Cheers to the Weekend, Renovation: Week 1 Edition

We are officially in the midst of the madness, with Week 1 of (hopefully!) 8 now behind us. What was once one kitchen and two separate, smaller family rooms is now one big room, one that is absent of counters, cabinets, and any sort of appliance. In their place? Demo-ed walls, exposed beams, plastic walls, etc. In short? It's a dusty mess 'round here! Oh...and there are also changes simultaneously happening in our backyard. Double the mess, double the fun, right?! But we are actually doing really well amongst the chaos and are so excited about, and grateful for, the changes to come. <3 In the meantime, we are saying CHEERS to: 

Appointments for Bella: We've had a busy couple weeks for our Bellaboo, including audiology, orthotics, and pediatrician appointments, with more to come. On the docket over the next month: ENT, audiology (again), neurosurgery, dentist, and a school/speech therapy meeting; we also possibly have sedation for both neuroimaging and potential 2nd round of ear tube placement on our upcoming schedule. And she continues her weekly regimen of speech, physical, and occupational therapies. SO. It's been busy and we covet your prayers as we work to help our girl every way we can! 

Supporting our middle school athletes. On Monday night, I took my s{quad} to our middle school to watch the 7th and 8th grade boys basketball games and also root on the cheer and dance teams. We loved supporting these hard-working athletes and their hard-working coaches. Go Fort Mill! AND speaking of support, Harrison's amazing kindergarten teacher showed up to his basketball game last weekend to cheer on him and his two classmates, who are two of his best buddies. We LOVE our teachers!!

Photoshoot fun. My littles Lus got to participate in a photoshoot for our favorite audiology practice on the planet, Lakeside Audiology. So, if you peruse their website, you may see a familiar face or two on it sometime soon! We love you, Lakeside Audiology! 

100th Day. Today is our 100th day of school, which means just 80 school days separate us from summer - yahoo! My little kindergartener got to dress as a 100-year-old man, which cracked me up!

Etc. And we say CHEERS to various odds and ends: playdates with friends, lost teeth, and the close to a fast January! 

And now, Friday has arrived, and with it, my hub and I head Uptown to a very special event tonight. My hub is on the board of Lily Pad Haven and, along with the rest of the board, has been working so hard to prepare for tonight's fundraising event. If it's even half as moving as it was last year, I'll be in tears by the end of the night (again). We are so, so, SO thankful to have many wonderful friends and neighbors who will be supporting the cause alongside us tonight, providing hope and healing to sex trafficking survivors. 

The rest of the weekend will involve basketball and football games, birthday parties for two sweet girls we love, and, of course, the Super Bowl! I hope you have a great one, too, friends, and I'll try to get more than one post out next week (but no promises from this dusty corner of the world ;) ). Until then...

Cheers to the Weekend: Catch Up Edition

January is in full swing over here, which has left very little time for blogging, unfortunately. We are actually starting a pretty major house renovation on Monday after months and months of meetings and planning and consultation and contracts and designs, and we are anxious to get it underway! It will mean we will be without a kitchen for 8 weeks; so, things are likely to be a little nuttier than normal 'round here. I'll be sharing before and after photos once all is said and done, but for now, we try to prepare as best we can for the chaos that is coming our way! 

Before that, though, a few things we are saying CHEERS to as we welcome in this last weekend of January (huh?! already?!): 

Ears pierced. Towards the end of 2019, for the first time, Raleigh brought up wanting to get her ears pierced. We decided it'd be fun to do when her cousin (aka one of her BFFs) came to town for a weekend in January. And that weekend was last weekend! Raleigh had been SO excited to get it done, but her nerves came on strong right beforehand. Nonetheless, she braved it out and came out with two pierced ears. Such a big milestone! (I still remember getting mine done as a little girl). We celebrated with cake pops and hot chocolate and were so excited to have Cameron and Aunt Jess there for the occasion. :) 

Family weekend. Speaking of, it was SO nice to have my sister and niece here, and we decided to make a slumber party out of it. My sister who lives here in town, and her daughter, along with our mama, all came over after the shower we threw and spent the night, slumber party style. ;) We girl grown-ups, along with my hub, stayed up way too late having some really good, deep conversation. It was just so nice to have them here and to get that time and conversation in with them. <3 

Clemson Natty. Oh, my Tigers. Well, we started strong but just didn't play our best during the Natty, and LSU very deservedly took home the championship title this year. Regardless, we had fun watching the game with fellow Clemson neighbors and cheering on our boys. We are crossing our fingers and toes we'll be back in it next year, watching the game go down, hopefully in our favor!, live in Miami. Great game, LSU. Clemson Tigers, we are so proud of you! Let's get out there and get after it!

Chinese New Year. Tomorrow is officially Chinese New Year! We celebrated a week early, for the third year gathering with other China adoptive families we love. It is a day we look forward to every year, and it is amazing to look around the festivities and see so many beautiful families, woven together through God's perfect plan. Thank you for hosting, Sunds. And thanks be to God for our sweet, chosen, loved daughters. (And check out how much Bella has grown and changed over the last three years!)

Long weekends. We were so excited to have a 4-day weekend last weekend, having both a teacher workday and MLK, Jr. Day line up just right. ;) We spent Monday as a family day, pulling out toys we had been saving from Christmas and staying warm and cozy inside. 

New hair, who dis. Yesterday, I did something I have never done but have thought of for some time. You see, for my whole life, I've had VERY fine, thin, flat hair. But my stylist, well, she's amazing and through her expertise and encouragement, we added some (permanent!) extensions to my hair yesterday. It seriously feels so thick and full, and I think even more so in person! Here's a look at the before and afters in the pics she took. And "she" is Tyler Herring of BelleChic Salon in Fort Mill. And she is the best! <3

And now, our weekend begins! We have various fun things planned for our whole fam - some good friend time mixed with some good fam time; so, we're hoping for a great weekend ahead. :) Hoping you have the weekend you are dreaming of as we all try to warm up from the arctic cold that has blasted us this week. TGIF, friends!! 

A Eucalyptus-Themed Bridal Shower

Last weekend, my sisters, my mom, and I threw a eucalyptus-themed bridal shower for our cousin/niece, who is getting married at the end of next month (and we can't wait! My family + weddings = FUN!). We are so excited for our bride and were honored to shower her with love and celebration as we eagerly anticipate her nuptials. Here, a look at the shower we threw our Jen: 

The invitation. I found these pretty invitations on etsy via High Peaks Studios, which I was then able to customize and have printed. Easy, simple, and pretty!

The decor. My amazingly talented friend, Jennifer, was so, so kind to make this beautiful balloon garland in our color theme of green, gold, and white. It served as the loveliest backdrop for the shower, and I remain in awe of my sweet friend's talent. Isn't it (and she!) amazing?! 

The rest of the decor was kept very simple, with white tablecloths and serving platters and eucalyptus leaves woven throughout and across the tables. Lit tea lights served as the final, dainty touch. 

The food and beverages. My mom and one of my sisters were in charge of the menu and, because the shower was mid-afternoon (my favorite time for a party!), we served light hor d'oeuvres (tea sandwiches; vegetable and cheese platter; egg rolls; my mom's homemade cheese ball (the guest of honor's favorite!); and petit fours). There was also a wine/champagne/mimosa/bellini station. 

The favors. I was thrilled to make the cookies for the guests for their party favors and wanted to tie the theme into them. I was very happy with how they turned out: they were white with a gold luster dust splatter and a eucalyptus sprig on top. I housed each in a cellophane bag, which was tied with green twine. 

What followed was an afternoon celebrating our bride as she was surrounded by loved family and friends. It was a great day. :) 

We hope you felt as loved and as special as you are, Jenny! The countdown is on... <3