Thanksgiving 2011

Chris, Ben, and I went to St. Augustine, my hometown, for Thanksgiving this year. I was so excited to be going back to Florida. Due to different circumstances, this was my first Thanksgiving with my family since 2007. This was the first year of our new "holiday schedule" with our families. We are spending every other year at the other parents' house, so next Thanksgiving we will be with Dave and Kelly. The thing I was most worried about for the trip was how Ben would do with such a long drive. We broke up the first drive into two days and drove the whole way on Sunday. In both scenarios, Ben did GREAT! Just another reason why I love that boy :)

We arrived in Florida early Wednesday afternoon. We enjoyed winding down from the trip, and Ben enjoyed being with his Grandma and Grandpa. He also made a friend with the family dog, Buddy. That boy LOVES dogs! Late that night, my brother arrived from Gainesville after work. It was great seeing my baby brother, who happens to be 6 feet tall. Thanksgiving day was wonderful. My Grandma Lois (maternal) came, as well as my Uncle Dan and his wife, Laurie. I haven't seen my uncle since my Grandpa Smith's funeral and I had never met Laurie. It was great to be with family and eat wonderful food. That night, Dad went with Chris and me to see "The Muppets". That may be my new favorite movie. I have loved the Muppets since a kid, and this movie brought out all of the fun that the Muppets are known for.

On Friday morning, we helped Mom and Dad decorate the house for Christmas. Their house looks so pretty at Christmas time. One of the great things about where my parents live is that it's right down the road from the Outlet Mall. Friday afternoon, Chris and I made our way into the madness. We only went to a couple of stores, which Chris appreciated. We got Ben some clothes and the nieces their Christmas presents. That night, my home church's new pastor and his family, as well as Phil and Tracy, came over for dinner. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and fun.

Saturday was spent watching football and spending more time visiting family. My Grandpa Poppa and Grandma Joanne came to visit. They met Ben for the first time. Ben loved playing with my grandpa, and Grandpa LOVED being with Ben. He had been waiting so long to meet him. That night, Chris and I went to Old Town St. Augustine to walk around and see the lights. St. Augustine is such a beautiful city with so much history. Adding lights at Christmas just makes it that much better. We left Sunday morning around 7:30 and got back to Knoxville between 6:00 and 6:30.

While it is great to get away for a vacation, there is nothing quite like being home. Besides my salvation, the Chris Garner family is what I am most thankful for. Wherever I am with them, I am most content. Apart from being in Christ, I hope that you are content in where the Lord has placed you. His ways are better than we could ever know, and being still in where He has placed us is glorifying to Him. I am leaving you with pictures from this past weekend. I hope that your Thanksgiving was wonderful!


Ben and Uncle Andrew

Ben loves Buddy

Ben and Grandpa

Andrew and I with Ben

Brother and Sister

The Garners with Uncle Andrew

Sweet Boy

Great-Grandma Smith and Great-Grandma Lois with Benjamin

The Garners

Grandma Lois, Mom, Me, and Ben - Four Generations

The Whole Family

Chris with Grandma Lois's Four Generations

Chris with Grandpa Poppa's Four Generations

Grandpa Poppa, Mom, Me, and Ben - Four Generations

Great-Grandpa Poppa and Great-Grandma Joanne with The Garners

It's Been a While

Wow. So I haven't posted anything since July. That really was not intended. We are just strolling through life right now, and I have completely forgotten to blog. So much has happened since I posted last.

I left off by telling you that Ben had surgery for pyloric stenosis. I am very happy to say that you would not know that he had any eating problems. The boy has a couple of weeks until his 6 month birthday and he is wearing mostly 6-9 month clothing. Also, at his 4 month check-up, he was in the 90% for weight! He is a growing baby boy and we love his sooooo much. He fills our life with so much joy. He laughs and plays and is so content. He is just now sitting up on his own, which brings about mixed emotions to me. At the one hand, I am so happy about how he is growing and learning new things. Still, I want him to be little! Ben is such a gift!

We are now settled down in an apartment on the west side of Knoxville. The location is great because it only takes Chris about 10 minutes to get to work, and it is centrally located to everything, except church. It's very simple and great for us where we are at in life right now. The one thing that I love about this place is that is has a dishwasher! Amazing the things that you get excited about when you grow up :)

Chris and I are pretty busy on a weekly basis. Chris's job requires him to travel, sometimes as north as Bristol to as south as Chattanooga. I am now nannying a little girl named Evie Grace during the week. What originally was a two day a week job had turned into a 4+ day a week job. It has been a blessing at both ends. Evie Grace's dad now works full time, which has been a huge answer to prayer. In addition, this has been a huge blessing with us getting extra income while I am able to be at home with Ben. Did I mention that she is a week older than Ben?!?! Needless to say, I have pretty busy days. Time management is something that I am learning more and more during this season.

We have loved being at FBC Powell. This church has been such a blessing to us. This church was instrumental in Chris coming to know the Lord and discipling him. We are so happy to serve at such a place. Chris is serving with his parents in Turning Point, the addiction ministry at FBC Powell. He also has the chance of possible teaching a Sunday School class starting early next year. I am about to serve in the choir. We are now part of a wonderful Sunday School class. Bob and Karen's heart for the Lord and passion for His Word is so evident in the way they teach. Chris has picked up friendships within the class, and I am hoping to continue to develop relationships with the wives.

So what's next in the soon-to-be future? Our church's mission conference is this coming weekend. We are blessed to be part of such a missions-minded church. We are also excited about spending Thanksgiving in St. Augustine with my family. This will be Ben's first time to the Sunshine State! At the beginning of December, we will be back in Louisville attending Andrew Peterson's "Behold, the Lamb of God" concert at Alumni Chapel. We love Andrew Peterson, and we are looking forward to hearing his music, as well as spending time with good friends. We will spend Christmas in Knoxville with the Garners at Dave and Kelly's new house! The house is beautiful and I can't wait to see how she decorates it.

As you can see by the pictures of Ben, we have one handsome little boy. God has truly blessed us more than we ever thought possible with this little man. Hopefully, I will post again sooner rather than later. Blessings!