Update time.

So it's been awhile!
Our last few weeks have been pretty busy. We planned a surprise trip to Charlotte, NC for Thanksgiving to be with family. My parents and one of my sisters recently moved up there from Florida, and my other sister, my neice and my sister's boyfriend were making the drive up from West Palm Beach, so we wanted to go to and have the whole family together. We had a good time and left with memories, early Christmas gifts, and a new family member...my sister's boyfriend proposed to her on Thanksgiving night!
Since we've been back we've been staying busy with Noah's school basketball (two games a night every Tuesday and Thursday) and the hubby's hockey team. We also found out that the hubby will be going to training for 6 weeks starting in January, so we're trying to re-plan our first few months of 2012. He'll miss Jonah's 8th birthday so we're trying to figure out a way to make it extra special when the hubby comes back into town.
We're trying to slow down and enjoy the holidays because we probably won't be a full family next year (hubby's due to deploy sometime in the summer/fall), but it's so hard with the hustle and bustle. There's presents to be bought, food and goodies to prepare and pass out to friends and coworkers, and all those Christmas cards to mail.
But most importantly we're trying to keep the TRUE Christmas spirit alive.

To sum it all up...

Holy Moses it's been a crazy week. I have been insanely busy and it's not going to let up anytime soon I'm sure.

Here's a recap of how my life has been recently:
* While my Etsy sales are down compared to this time last month, I still am working on something Etsy related every day. The Post Office staff know me by name.
* The kids had a 5 day weekend and the hubby came home from training over the holiday for a 4 day weekend. We also had a couple of guys from his training class come up for Thanksgiving since they weren't going to be going home to their families.
* I spent Wednesday night and all day Thursday cooking.
* Thursday was spent watching football (darn Lions lost again!) and eating.
* Friday was spent recovering from Thursday. We did some shopping but nothing exciting for Black Friday. 'Cuz this momma is D-O-N-E done shopping for her babies!
* Saturday we did more errand running and then went to our dear friends' home for some super tasty food and more football. I love me a Southern oyster roast and college football rivalries!
* Sunday we once again recovered from the food consumed on Saturday.

So far this week I have busted my hump working on Etsy orders that I didn't even look at over the weekend. And today I need to run a couple errands (Post Office, I will see you soon!), finish a blanket, and clean my house. Because tomorrow morning before the buttcrack of early, I will pile my sister and kids in the car and drive 2.5 hours to see my man graduate FLETC. Then his parents & niece will be making the trip up to our house to spend some time with us before we move. The remainder of my week will be spent sewing and entertaining, and hopefully getting some answers on when we can start scheduling movers to come. We hit the long road to Oklahoma City in just three weeks!

So I will do my darndest to keep up with this here blog, but I apologize in advance if I cannot! My life is just a big 'ol barrel of busyness right now.

Friday Finds on Etsy: Let's Talk Turkey...and a giveaway!

I really have been trying to get giveaways going lately and I just have had ZERO luck. So I decided that I will do a giveaway from my own Etsy shop.

It's November y'all! Can you believe it? I can't! This year has gone by so fast...and the last couple of months have literally flown. I am both looking forward to and dreading Thanksgiving this year...I love it because it's time for family and friends to gather and have great food, but I'm dreading it because it will be our last holiday here in my beloved South Carolina. But that is another post entirely...one that I don't have the stomach to right just yet because the mere thought brings me to tears.

Anyway, Thanksgiving tends to get lost in the hubbub of getting ready for Christmas (I myself am guilty of already playing Christmas music in the house & the car!), and I just wanted to spotlight it to make sure it gets its due.

My favorite Thanksgiving items from my shop are these:I found that adorable turkey fabric and bought it that minute...I love the chubby turkeys and it just makes me smile!Sophia wore the Turkey bow last year to our friends house for Thanksgiving and it was a big hit!

Okay...now for the giveaway. One lucky reader will recieve this super cute turkey clippie! Just go to my shop and nose around, then come back here and leave me a comment with your favorite item from Jen's Craft Corner. A winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, 9 November. Be sure to leave me a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is the day that we give thanks for all of the things in our life. Why it's limited to just one day, I don't know...we should be giving thanks every single day. I am guilty of being a pessimist more often than not, but I am making a concious effort to change that.

Anyway, here is my list of things that I am so grateful for.

• My husband. He sacrifices so much for this family, and does everything he can to give us anything we could dream of. I don't tell him enough how much I truly appreciate him. He is everything that I could've imagined when I was envisioning my soul mate and I'm so thankful that God gave him to me.
• My kids-Noah, Jonah and Sophia. They are all so different in their personalities, and even though I get stressed with them from time to time (okay, ALOT), they each know what little things to do to make me smile. They truly are gifts from Heaven and I have such a huge responsibility to ensure that they grow up fearing God and loving others. While that sometimes seems very daunting, there is nothing I would rather be doing with my life than being a mother to my three precious children.
• My extended family. We are so lucky to have a supportive family. We may be seperated by a few states and lots of miles, but whenever we need anything they are just a phone call away. My parents have raised me to be the person that I grew up to be and I couldn't have asked for better ones. My in-laws are as involved in my kids lives as they can be and we are truly blessed for that as well. My sisters and my husband's siblings are the best aunts and uncles around, and my kids worship the ground they walk on. Hubby and I each only have one grandparent left on earth, and even though we don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like to, we couldn't be who we are without them.
• My husband's job. Yes, I complain about the military alot. There are so many thins that I wish that I could change. But we are so fortunate. He has job security, which in this day and age is a blessing in and of itself. We are currently in a non-deployable slot, which means we are some of the lucky few (for the next 6 months or so) who are guaranteed to have the head of our household at every family function imaginable. And for those of you who are in the military you know that is the best gift of all. I could choose to look at the downsides, like the fact that if we don't get an assignment by next summer my hubby will be deploying for 6-9mos late next year. But instead, I am going to focus on the here and now, and soak up every minute of togetherness that we have. And how can you not be thankful for the opportunity to help other less fortunate that we are...the military is needed and I am so proud to call myself a military wife.
• My friends. Living far away from family for so much of my married life (all of it actually), friends have become so crucial to my well being. The people who have so readily welcomed my family into their own have touched my heart and I will never be able to thank them enough. Recently, some of our non-military friends here in Charleston invited us over for Thanksgiving. We accepted but asked them if they were sure they wanted non-family members over at their house when they'd be having their own mothers and fathers and siblings and neices and nephews at the house that day. They told us that yes, they did want us to come because we were extended family and it wouldn't be the same without us. That brought tears to my eyes. I am also incredibly thankful for having friends that, even when months (sometimes even years) go by without seeing one another, as soon as we are reunited it's like we were never apart. True friends are so hard to find these days, and we are so blessed to have so many people, both military and civilian, like that in our lives.
• Trials and hard times. I know what you're thinking- "Why in the world is she thankful for hard times?" But it's the hard times and the trials that make me reach deep down into myself and remember that everything happens for a reason. God gives us these trials to bring us closer to him, and closer to the people who mean the most to us. Sure, life would be so much easier if everything went my way. But it is when things don't go that way that I realize that I am stronger than I think I am. I will get through, I will persevere, I will survive. I have to keep reminding myself that "this too shall pass" and that God won't give me more than I can handle. Sometimes I think that maybe He forgets that I'm not Superwoman, but in the end I always get through it and I am even more aware of the good times that follow.

There are, of course, so many other things that I am thankful for (like running water, my car, my computer) but when I have all of the things I listed above, those things seem so small and almost insignificant. All I really, truly need in my life are my God, my family, my friends, and my country.

Thank you Lord for all that you have given to me. Help me to realize how blessed I am each and every day, not just on Thanksgiving. Remind me daily that I need to look for the positives in my life, instead of dwelling on the negatives, and that every day is a blessing.

Happy Thanksgiving!