A week of Thanksgiving!

Wow where do I begin. We had an incredible week in South Carolina on the beach. We met up with my Jeff's brother and wife from California for a relaxing wonderful week. this may sound a little like the academy awards here, but I am very THANKFUL to those who made that possible. (and you know who you are!)
We started out the week finding our very good friends from school in New Orleans. We had not seen them in years and had never been to their home in North Carolina. (The photo above is their front door. Thanks to Jill who came up with the great idea of taking photos of objects and putting them on the front of the card, I took a photo to make a card that says, "Thanks for opening your door to us")

Jeff and Jeremy grew up together in Seattle and then ended up in graduate school all the way in Louisiana. Our friendship with them is one of the biggest blessings in my life.

Being in Krissy's home was dreamy. Not only because it is beautiful but because I seriously walked around with a pad and paper and wrote down everything she does, recipes she cooks, dishes she has, the milk steamer she uses, I could not stop writing. She does not look a day different then when I met her in 1996.
It is always fun to watch your kids play together, especially when they had never met and became fast friends. Their son was teaching Annie Kate to fish on their dock.

Krissy took me down the road from her home to the Furniture mart - OH MY! We made a fast hour run through what could take you days to see it all. It was pretty incredible. They do free shipping twice a year and oh my so worth it if you are hunting for furniture. It is interesting because I had spent the week before we left trying to find mattress's for a new family of 5 in our church congregation. I almost felt a little bit guilty even looking while thinking of this family who has so little. Again our church service has so changed me in many ways.

We made it to the beach and swam every day in the pools. The morning after we got there our entire family was in the outdoor heated pool at 8:00 am, I am sure waking everyone up.the view of the pool from our room on the morning of the free breakfast.

So here is our week, in no order, because that would take me too long to sort out.
What I was thankful for on our trip...

Having an afternoon in Savannah, Georgia and being reminded of New Orleans while we were there.

eating lunch on the corner of Whitaker and Congress. Do you know what restaurant that is???

yep. Ms. Paula Dean.

Thankful for eating yummy fried chicken, the best BBQ I have ever had and yummy sweet potatoes.


I was thankful for having the coolest brother in law who got us in with only an hour wait.
Thankful to see Caroline be just like me and pick up acorns on the streets of Savannah because she is going to go home and make something.

her acorn stash. Note the kitty in hand.

thankful the only cool pair of shoes that I own were on that day on the cool cobble stone streets.


thankful for fun moments when Sally Jane and I found a dying butterfly in the ocean and raced it back to Annie Kate to blow the water off the wings to try to save it's life.
we are not so sure it made it.
thankful to have Jeff with us all week and no more thanksgivings with him not around and at work.
thankful for the night Annie Kate and I went to the beach for "just a minute" and saw all the dolphins swim by.

thankful to see Caroline so Happy! nothing makes that girl happier than being in water.
thankful to David for being such a great uncle and swimming with my kids when I was to tired to do so.
thankful for being at such a beautiful place, it was heavenly. The beach was right behind the pool. (again I repeat my academy award speech!)
thankful for Lelly who taught me the world of SPT and that if I am ever going to be in photos with my kids I will have to take them
thankful for Caroline who finally got over her obsession to have her feet constantly clean. She is truly raised by her dad who lives in a sterile field.

thankful for a camera who does all the work for me and can take photos fast enough to get her jumping in the air for joy.
Thankful for Annie Kate's birthday. She turned 9 the day after Thanksgiving.

she wanted a Redskins jersey so bad and was thrilled to open it. She is currently memorizing the names and numbers of the team. I got the only shirt on the rack #89. She said to me mom, "I am sure you got it because I am 8 turning 9" I didn't but thought it was a compliment that she thought I was that creative.
thankful for the second year in a row to celebrate AK's birthday with her darling, fun, young and ever so hip Aunt.

Thankful for Thanksgiving morning to do a Turkey Trot 5k together.

it was a Piggly Wiggly sponsored event so we got fun t-shirts.

not so thankful for how it turned out for me - the first 35 seconds of running my left leg totally cramped up and I could seriously not run. I am sure at this point David and Lenessa were questioning my marathon photos. I ended up walking, barely, the whole thing.
thankful that Annie Kate got her first of many race experiences. She beat all of us. too bad i was 2 miles behind her and didn't get to see her finish. She just rocks!

no photo, but thankful for out thanksgiving dinner that we spent with our D.C. next door neighbors who we have never eaten dinner with at home, but they live in Hilton Head half the year and they doubled their numbers by having our 7 over. I love those people and again have been blessed by living by the best neighbors ever! (I still really miss my Tennessee neighbors a ton)

thankful for the Salt Dog Cafe and the yummy ever so yummy...

hush puppies that they make with syrup in the batter. we even ordered a take home box, that barely made it home uneaten.
thankful for little Sally Jane who will always be the baby in our family and loves to be thrown in the air!

thankful for dang great relatives! David and Lenessa the family is going to start fighting over who gets to go on vacation with you. Could you be any easier to be around??

thankful just breathing the beach air - it was so windy I could barely see through my hair.

thankful for my kids to see great examples of the love between siblings.

thankful for kids with freckles.

thankful for kids who always have something in their hand

thankful for being a mom. And David taking a photo of me that is not a Self Portrait.
thankful for my kids having an aunt who is hip and cool and always hugs them even when she may want her persoanal space.


thankful for my pink swim suit that i will wear till it rips in half, then i will sew it together and duck tape it together.

Hilton Head we loved you!