Thanksgiving! (Finally!)

THAT SMILE--you'll see it several times in this post! Okay, so Thanksgiving this year was a blast! We headed out to Josh's Uncle Phil and Aunt Kathy's property for some horse-ridin', bonfirin', 4-wheelin', hayridin' kind of fun! We were surrounded by so much food (and family) we didn't know where to start! But it was great!

Abby loved sitting on the "bike" with Dad. She really only rode in the back, though, during the hayrides, though she did do that about 4 times!

Abby and cousin Sam smilin' for the camera-watch the video to see more of the smiles!

Then Cousin Will entered the picture too!

Abby won this "num-num" in Aunt Kathy's game for the kids--it's a sucker, guys! Whoa!

I took this video with our still camera, which may explain the many "CHEESES" you hear! And also the mediocre quality of the picture.

Pecans with Grandma

Pecans are my favorite nut, whether you say it the southern way-peeee-caaan-or the northern way-puh-cahn-or someway in between-peeee-cahn or puh-caaan!! They have always been important to me, because my Great Grandma and Grandaddy Petty had a pecan tree or two in their yard and I remember going outside with them, after having Moon Pies and soda pop

as a snack, and picking up the pecans off of the ground! My grandparents also lived on Pecan Avenue the whole time I was growing up! I thought it was neat when my mom called and asked if Abby wanted to come over to her office by the church and pick up pecans from under the pecan tree in the yard there. It brought back memories...

Abby loved it, of course, once she realized what she was looking for and how many there were to pick up-isn't it exciting when your child sees a form of work as fun?! Grandma let her have all the pecans and now my goal is to crack them and let Abby help me make a pecan pie for Christmas dinner--we'll see if it actually happens!

So, I've written a whole post about pecans! I guess I really am a nut!

Abby's Special Ornament

About a month ago, I received a letter from Dr. John Nichols in Greenville asking me to send a special ornament to their office for their "Little Miracles" Christmas Tree. I received the same request last year, but never got around to it. Most of you know that Josh and I were able to get pregnant with Abby after a lot of help from Dr. Nichols and his staff at Piedmont Reproductive Endocrinology Group (Aptly named, for the acronym is PREG;0). So I headed to Hallmark to find the perfect ornament that would allow me to put in a picture of Abby. These pics were taken on a Sunday morning before church. I had just put the Christmas tree up the day before and got Abby all dressed up in her sweet Christmas dress. She cooperated (hurray!) and I was able to get 3 shots that were perfect! I was so grateful!

So here's to you, Dr. Nichols and all the little miracles you've helped bring into the world! We love you!

Harvey Boys Camping Trip

A couple of weeks ago, my brother, Scott, planned a camping trip for all the boys to Cheraw State Park. It included my four brothers, Scott (37), Layne (30), Ben (28) and Boo (26), my Dad-I won't put his age, but you can tell he's OLD by the "bustin' grays" coming out of the side of his hat and last, but definitely not least, Josh (31)-the only "outlaw" who was there;) They had a blast, even though Scott and Josh are the only real campers in the bunch! It made me really happy to see the friendship and love they all have for one another and even though I hear the talk got a little rowdy sometime, I know they all are looking forward to the next trip, since it seems that it will become an annual thing!

The picture above was taken on a long bridge above a beautiful waterfall--I know because I've been there before!

All "the boys" around the campfire--Don't let Layne's scary eyes fool you--he's the biggest softy I know!

You can tell Dad's getting old--He had to take a snooze by the fire before driving the 45 minutes back home!

TRAMPOLINE!

A while back, we went to Josh's sister's house for dinner after church in his parent's ward during a visit. They have a HUGE backyard, and while the other 7 (besides Jacobi, who is only 4 months old) grandchildren played, Abby decided she wanted to "jimp" on the "champoline". I just wanted to share a few shots! Notice the frizzy hair (of course) and her dirty tights (she made it outside before I could get her shoes back on her!) Her dress says "Future Ballerina"! She LOVES to "dunce"!

Here We Go Again!

Yabba Dabba Doo! We were the Flintstones again for Halloween and we actually went to a party at Josh's friends church that let us get a FORMAL family picture taken! We had a blast, as you can see below! Abby loved the plastic, light-up Frankenstein!

It was fun to see her really get into it this year, especially with all the "num-nums" (her word for all sweets!)

I know this was short, but

Stay Tuned for Thanksgiving...