Greetings, weekend! It is so nice to see you, especially since my hub was gone all but one night this week. :0 Whew. Needless, to say, I am very ready for this virtual coffee date this morning.
Were we to meet up on this chilly Friday, I'd request we do so in our jammies in front of my warm fire in my family room where we could cozy up for good conversation. I would want YOU to start by sharing the highs and lows from this, the last week before Thanksgiving. I would then share the following about my week:
...that I absolutely love this time of year. Thanksgiving. It is a clear reminder to be thankful for the many blessings in my life while trying to spread joy and kindness to others. And teach my children to do the same. One way we spread joy and kindness each year is to raise money for meals for over 80 families in the Aiken, South Carolina, community, where my hub was born and raised. We do this in the name of his late grandfather, together as a family, each year. Later today, we will travel to Aiken and will organize and distribute those meals tomorrow. For the many, many family members and friends who helped us reach our lofty goal this year by both donating and sharing the link for our website, thank you so very much. This is possible because of YOU. Joy will be spread. Tummies will be filled. And kindness will abound. Also, I want to throw out a very special shout-out to my extremely busy and hard-working hub, who stepped up to take the lead on this project this year. I am one proud wif (no, that's not a typo) today and can't wait to see all of this hard work come to fruition tomorrow. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping to make it possible. This little turkey thanks you, too:
...that, speaking of good deeds, we supplied a little Christmas cheer earlier this week by filling two boxes as part of Operation Christmas Child. We were able to select the gender and ages of the international children who will be receiving the boxes, and we chose a same-aged girl as my Raleigh and a same-aged boy as my Banks. It was awesome to get their kiddo approval for all of the items I bought for the boxes and explain why other children would be receiving the toys. And we did all of it to honor the memory of a very special heavenly birthday boy, whose time on this earth was too short and whose momma chose to honor his memory by encouraging others to spread goodness and gratefulness through, and with, their children. I can't think of a better cause. <3 And also? It proved a great excuse to get together with some neighborhood girlfriends (the one night my hub was home this week. Ha!) who also filled boxes so that we could sip wine and hand-off our boxes for delivery. Giving back, remembering a special little boy, and getting in girlfriend time? Win-win-win.
...that, continuing with the Thanksgiving theme, Harrison and I accompanied Raleigh to her Thanksgiving Feast at school yesterday. The handmade leaf vests, the noodle necklaces, the feather headdresses, the festive goodies. It was just.too.cute.
...that as part of our Thanksgiving kindness, we brought treats for both Raleigh and Banks' school buddies while supporting a friend of mine who has a momma-opened-and-operated etsy business called One Good Name. How cute are these treat labels? She has LOTS of other personalized, printable items available in her shop (placemats! invitations! and more!) for unbeatable prices. Check it out!
...that, speaking of good deeds, we supplied a little Christmas cheer earlier this week by filling two boxes as part of Operation Christmas Child. We were able to select the gender and ages of the international children who will be receiving the boxes, and we chose a same-aged girl as my Raleigh and a same-aged boy as my Banks. It was awesome to get their kiddo approval for all of the items I bought for the boxes and explain why other children would be receiving the toys. And we did all of it to honor the memory of a very special heavenly birthday boy, whose time on this earth was too short and whose momma chose to honor his memory by encouraging others to spread goodness and gratefulness through, and with, their children. I can't think of a better cause. <3 And also? It proved a great excuse to get together with some neighborhood girlfriends (the one night my hub was home this week. Ha!) who also filled boxes so that we could sip wine and hand-off our boxes for delivery. Giving back, remembering a special little boy, and getting in girlfriend time? Win-win-win.
...that, continuing with the Thanksgiving theme, Harrison and I accompanied Raleigh to her Thanksgiving Feast at school yesterday. The handmade leaf vests, the noodle necklaces, the feather headdresses, the festive goodies. It was just.too.cute.
...that, not to rush through Thanksgiving, but my Christmas shopping is well under way. I am really hoping to get it all done super early this year so I can spend December relishing time with my family and friends and focusing on what's really important. So. If you're looking for me during naptime or post-kiddo-bedtime, I'll be on my computer, putting our Amazon Prime account to good use, buying goodies for these three amigos, among others:
...that last Sunday my biggest boys got a special treat: an afternoon at the Marvel Universe LIVE! Superheroes show in Charlotte. They went with one of our 'hood friends and his son, and Banks could not have had more fun!
...that we rounded out last weekend by having our family photos done by my absolutely amazing and oh-so-talented friend, Volree, of Volree Photography, and I cannot wait to see how they turned out! I know my momma friends would agree that it is always *slightly* stressful getting everyone looking picture-ready, with smiles on hand, on photo day. But. In the end, I love having new family photos done each year as a little time capsule of that moment in our lives. 'Cause by this time next year, someone will be too big to fit his whole body in this little wagon (although I hope these sweet brothers always look to each other with such love and kindness <3 ).
And with that, I would offer one more big THANK YOU for helping us with our Thanksgiving Food Drive in the memory of our beloved Grandad Rutland. If you follow me on Instagram, I'll be posting photos tomorrow as we organize and distribute the meals. I hope you have a beautiful, memorable weekend. See you again soon!
...that last Sunday my biggest boys got a special treat: an afternoon at the Marvel Universe LIVE! Superheroes show in Charlotte. They went with one of our 'hood friends and his son, and Banks could not have had more fun!
...that we rounded out last weekend by having our family photos done by my absolutely amazing and oh-so-talented friend, Volree, of Volree Photography, and I cannot wait to see how they turned out! I know my momma friends would agree that it is always *slightly* stressful getting everyone looking picture-ready, with smiles on hand, on photo day. But. In the end, I love having new family photos done each year as a little time capsule of that moment in our lives. 'Cause by this time next year, someone will be too big to fit his whole body in this little wagon (although I hope these sweet brothers always look to each other with such love and kindness <3 ).
And with that, I would offer one more big THANK YOU for helping us with our Thanksgiving Food Drive in the memory of our beloved Grandad Rutland. If you follow me on Instagram, I'll be posting photos tomorrow as we organize and distribute the meals. I hope you have a beautiful, memorable weekend. See you again soon!
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