It's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas!

I decided this year we were going to get a real Christmas tree.  Our really nice (12 year old) fake tree was finally starting to look a little thin and I felt like we needed a new tradition so we headed to the mountains of North Carolina to Lil Grandfather Christmas Tree Farm.

We got to select our own tree.

 (It's the one right behind us.) And then we watched as they chopped it down for us!

 

And then they hauled it away. 

It's so nice to have a live tree!  It smells so good and the kids declared it "our best tree ever!"

So I think we started a new tradition!

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And then on Saturday Sarah's Girl Scout troop was in the local Christmas Parade.  Sarah did it last year and had such a great time.  She was thrilled when she found out they would be participating again.

Basically the girls decorate a trailer, sit in the back of it, wave to the crowd and throw out candy.  She loves being in the spotlight so this was right up her alley.

And the best part?  She had some leftover candy. And guess who's been eating that?

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We got our tree decorated and we got all the decorations up.  Sparkle (our Elf on the Shelf) came back from the North Pole and the kids are elated.  Our Advent Calendar is up and the Advent Candle was lit last night.

I would say we are well on our way!  

(Now I just have to finish all the shopping.)

WIWS: The not half bad edition.

Linking up at FLAP for another edition of What I Wore Sunday.

Here we go!

Sweater:  Kohl's (Non-maternity so I will totally be wearing this one next year!!)
Pants: Motherhood
Boots: Target
Necklace: Target

I had a close up of the necklace but pride has prevented me from posting it.  The neck wrinkles and the chest freckles (old age spots?) were more than I could bear!

Hope you all had a great long weekend.

What I Wore (and ate): Thanksgiving Edition

I have so much to be thankful for.  I am most thankful for all of my family and all my friends who are praying for our little one.  And not just tossing up a random prayer but y'all - I'm talking Prayer Warriors.  I am quite certain that God is being bombarded with prayer requests for our little girl. And what's really nice is that  there are times when I just don't think I can utter another prayer and then I get a text or an email and someone is reminding me that they are praying for her and that gives me such peace.  We are truly blessed.

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I slaved all day in the kitchen.  Okay.  That's a lie.  My mom slaved for three days in the kitchen and not only invited our family over but my best friend and her family over as well.  A full house on Thanksgiving is the best kind!

We feasted on the following: (and it was ALL prepared by my mom)

Traditional Queso and Chips to start (didn't the Indians bring that?)
London Broil
Turkey
Ham
Mashed potato casserole
Sweet potato casserole
Green beans
Fancy slaw
Cranberry sauce
Deviled eggs
Refrigerator pickles
Gravy
Rolls
Pumpkin Crunch
Chocolate Cake
And it really seems like I'm forgetting a couple of things but that's all that I can remember.

It was all delicious and I think mom will probably take a nice 8 hour nap!

Here's what I wore:

Jacket: Motherhood
Shirt: Motherhood
Pants: Motherhood
(Why yes, I'm pregnant.  Why do you ask?)
Shoes: Target
Scarf: Cents of Style.com for about $3 and that included shipping

Check out what everyone else was wearing today at Fine Linen and Purple's Thanksgiving Link-up.

The results.

The doctor called yesterday with the test results. Unfortunately the test confirmed that the baby has Trisomy 18. If I am able to carry her to full term, the chances that she will be stillborn are 50%. Of the 50% that are born only 10% will make it to their first birthday and that is with many medical problems.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We are still praying for a miracle but are trying to adjust to the likely reality.

I am claiming this verse for my daughter:

Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. - Jeremiah 17:14.

It's the same verse I have been praying for years for healing of my Multiple Sclerosis pain.

We believe in miracles.  We believe in a powerful God.  We believe in a righteous God that restores, that protects and that heals.  And we believe in the power of prayer. 

Please continue to pray for our sweet baby girl.

WIWS: Edition Very Large Stripes

It's Sunday so I'm linking up at Fine Linen and Purple for another edition of What I Wore Sunday.

It was a gorgeous fall day yesterday. High in the upper 60s and sunny.  Perfect fall weather.  But thanks to a blast of Arctic wind from Canada it will only be in the low 30s today.  And it's windy so it feels even colder.

There was no way I was standing outside for a picture so Sarah snapped these of me in my bedroom.

Shirt: Motherhood Maternity
Pants: Motherhood Maternity
Booties: Target
Necklace: Kohl's

And that's it folks.  Nothing else to see here.  So please step away from the blog and head on over to Fine Linen and Purple to see what everyone else wore to Mass today.

7 Quick Takes because it's Friday and that's what I do.

Doing what I like to do on Fridays - linking up with Conversion Diary for Seven Quick Takes.

--1-- 

Dan's on a business trip in Frankfurt, Germany this week.  He sent me this picture of his lunch yesterday.

I told him this looked disgusting and he should have tried harder to find a cheeseburger!  When he travels for work he is typically in Ireland.  But occasionally has to go to France or Germany.  He loves the food in Ireland the best. Guess it's because he's 75% Irish!

--2-- 

Speaking of food.  Yesterday I found this on Pinterest:

It's a Toasted Bacon Fluffernutter Sandwich.  It's peanut butter, marshmallow Fluff and bacon between bread that's been toasted in the bacon grease.  Sounds heavenly, doesn't it?  Although a friend of mine commented that I must be pregnant if I'm pinning that recipe!

--3--

Yesterday on the way home from school, Peter told me that one of the boys in his class had been out all week.  He said two other boys from his class told the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders (5th-6th each lunch and has recess together) that this particular little boy was in juvy (juvey?, juvie?).  Some how Sister Geri, the principal, found out about it and made the two boys go around to each of the other classes and tell the kids they were lying and then they had to apologize for spreading gossip.

Catholic school justice - swift, harsh and effective! 

--4--

Peter saw online that Megadeth was going to be performing at the Fillmore (which is a nightclub in Charlotte which is about an hour and 15 minutes from here).  He begged me to take him to the concert and was very, very upset when I told him he couldn't go.  I explained that 11 is a little too young to see Megadeth.  He countered with some good excuses:  

"They probably won't even be touring when I'm older."

 "My friend Sam has been to a concert and he was only 10." And my favorite:  

"Don't worry Mom.  The Fillmore is small so there probably won't even be a mosh pit!"

When I pressed him on the concert that his friend Sam and been to he said it was to see Bon Jovi.  I immediately told him that I would be glad to take him to see Bon Jovi.  But that only further annoyed my boy since Bon Jovi isn't even heavy metal. The boy wants thrash metal or nothing.  No sissy hair bands for him.  (That's too bad because momma loves her some 80s hair bands!)

--5--

Sarah's 4th Grade class had their Thanksgiving feast yesterday.  It was delicious.  Everyone brought in a dish and we feasted.  The father of one of Sarah's classmates is a chef and he prepared the turkey.  It was fabulous!  If you are local (Piedmont/Triad area) I highly recommend Chef Dion's.  It is wonderful, fancy food but it is very reasonably priced.  Dion trained at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, New York and is a fabulous chef. 

 

Do you see Sarah waiting patiently at the back of the line?  And look at all the parents serving up the food!

--6--

Well, the kids got their report cards yesterday.  Sarah's were very good and Peter's were okay.  He's got some room for improvement. But, I've talked to quite a few parents that have had kids in the 5th grade at this school with this teacher and they said it's a tough year but their kids were extremely well prepared for middle school and are now excelling. I'm hoping that's the case.

--7--

I am almost done with my Christmas shopping for the kids.  I typically spend all of December trying to figure out what to get them (they don't like to make lists because they want to be surprised - more fun for them, more work for me) and then I order it all online and have everything shipped to Dan's home in Massachusetts.  But this year, I needed to have everything arrive by next week when some of Dan's family members were going to be home for Thanksgiving so I had to really kick it up a notch.  It's been a stressful few days but it's nice to be done with that part of the Christmas shopping! 

Head on over to Jen's to see what everyone else has been up to this week!

Peace.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:7

I woke up this morning with peace.  That peace.  The peace that  can only come from God because you know that it doesn't make any logical sense for you to be at peace.

And I know this peace has come to me because of prayer -  many prayers prayed by many people.  

I receive text messages, Facebook messages, emails and phone calls so I know there a lot (hundreds, maybe thousands?) of people praying for this baby and for me and my family.

If this baby is born healthy and whole, it will be the miracle that I am praying for and expecting.

But if we find out she has Down Syndrome then we will love her, protect her and care for her with all we have for as long as we live.

And if we find out that she has Trisomy 18 then we will love her, protect her and care for her with all we have for as long as she lives...whether that's  20 minutes or 2 weeks or 2 years.

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for our sweet baby girl.

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. - 1 John 5:14-15

Dancing, tacos, and poop. Not our typical Friday night.

If you checked out my What I Wore Sunday post, you saw that Dan and I had a little fun on Saturday night.  It was so nice to have an evening out without worrying about things I can't control.

Waiting is very hard.  But I am trying to be patient in the waiting.  And your prayers are still very much appreciated.

We had a fun evening Friday night also.

Dan and Sarah attended the Daddy/Daughter dance at school.  Dan hates to dance and he hates to make small talk so this event is always a bit of a stretch for him.  But he loves Sarah so he always goes with a big old smile on his face and they always  have a great time together.

Aren't they a handsome couple?

While they went to the dance, Peter and I headed to Taco Bell.  Peter has been dieing to try a Doritos Locos Taco every since he saw a commercial for them so Friday night was the night.

Please ignore the dirty jacket.  That's just how we roll around here! And the tacos got two thumbs up from Peter.  And by the way, our dinner conversation was much lighter than last year!  Thank goodness.


And while Dan and Sarah were busy dancing, Peter and I were busy making fake poop.

That's right.  Poop.  Peter Googled "how to make fake poop" and got a great recipe.  All you do is mix peanut butter (we used Biscoff spread since Peter is allergic to peanuts) with chocolate sauce.  Heat it in the microwave for a few seconds.  Let it cool and scoop it into a Ziplock baggy.  Snip the end off the baggy and pipe it out where ever you want it to be.

And it looked real. I will save you the photos that Peter insisted I take but he was easily able to convince Dan and Sarah that the cat had pooped all over the place!

This was definitely not a typical Friday night for us but I think we made some good memories! 

(And no, I did not let Peter eat the fake poop.)

WIWS and S: A special twofer edition

Thank you for praying for my baby girl.  Please keep praying. I have definitely felt more at peace and I know it's because of all of the prayers that are being said for us.

And because life goes on, even when you are waiting for test results, last night my husband and I attended the wedding reception of one of my best friends from college.  It was a snazzy affair and I did the best I could to spiff up for the occasion.  They don't really carry any  cocktail dresses at our local Motherhood Maternity so I went with the best thing I could find. 

Dress: Motherhood Maternity

Shrug: Target

Jewelry: Target

Me and my girls! Don't they look hawt?!

There was a photo booth!  So much fun!  We even got our husbands to go in with us once. 

And here's what I wore to Mass this morning:

  

Jacket: Motherhood

Shirt: Target

Pants: Motherhood

Shoes: Kohls

In retrospect, I wish I had thrown on a red scarf and worn my red flats just to pep this outfit up a little bit.  It could definitely use a little color.  So, hang on, I'm sure you'll be seeing a spruced up version of this outfit on a future edition of WIWS

Don't forget to head over to Fine Linen and Purple to see what everyone else is wearing today.