Thanksgiving in Ellenboro

Normally, we spend Thanksgiving with my parents down in Mississippi. However, because of some scheduling conflicts, we weren’t able to do that this year. Therefore, we went to Ellenboro and hung out with Travis’ family instead. We had a lot of fun. Sam always loves going to Mum Gail and Pop Pop Earl’s because they have cows to feed, land to explore, and cool farm equipment to play on. Thankfully, it was a fairly warm week so we were able to spend a lot of time outside.

When we got there, they were in the process of using their lawn mower to suck up all the leaves in their yard. Sam and Travis decided to give it a whirl (w/o the leaf-sucker turned on.)



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I also made a video of Sam riding on the mower with Mum Gail and then “chasing” her on his 4-wheeler.

For Thanksgiving, went to a clubhouse and ate with Mum Gail’s side of the family (the Tesseniar’s.)



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I played with some camera settings while we waited on everyone to arrive…



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I also made some GF mint chocolate brownies so there would be a dessert I could eat. Sam really enjoyed his…



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It was a fun Thanksgiving and it was great to visit with family we normally don’t get to see at Thanksgiving.

Steph

Decorating our Christmas tree…

Usually, we decorate our tree AFTER Thanksgiving. However, this year I knew that December was going to be crazy with Travis’ travel schedule for work so we did it before we left for Thanksgiving travels. We decorate the same way every year- fake tree (allergies), mardi gras beads for garland, ornaments, and tree topper (hung by Sam.) Our tree will never win an award in a magazine but that is OK with us. We enjoy unpacking the ornaments and remembering places and events in our family history- we collect ornaments when we go places.
Sam putting on the tree topper…



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We later learned that the top part of our pre-lit tree didn’t light up so I went to wal-mart and got a cheap set of lights to string during nap the next day before we continued decorating.



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Even without the top lights, it was still pretty to look at in the dark…



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The tree and “garland”…



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Please ignore the bed head- Sam just woke up from nap.



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Then, Sam found the remote for the lights and HAD to see if all the lights worked now…



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All of the ornaments…



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I have decided to start a project of taking a picture and writing down the story behind our ornaments. I have all the pictures so hopefully, throughout the next year, I can work on that whenever I have free time.

Our stockings with our individual special ornaments…



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This year, Travis’ ornament is the Hollifield Carillon at Gardner-Webb University, his alma mater. (sorry for the blurriness)



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Mine is also of my alma mater, the University of South Alabama. Go Jags!



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Sam’s was of a wooden boat from the Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival that we went to back in October.



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Peeper’s ornament hasn’t changed because we never find cute doggy ornaments at places we go.



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We don’t do a whole lot of decorating. We will have a Jessi Tree that will work decorate each night when we read the Bible story that correlates to that day’s ornament. We also have a soldier that will go out in the front yard. Other than that, the tree and our stockings are the main Christmas decorations in our house.

Steph

Fall pictures…

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, Travis had to teach a class at SEBTS. Sam and I entertained ourselves by heading to a local park to take pictures. I was attempting to get a cute fall picture to use for our Christmas card. Here are a few outtakes…



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The picture below was supposed to have been the card picture. However, I goofed and uploaded the wrong picture.



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This is the picture that ended up being used. I like it and just played it off as Sam was “looking” for baby Jesus.



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Here is the actual card…



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Steph

Our OCC shoebox!

My mom is very passionate about Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. This occurs every Christmas when people stuff shoeboxes with gifts for children and then Samaritan’s Purse groups them together and sends them throughout the world. We have participated in the past but this year Sam was finally able to help and started understanding what was going on. I like to do a boy that is the same age as Sam so this year, we did a 2-4 year old boy. Here is our box…



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Here is the inside…



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Sam enjoyed picking out the gifts. However, he never could understand why he couldn’t take the present to his “little boy’s house.” I love my tender-hearted, sweet boy.

Last year, our church collected them but apparently they didn’t this year (or I just missed the announcement.) So, when the national collection week rolled around we just delivered our box to the church in Wake Forest that was a collection site. Since it was for Sam’s little friend, he wanted to deliver it and so I let him.



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The lady gave Sam a sticker and an OCC bookmark for dropping off a box. He was thrilled!



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Steph

**EDIT: we did the e-z-pay system and so we printed a barcoded label so that when they scanned the barcode it would send me an email telling me where our box went. I never received my email last year (I think I put the label in the wrong place- oops) but this year, I received the email and found out that our box went to a child in the Dominican Republic. Too cool!!!

So glad I don’t live on a farm…

We went to visit Travis’ parents and while we were there, they had to give a shot to one of their new calves who was having thriving problems. Not knowing what I was about to get myself into, I went along to take pictures and keep up with Sam.

First, they corralled the calf between two gates so that it couldn’t move much. Then, Mrs. Gail (since she is a nurse), gave the calf its shot.



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Then, I just happened to look at the pitiful calf’s face and watched a tear fall to the ground. It broke my heart. I will never watch a calf get a shot again.

Steph

GF cheez-its

For Christmas, my maternal grandparents just give us money and tell us to buy whatever we want for Christmas. This is usually when I buy fun/useful kitchen gadgets because we don’t have the extra money during the rest of the year. This year was no different. My grandma mailed the money fairly early and so I took advantage of a Kohl’s sale (I <3 Kohl's sales) and got a square stone baking dish and a silicon baking pad. I still have some money left over but I am not sure what I will use it for yet.



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Shortly after finding out about my celiac diagnosis, I came across a recipe for cheez-its. I figured that all I would need to do is switch out the flour in order to make it gluten-free. Thankfully, I was correct! After making the dough in my food processor, I rolled it out and cut it into squares and lined them up on my new silicon baking mat.



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Then I baked them in the oven and let them cool.



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They were delicious!!! I do believe I will be making these a lot more often! I think it would be fun to use little cookie cutters to make fun shaped ones. I just might have to try that one day.

Steph

Alpaca Farm Day!




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The first weekend in November, Travis’ parents came for a visit. It was a VERY cold weakend but we had tons of fun! There is an alpaca farm close to our house that has “farm days” about 3-4 times a year and this weekend was one of them. On farm days, you can go out and see/pet/feed the alpacas FOR FREE! We have never been before so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. It was a lot of fun. We all fed the alpacas but feeding them kind of freaked Sam out a bit so he didn’t really do it. However, he did enjoy looking at them and would pet one every now and then. He more enjoyed just trying to “herd” them all into a corner. HA!

There was a baby alpaca that was only a couple of weeks old. It is wearing a sweater in the picture below because it was so cold and he/she (?) didn’t have much wool yet.



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Um, hello, alpaca! HA!



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Food!



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“herding”…



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Travis, the alpaca “whisperer”…



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They also had those huge fluffy bunnies. Sam enjoyed checking them out.



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There are people who weave items made from alpaca wool and sell them at the farm days as well. Mrs. Gail got Sam a pair of “hobo” gloves. He loves them and they are very warm!



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Showing me the “alpapa” on his “gloves”



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The farm boards,sells, and breeds alpacas. Travis looked up the auction price for alpacas and some were close to $10,000! The owner of this farm explained that the price one brings at auction depends on the type of wool. Apparently, alpacas that grow LONG strands of wool that aren’t super kinky are worth more than short stranded curly ones. Interesting…

I did manage to make one video while we were there! Here it is…

Sam-isms…

While going potty after lunch…
Sam: me need to go get a new Sam.
Me: a new Sam? How do you do that?
Sam: me go to the Toyota place. They sell lots of Sams there.

At breakfast this morning…



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Sam: Look, Mommy! I am a king! I have a king hat on!

Trying to get out of a nap…
Sam: Mommy, I nap on carpet in living room.
Me: Nooo, carpet is not comfy, you will wake up grumpy.
Sam: Oh ok, then me nap on couch! It make me wake happy.

To the man parked beside our car as we left CVS this morning AFTER Sam just walked out the store while I was waiting on my receipt.
Man: Hey there!
Sam: Hey Mister Mister. Me on a mission!
Me: Sam, don’t leave the store without me ever again.
Sam: It’s ok. Mister Mister saw me. I told him me on a mission!
(I still don’t know what his “mission” was but the man beside us could not stop laughing)

Steph

I HAVE to interrupt our updates for this important video!!

Tonight, Sam shocked Travis and I by reading one of his books to us. Thankfully, after I picked my jaw up off the floor, he agreed to read it again so that I could record it. WAY TO GO, SAM!!!


Steph

Sam’s Breakfast Prayer

Until this morning, Sam had never asked the blessing completely by himself. Usually, he repeats after me, or Travis says it. However, this morning, I asked him if he wanted to say the prayer and he said yes. This is what he said…

“God is great. Thank you for my food. By my hands, I am fed. Thank you, my God, for daily bread.”

His little “Sam-isms” make me laugh (for example- he says “hands” like “hand-da-says”) but it made my heart smile to hear his little voice asking God to bless his food- even if he is fed by his hands. HA HA! Next up, keeping eyes closed during the prayer- this is currently hit or miss for us.

There will be more updates posted throughout this week- my “to do” list is FINALLY getting shorter.

Steph