Coffee Date Friday: Counting My Blessings Edition

Hi friend! Just a quick coffee date Friday post today as we are smack in the middle of Thanksgiving break and there is much playing and snuggling and conversing and eating and drinking and celebrating with family to be done! Were we to meet for coffee today, you'd have to join me and my momma and my grandma and my aunt and cousin and several of my sisters for our annual Black Friday shopping adventure! Actually, we are foregoing our annual tradition this year in order to celebrate the life of my stepdad's dad, who passed away earlier this week after living 93 years and closed his life surrounded by love and a devoted family who never left his side as his health began to decline. He will be so missed and we will celebrate his life today. So. Please keep my family, and especially my stepdad, in your thoughts and prayers. <3 What a legacy he leaves. 

To think about other things for a bit, I would definitely want to hear about YOU. About your family. About how you celebrate Thanksgiving. About your traditions. About what you're thankful for. After being fully saturated in all things you, I would share the following upbeat points about moi:

...that, on a different note, last weekend was a smashing success as we concluded our family efforts as part of the L.W. Rutland Thanksgiving Food Drive by gathering and distributing meals to the families in need in the Aiken, South Carolina, community. In addition to raising enough money to feed 80 families for Thanksgiving, we had over $1000 of additional funds to donate to the ACTS charity. It is always an amazing way to kick off the holiday season. And my favorite part is always seeing all our sweet kiddos/cousins pitching in as the "Marshmallow Distribution Team."

...that we traveled back to Aiken, South Carolina, on Wednesday to spend the first part of the Thanksgiving holiday with my "in laws." We have been celebrating Thanksgiving this way since my hub and I have been married--the first half of the day with "his side" of the family and the second half of the holiday with mine. So, after getting our fill of family and food and fun in Aiken, we headed back to our (new) hometown to celebrate with "my side" of the family. One of my aunts and uncles moved here shortly after we did, and we have always gathered at their home for Thanksgiving. So. It is certainly very easy on us to just get to drive back home to close out Thanksgiving...and enjoy feast #2 for the day. Yummy!

 The effects of tryptophan kicked in as we traveled from Aiken to the Mill

...that a HUGE family rivalry will continue tomorrow as the Clemson Tigers take on the Carolina Gamecocks. We are headed to Tiger Town, along with several of my family members to watch our Tigers hopefully take down those Cocks. We have two sitters coming to watch my three kiddos, along with my niece, and I'm so excited to watch the Tigers run down the hill one more time this year. Hopefully, a big, fat W will follow, and we'll break our 5-year losing streak. :/ GO TIGERS!!! And also, I'm really looking forward to some light-hearted fun with my family after the heaviness and sadness of this week.

...that Raleigh's 3rd birthday party has officially been booked! We are doing a very small party this year, with just a few other little girls her age invited, but I think it will be an awesome celebration of our little girly girl. More on that coming in a future, January post. :) 

...that speaking of getting older, my sweet baby Harrison turned 7 months old this week! Absolute cliche but...time is FLYING by!!! I can't even wrap my brain around it! 

I won't have official weight/height measurements until his next check-up at 9 months. But. I can say that my love for this child grows by the second, if that's even possible. He is still not quite mobile yet but will be any day now! He can also push himself up to a sitting position when lying down. He is starting to babble (mama!!), loves to smile, and my most favorite--he will smile slyly and bury his sweet noggin in my shoulder when feeling bashful around others. I can't wait to see what his first December brings!! 

And with that, I would give you a warm hug before heading off to soak up time with my family, appreciating the moments I have with them and the memories we share. I hope you are able to do some of the same this weekend...