Why I'm Thankful

In a word... Livia!

Though I'm certainly very thankful for many things, this little princess is tops on my list! I am more thankful for her every single day. This Thanksgiving, we'll be spending the day exactly where Livia is in these pictures:  Out at her Nana & Papaw's. We're looking forward to a wonderful day of family-time and loads of food!

When I was looking at these photos of Livia, I realized I have so much to be thankful for...

I'm thankful that she's my child...

That Livia is such a happy & healthy little girl...

That she has been blessed with such a wonderful, loving family...

And most importantly...

That Liv's growing to know God more every day.

I have countless things to be thankful for!

As Livia begins to understand more & more, I'm certainly looking forward to teaching her about Thanksgiving -- why we celebrate it now, but even more importantly why it was first celebrated.

I hope to teach Liv that though Thanksgiving is a day that everyone gives thanks, we should continue to do so every day. And as this Holiday Season has truly begun, may we remember to count our blessings every day!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!!!

**On a side note, the cute little dress that Livia is wearing was once my dress. God Bless my sweet Momma for keeping it this whole time! It feels like I'm looking back in time at my future  :o)

Happy Birthday USMC

Today is the United States Marine Corp Birthday -- 234 years and still going strong! So this post is in honor of both the USMC, and my husband who honorably served our country in the USMC for 5 years (from 1996 to 2001).  In honor of my husband's stint in the Marine Corp, here are some scanned pictures I'm blessed to have archived (Enjoy!):

Is there any wonder why I love my Marine?!  *swoon!*

My husband & his father

 

Matt, Perry, & Trilby

 

Matt, Bill, & Perry

 

The whole family

 

Perry & his parents

And more pictures of Perry & others in the Marine Corp:

 

 

 

 

I hope these photos will bring back some wonderful memories for my husband... Perry will always be my Marine. He's said many a time to me, "I'm not as mean, not as lean -- but still a Marine!" Here's to you, Perry! Thank you for serving and protecting the United States in the Marine Corp.

And Perry, here are just a few images I found that made me think of you.  I love you more than all the Birthdays the Marines will ever have!

 

 

On a side note:  I'm happy to report that Livia is finally starting to feel like herself again! She's still coughing, but not nearly as much as days prior.

She did go to Day Care both today and yesterday -- they noticed that she just wasn't quite herself yesterday. A little whiny, clingy, and congested; but no fever and nothing else worthy of sending her home.

Today, they said she was much more like herself! I noticed it first thing this morning, and she was just as sweet when I picked her up after work. I made some homemade Chicken Picata with pasta for us, and she loved it! Too much I think -- it ended up all over her! Nothing a warm, bubbly bath wouldn't fix though.

Tomorrow, I'm off work thank to Veteran's Day! Lots that I hope to accomplish. We'll see how it goes  :o)

Jenny's Wedding (4)

I've been quite selfish in posting pictures mostly of my own little family, and many other details of Jenny's Wedding have gone unseen. So as follows are some of the other fun photos of the night:

The groomsmen on the 1st floor before the grand entrance.

The bridesmaids & groomsmen then heading upstairs...

To join Jenny & Brian's family and friends at the reception.

(Perry's Aunt Carol holding Zane)

We went into the Grand Ballroom & after the wedding party made their grand entrance, I managed to get some really cute pictures of Jenny's brother, Jeremy, and his family:

 

Jeremy & his little flower girl, Ava.

 

The whole family

(Though Ava had no desire to look at the camera!)

 

Jeremy has such a beautiful wife & wonderful children!

 

And here's one of Andrew a little later in the evening

The night was filled with so many beautiful people & moments... Without too many words, I'll just share many of those I was able to capture:

 

The entrance to the Ballroom

 

 

Perry's Aunt Debbie (the Mother of the Bride) visiting our table

 

 The Bride & Father's Dance

 

 

And the Groom & Mother's Dance

Having a wonderful time during the reception:

 

 

 

 

The Bride & Groom with the Grandmothers:

 

 

And with my Mother- & Father-in-Law:

 

 

The Beautiful Bride

 

Getting ready for the flower-toss

 

And friends & family having a wonderful time

 

To present these are all the photos I've edited from Jenny's lovely wedding. Perhaps I'll find even more to edit and share, but for now I'm so very happy with those that I have. And I'll be eternally grateful for all the great memories I'll always have from this amazing night!

Jenny's Wedding (3)

This post is going to be a bit more selfish -- all the photos have my little Livie-Bug in them! Perhaps this is why I wasn't able to get more great pictures of the Bride & Groom... My eyes and camera were fixed on our daughter the vast part of the night.
Can you blame me though?  :o)

One of the 1st photos of the night...

Livia & her Papa Bill

Then Livia got to meet her 3rd [twin] cousins, Nora & Zane

 

Liv & Nora really hit it off!

Livia absolutely loved Nora's sparkly shoes

 

Nora giggled as Liv bent down time & time again saying,

"Pwetty shoes! Dey're pink an' got park-els... So pwetty!"

Here Livie is 'cheesing' it up for the camera

 

"Chseeeesssseee!"

Our daughter was even given a special bag, just for her.

 

Liv definitely had fun with the candy!

Brian and Jenny had the BEST wedding favors ever! They're both dentists, and in the little treat bags were a toothbrush, toothpaste, & floss. Great for all of us who were out of town, and such an awesome idea. And in Liv's goody-bag:  coloring crayons & books, candy, and even little-kid toothbrushes & toothpaste. It was perfect! It was so sweet of them to have such a cute, special packet for Livia.

As we were waiting for the food to come, Perry thought it would be a good time to try & get a good photo of me & Livia.

Liv was actually looking at the camera & smiling...

Just before this picture.

Darned salad -- came at just the right wrong time.

Here Livia is with her Aunt Carol & Zane

Would be a great picture if someone

wasn't stickin out her long little tongue!

I love this shot of Livie & her Papa Bill

She just looks so sweet!

Nora & Liv lovin' on each other again

 

Those girls were so cute together:  Hugging...

And Dancing

 

Grinning & laughing all the while!
I SO wish we lived closer.

Livia even got some very special pictures while we were there:

Being held by the Beautiful Bride...

 

Livia just loved Jenny's necklace (I did too!)

Jenny's jewelry was just beautiful. She told me that her wedding band

was specially made to go with her stunning engagement ring.

The engagement ring is actually an antique!

Later we went into an elevator with a mirror,

And Liv thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Even when the night was getting very late...

 

Livia had plenty of energy to dance with her Papa Bill!

Though, from the looks of this one with me...

She was really getting worn out!

(I'm sure she was praying not to fall asleep!)

As soon as we finally made it out to the car,

 

She realized how tired she really was!

Amazingly, she did not fall asleep on the way back to the hotel. She just cuddled and sang to her baby doll the whole way.
So sweet!

Til the next time, I hope everyone is doing well! Take care and God Bless!