Thanksgiving 2014 Recap

Our first major holiday as a married couple has come to an end :( Although it was a good one! 

Wednesday night started with dinner at my Grandma's which is a weekly event for those who live in town. Not living in Roanoke Rapids I have to miss family dinner, but I was able to attend Wednesday night and it was perfect. She cooked spaghetti, which is my favorite and of course there was chocolate chess pie. My cousin Garrett saved me the last piece :) Afterwards, the kids and I went to Sonic for ice cream. They don't remember, but our Papa used to carry me and my cousin Brandon to the Sonic each time we got together. Papa has been gone for 17 years and was unable to know my youngest two cousins, so taking them to Sonic was like having a piece of him with us again. 

Thursday started bright and early as usual. James and I went to my Grandma's house to help her get the stuff to church. It was so cold and rainy but she does SO much at Thanksgiving for us, it was the least that we could do. Thanksgiving lunch at church was amazing as usual, we had a crowd of about 40 people and more food than 400 people could eat! I love being with all my family laughing and carrying on! 

 My dad is without a doubt, the biggest kid of us all!

Look at ALL this food! 

After Thanksgiving lunch, we head down to the beach for Thanksgiving with my dad's family. We did a little shopping on Friday, but nothing too crazy. We ate our Thanksgiving meal on Friday night then Saturday we went to Myrtle Beach shopping. I am officially finished with all of our Christmas shopping for this year. We left the beach this morning and although I am sad that our mini-vacay is over, it is good to be back home!

 Holden Beach is BEAUTIFUL this time of year. So peaceful! Look at this view!

My cousin and me - she is a first time mama to be and I am so excited to meet her baby girl in January! :) 

Me and my mama before dinner Friday night

This week I will begin wrapping and getting ready for all the great festivities that comes with the Christmas season. James' birthday is Friday so I am excited to make that day special for him. I hope you all had as great of a Thanksgiving as we did! :) <3

Traditions

I am, by every sense of the word, traditional.

My wedding was very traditional. I had the something old, new, borrowed, and blue. I wore my Nana's pearls and my Grandma's ring. James and I did not see each other before the wedding. One of my favorite wedding photos is his face as the church doors opened. It brings tears to my eyes every time.

There are so many traditions that I look forward to this time of year - Watching the Macy's Parade, Thanksgiving at Grandmas, Thanksgiving at the beach, shopping with my family, ice skating...the list goes on and on! I am so thankful to have such a wonderful, close, large family to share in these traditions.

 Thanksgiving 2011

 Thanksgiving 2012

Ice Skating 2013

 There's even one that I have started of our own: Christmas Extravaganza.

A few years back I started something (by myself) called Christmas Extravaganza. It was my name for decorating. It would take place the weekend before Thanksgiving, I would get Starbucks, put on "It's a Wonderful Life" and get to it! The thought behind it was when I had a family one day, the tradition would already be in place, and my children would talk about Christmas Extravaganza every year. Now that I have a little family of my own I am so excited for Christmas Extravaganza this year. We will get Starbucks and of course, we'll have "Its a Wonderful Life" playing. This years extravaganza will happen this Friday night! There will be pictures posted after this weekend but here is one of last years tree!

What traditions mean the most to you during the holidays or the rest of the year? I would love to hear! :)

Hey Y'all

Welcome to my blog! I'll start by telling you a little bit about what got me started on this ride...

I have always enjoyed writing...seriously. And growing up, my great-grandmother (Nana Muller) always told me that I should write a book one day and call it "Sunday Dinners at Nana's". I have kept that in the back of my mind all these years, and while I still am not sure an actual book is in the cards for me, this blog is a good start. 

So what does my blog name mean? 

Faith: The first and foremost important thing in my life. My relationship with God is ever growing and I work on it day by day. I hope to one day have the faith of my Grandma, who has been my Christian example.

Love: My husband, family, & friends will always get 100% of my love. I love deeply, which means I feel deeply. I am more than just a tad bit emotional about things.

Cowboy Boots: I am from a small southern town, which is definitely a part of who I am. I am pretty much obsessed with country music - from Johnny Cash to Reba and Dolly Parton to Tim McGraw, I love it all. 

So that is me in a nut shell. My goal is to write 2-3 times a week - about anything and everything. I hope you will come back and catch up with me soon. Until next time,

~ Lauren