*Written on Thanksgiving...site wasn't working for me to post*
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my followers J I hope you all had a blessed day with your family and friends! I must say I really love Thanksgiving, it’s such a nice holiday. It’s not only my favorite meal of the year (yes, bride-to-be went way overboard and indulged BIG TIME!!) but it’s a time to reflect on all the blessings in life. I know we should all be thankful for the gifts in our lives every day of the year – and I like to think to some extent I am, but this one day out of the year really puts it into perspective and opens my eyes even more. It truly is the most humbling holiday.
I absolutely loved seeing all of the status’ on Facebook stating what my friends were thankful for. It’s nice to see that sort of thing so I thought I’d blog about mine.
I’m sad to say my family didn’t say grace before our meal to thank the Lord for all the blessings in our lives. With six adults and five children to feed my mother now sets up a buffet in our dinette so everyone makes a plate and eats at different times. It’s not an excuse, because to me there is no excuse for this – especially on a day like Thanksgiving! It just sadly got overlooked so I’m going to state here what I would have liked to have heard there, or said for myself there at the dinner table because my family truly received so much this past year.
My oldest sister Kristy started her own business this year and thankfully things are still going strong there. She owns a nail salon, “Salon Chic”. It’s located on the bottom floor of her home, so another thing she has to be thankful for is being a new home owner! Naturally there was a bit of uncertainty that her success would remain once the winter months came around. Fortunately all is going well on that front! What a blessing for her to be in business for herself!
Her son Blayze is 8 years old now and he has been blessed the ability to play football. His team, the North Hills Tomahawks, just won the championship two weekends ago! The Tomahawks finished the season undefeated – which is big news in the life of an 8 year old!
My other sister Katie and her husband Ted have been blessed tremendously this past year. They purchased their home, but now are in the process of building a brand new one. Exciting! Aside from this, Katie, Ted, and their three daughters Caroline, Lulu and Addie welcomed a new family member – Baby Teddy! He’s been a wonderful addition to our family J He was baptized two weeks ago so I thought it would be fitting to add a picture from that exciting milestone in his life.
My other sister Katie and her husband Ted have been blessed tremendously this past year. They purchased their home, but now are in the process of building a brand new one. Exciting! Aside from this, Katie, Ted, and their three daughters Caroline, Lulu and Addie welcomed a new family member – Baby Teddy! He’s been a wonderful addition to our family J He was baptized two weeks ago so I thought it would be fitting to add a picture from that exciting milestone in his life.
Ya’ll know I have a lot to be thankful for this year! Gosh, it’s been exciting! This year my business really took off and flourished – definitely something to be thankful for! Because of this I was able to buy my first home which was something I never thought would have happened this year! It’s definitely hard work being a home-owner but it’s worth it and I’m so thankful God placed that opportunity in my path. As if these blessings weren’t enough God continued to be so good to me when I got engaged! I’ve dreamed of this time in my life for years now and although I can take it for granted at times, I’m so happy to be in these moments! My fiancé is wonderful, we are both healthy and our love is stronger than ever…so much to be thankful for! 
We had a great time and got a little bit of wedding stuff done in the mix. Patrick and I selected the tuxes he and his groomsmen will wear in less than four months now! It was pretty funny, I was trying to help him decide between pleated and flat front pants and suggested he just try both on…well, I got a big shock when I learned that the guys don’t get to try on their tux until a few days before the wedding!!! I couldn’t even imagine just getting to try on my dress a few days before the wedding…crazy! I think we picked out some good stuff though. I’m sure all of the men will look very handsome J The only thing we are trying to decide on is the shoes…I’m not a big fan of the patent leather on guys, and Patrick told me how uncomfortable the rented shoes can be, so the guys may just wear their own black shoes. We haven’t decided 100%; I believe Patrick is letting the decision be up to his groomsmen, which is probably the best thing to do! Speaking of the groomsmen, Patrick’s groomsmen gifts came in the mail this past week! I think he did a really good job! It’s a very unique gift idea that I’m sure not one guy is expecting! He put so much time and thought into selecting their gifts…I really hope all of them like what they get!
The Titans fell to 5-5 this past weekend which currently has them out of the playoff picture. Fortunately they still have 5 division games to play and are currently 1-0 in the AFC South. Get this, their next four straight games are all divisional games…so it’s a pretty crucial time for the team! They’ve lost their past three games so hopefully that is all the fuel they need to fire them up! This past weekend they lost in overtime, so they are at least in the game and playing solid football. Week 14 the Titans play on Thursday night so Patrick is planning to come into Pittsburgh for that weekend if they are given the weekend off…fingers crossed they are! If they aren’t I most likely won’t be seeing my fiancé until New Years Eve. The Titans play in Kansas City the day after Christmas so the team will be traveling for most of Christmas day…big bummer!!!
We make do though. I know our situation isn’t ideal but it’s also much better than others. I have a friend who is pregnant with her first child and her boyfriend is currently deployed…gosh, my heart goes out to her and all the other women out there who have to deal with that sort of situation in life. My fiancé is away but I can jump on a plane or get in a car (if I have a spare 9 hours – haha!) and get to him! Our time zone difference is only one hour, his phone always works and if I miss his phone call I can just call him back. Women involved with a military man don’t have these luxuries. So I know how lucky I am and I hope that other women (and men for that matter!) who have their fiancés near them at all times never take for granted one second of that precious time together!
Well this entry is getting much more lengthy then I had anticipated so I will call it a night here! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!
PS – To all my friends and family members who defended my blog last entry, thank you! I won’t lie, what “Anonymous” said got to me a bit. Naturally when someone says something negative about what you do you start to second-guess why you are doing what you are doing in the first place. When you’re passionate about something you expect others to be just as passionate about it and that’s where I end up getting hurt. I know I can provide TMI (Too Much Information) at times, and I apologize if I offend anyone by doing so. That isn’t my mission at all! I’m just a girl who has a love for her life and is excited to be planning her wedding! I’m a rookie at this and I hope other ladies out there planning their special day can look at this blog and relate to the feelings I’m experiencing – good, bad or ugly (that’s why I include them all!) So I will officially end by saying if you don’t like what I have to say on my blog please don’t drink Hateraid on it – just simply go to the top right hand corner, click the “x” and be on your merry way! I didn’t ask you to read, you chose to read! Again, thanks to my supportive family and friends…I needed you and you were there! XOXO!!
