dresses up in their old fashioned garb and we have a huge "potluck" or "covered dish" lunch after wards! The girls and Jody dressed up in their old fashioned clothes, I couldn't find any old fashioned maternity clothes so I wore jeans! Here is a picture of Jody and the girls I snapped really quick before we left for church with my phone...
I of course forgot my camera and by the time we got home everyone was looking pretty rough...I wanted to mention Emma's dress she is wearing, it was a hand me down from a family in our church. They have 4 girls and every year they make dresses to wear to harvest day. I believe Emma's dress was the oldest daughter's (she's 17 now) dress when she was small! I wish I had gotten a picture of their dresses along with some of our other youth and younger girls who dressed up. They are so talented! If you went to the state fair you may have seen our youth girls handiwork...they won!

Snowy Friday

I have to admit I was really excited when I woke up this morning (6:30) and saw that it was snowing, the ground was white!!! The picture to the left is from our front porch. I am originally from Minnesota (yes I lost my "accent") and Jody grew up in the mountains of Tennessee (he lost his "accent" too), so we are both no strangers to inches and even feet of snow! But I think snow is one of those things you never get tired of seeing and it's always fun to go out and play!!! I thought some of you were still in bed asleep and would enjoy seeing the 2nd "snowing event" (the 1st was Tuesday morning flurries) in NC this month! Or for those of you who live farther south who never get to see snow!

Operation Christmas Child

I was reading a friends blog today about Operation Christmas Child and decided I needed to blog about it too! We've been participating for a couple of years now and I encourage you to check out Operation Christmas Child if you don't know what it is. It's almost too late to participate this year, but you can always participate next year or check out other programs by Samaritan's Purse. The shoe boxes are pretty easy and not very expensive, I began picking things up on clearance for the boxes months ago. We went to the dollar store and bought the plastic boxes, we packed them (there is a list of suggested items and things not to pack), then wrapped them. We opted to pay for the shipping online, then printed off the tags and taped them to the box. Our church is collecting them, so we just brought them to church when we were done! It is a great opportunity to teach our kids about others who may not receive any gifts for Christmas and the ultimate gift of Jesus Christ!

Here is a picture of the girls with their boxes before we turned them in. They had so much fun picking out things for their "friends"! Each girl packed a box for a little girl her age. Each box contained a shirt, pair of gloves, a couple pairs of socks and panties, a baby doll or Barbie, hair bows, purse, bracelets, stickers, lollipops and necklaces. Since Emma in the older category this year she also put in a jump rope, notepads, pencils, markers and lip gloss too! We also put a note in each box with each girls picture telling their "friend" a little bit about themselves and our address if their "friend" would like to write to them! This is the first year we've put notes in the box and the girls are anxious to see if they will get a response, especially Emma who is a beginner reader!

Family Update

I forgot to add this picture of me at 30 weeks, taken almost 2 weeks ago! Since this will be our last biological child (I know I am asking for it) I'm trying to take as many pictures as possible! Also an update on the Livingstons....

Most days start off with homeschooling Emma and trying to keep the other 2 busy...

Emma is loving learning how to read, but gets frustrated easily when things don't go her way immediately...she gets that from me :-( She has become such a great helper to me during the day now that I'm limited as to how much I can do. Her sisters adore her and we like her too!!!

Anna is semi-interested in learning her letters & sounds and can almost write an A, she tells everyone there are 2 A's in her name, but it's all downhill from there. She is so different from Emma who was so eager to learn and by her 3rd birthday could write her name as well as spell mine and Jody's names!

Lizzy has a ton of energy and loves her baby dolls. She has really become attached to me and very clingy, I guess she's starting to understand about the new addition to our family soon! She loves to look for "hot air balloons, "rocket ships" and "cows"!

I've been keeping myself busy by cleaning out underneath our sinks, organizing the girls rooms, going through old clothes, shoes & baby stuff. I've cleaned out closets, our laundry room and am completely caught up on my laundry (I don't believe I've ever been able to say that)! All of this of course sitting down and not lifting!

Jody has been busy with church, work and being bossed around when he is at home (since I can't lift and move things around I save those tasks for when he is here)!

It won't be long now before we are announcing what baby # 4 is!!! Thanks to everyone who voted in our poll!!!

Bracelets

OK, so since I am semi-confined to my house for now I thought I could use my time wisely by being crafty, namely bracelets! I made these a few years ago, really enjoyed making them and even made a few for friends last year! I can make any size bracelet...I made Emma one (pictured below) when she was a baby, she wore it all the time until she grew out of it! I only use sterling silver wire, beads and clasps along with swarovski crystal beads.

Here are pictures of the one I made for Emma a few years ago and one I made for a friend...

These aren't very good pictures and I even changed the background so you could see the colors better! They can be customized with just a first initial, initials or even names!

Prices are as follows (based on size of bracelet):
Baby-Child (1-3 letters): between $13-$17 each
Adult, S M L (1-3 letters): between $18-$22 each

If you are interested please email me and I'd be glad to let you see one in person or get you a better picture and provide some more information!

History in the making...

VOTE VOTE VOTE

Do whatever it takes, do your part and vote with Christian principles!!! Polls open early and close late, don't let the rain keep you away! We have been given the right to vote, so go do it (if you haven't already done so)!!! If you aren't old enough to vote, PRAY.... our girls did!!!

Halloween 2008

On our front porch...Jody's uncle John made the picture even better!!!

My adorable niece on her front porch...

On the couch with Mommy...

all the grand-Goodew kids!!!
I just found this one of Lizzy...she got into the dress-up stuff!!!