The Journey of Parenthood…

Family Fun: November 2016

Our November was pretty much consumed by tough medical news and Disney (strange combo haha). So we didn’t do a whole lot during the month!

The big kids and I attended our church Soup Kitchen to help serve and the same day Katie’s church had a booth sale event to benefit their mission work. Our churches are literally on the same street so it was perfect that the kids and I could pop in and surprise her and make some purchases! Katie has made each of us a special blanket (seriously SUCH a thoughtful gift!) and has recently opened up an Etsy Shop (Hitch and Hook So cute!). She can do custom blankets which are so perfect for baby gifts, graduation gifts, even wedding gifts (with a picnic basket? so adorable!) and make great photo props! Be sure to check it out here! I loved that she made ornaments as we bought one for each of the kids trees in their rooms 🙂 They loved having a little piece of Aunt Katie on their trees 🙂

Everyone deals with tough news differently and Zach really didn’t want anyone feeling bad for him or giving him sympathy. He wanted everyone to feel the way he does about things: that he’ll beat whatever odds he needs to 🙂 It was still SO sweet how much his dad went above and beyond for him. They had some special one on one time together and put together a guys night with dinner and football. They all had a blast AND even took a pic! 

Y’all know we love some sibling slumber parties! Free fun 😉

And the ice cream truck goes by our house year-round I guess? 

Sweet Kye bought his sisters an ice cream treat with his own money 🙂

It was also a great month for football!

(I love how Britt is sitting like a straight up DUDE)

On top of everything else we had going on…Zach’s car got broken into. In our driveway. Awesome. Thankfully they did very minor damage AND left his golf clubs in the trunk (as well as his work computer) but did take an old wallet that only had expired credit cards. 

We slow rolled removing the Halloween decor but were mega ahead of the game in putting out the Christmas 😉

Crunk for Christmas!

And also crunk for not having to cook dinner when Daddy proclaimed pizza night 😉

I know the election was/is a hot button topic and I’m not trying to go there. However the same night as the election was the night I needed to stay up until midnight because at midnight a bunch of codes stacked at Kohl’s (more on that in a minute). I was up anyway and Zach was up to watch and he kept me updated. Y’all I NEVER expected Trump to win! We were freaking out and it was so crazy! I’ve never felt that much excitement over a presidential election! We ended up staying up until 3 am to watch everything. It was a REALLY fun memory together. We debated going to sleep and I’m SO glad we waited up. We sat in bed freaking out and just laughing and making jokes (I mean his son during his speech was hilarious) and just feeling the energy of such a big shift for our country. Not sure how it’ll all pan out but we pray it’s going to be a positive direction! 

Earlier this year Aunt Karen had talked to Zach about going to a FSU game together. She is the one who turned him into a Florida State fan when he was a kid and I was ALL about them having this experience together. How fun to do something just him and Aunt Karen! It was the best seats Zach’s ever had for a game and was a great memory together I know they both will always cherish. And the timing was CRAZY too. They had planned it all a couple months prior but the game was the weekend we found out Zach’s initial diagnosis. It was such a great distraction for Zach and something FUN which is just what he needed. It’s also so crazy to me that it was WITH Aunt Karen. She was such a huge godly influence in our marriage back last November and then this November it seemed like God was again putting her in our path at the perfect time 🙂 Thankful for her!

The same night they went to the game I hosted my first Plaid and Pins night! Everyone wore plaid and brought a holiday themed dish from Pinterest for us all to try. It was a small crowd but ended up being a great time. I also needed the distraction and nothing is a better distraction than cleaning house, baking, and grubbing out with close friends 🙂

Not only am I including pics of all the dishes we brought, but links to the recipes too 🙂 

Gingerbread Cheesecake Dip

Egg Nog Lattes

Microwave Hot Chocolate Fudge

Bacon and Brown Sugar Crackers

No recipe for this one but it’s pretzels with a Hugs Hershey’s Kiss melted then an m&m on top (YUM)

Pumpkin Spice Dip

Red Velvet Oreo Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Crock Pot MeatBalls

Amazing corn dip (I think Katie may have given me this recipe and I need to find it!)

I think this is called Puppy Chow or something dog related?

White Chocolate Popcorn Marshmallow Treats

I even picked up some super cute holiday themed paper products!

Nothing makes my heart happier than a table full of sweet friends!!! We had a GREAT time and it was a good mix of people…not too many and not too few (but we all agreed it was WAY too much food!)

We each tried every food item and discussed them all and decided on a top three!

Katie’s cookies def WON!

Followed by Katie’s corn dip

And Morgan’s pretzel bites!

Zach planned a sweet date night for us the day after we found out about his news. Timing was rough because my mind was just CONSUMED and I looked pretty darn rough too from all the crying. BUT we still went and it was good to just have that quality time together to enjoy each other. He’s so thoughtful and sweet and I’m just so, so blessed to be his wife. 

We tried out a new Mexican place in town and he loved it!

Then we picked up Starbucks and went to sit outside and make out look at the super moon (okay, yes, and make out haha)

You mayyyyy have noticed in the pic of Zach and I together that behind us was a HUGE massive pile of boxes and bags. Veterans Day is my BIG shopping day of the year. At midnight that morning Kohl’s allows multiple really awesome coupons to stack and it’s THE best way to get amazing deals for Christmas! I have to purchase everything separately as part of the deal and this year? I ended up with 37 orders total!!! 

Mr Rusty and Mrs Charlotte had us over for dinner and it was wonderful! 

Corn bread is AMAZING

We went over to Little Mama’s and Big Daddy’s bright and early on a Saturday morning so Zach could pick mustard greens. Little Mama and Big Daddy have a nice sized garden and Mr Rusty also has one over on his farmland. We’re very blessed as we are hoping to hit up both gardens when we can to help make sure Zach is getting the healthiest food possible 🙂 Can’t top fresh from a family garden! It was a BEAUTIFUL morning and so nice to spend time out there with them!

Hard working boy!

It’s so frustrating for Zach. He is out there trying to get healthy food to help his health and what happens? His back gets really sore and hurts for DAYS after because of his back injury. I felt so bad and told him that he’s just gonna have to accept he doesn’t have a future career in farming 😉 

You know you had fun when your feet are this filthy!

He spent DAYS washing and cooking them!

(and looking mighty fine while doing it)

Big kids had their dentist appointment this month! Casey kept Tess at her house for me and she loved playing on Carter’s big boy bed 🙂 Both big kids did excellent. No cavities and compliments about how well they are taking care of their teeth. Kye got sealants put on and they did look at his top front tooth. They said that it is pretty far back and twisted a good bit so we are going to have to watch it and hope that he pushes it forward enough where it won’t need any sort of help. The big thing now is doing braces and such young and sometimes in parts so we will just wait and see! It’s hard for me b/c I didn’t have braces so I always feel like they are just trying to rip you off haha

They had these really cool popsicles to give Kye after the sealants to help the taste and of course Britt got one too!

Our Toys R US had a free Star Wars Lego Event! Each kid got a free Stormtrooper and poster!

We love some movie nights…especially trying to watch older Disney movies we’ve never seen!

I love how well these two play together!

Let Me Hold You Longer is a favorite book of mine and a great gift to give as well 🙂

We spent a good bit of the month getting SUPER PUMPED for DISNEY!!!

I also found a new mascara that I LOVE!

Maybelline Falsies!

I’m also super excited to see our baby boy in this adorable outfit 🙂

Several sweet friends really went above and beyond for us this month. Checking in, texting, little gifts, food, etc. I’m so blessed to have such an awesome tribe!

Had to end the monthly post with a pic of these two sweet girls 🙂

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Emily Parker
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