It's been a while...

We've been having a blast. Gosh I love this busy fun filled time of year where every day is an opportunity to be thankful for our family and friends. Here's a Pope Household recap. No LLH this week. I'm changing things up a bit.

Monday

Helen went to school. Markus helped me clean house, iron, and run errands. I baked a scratch recipe red velvet cake (courtesy of Leigh so y'all know it was divine!) and I picked up a Turkey I ordered in town. Yes I finally located (with the help of some friends -thanks Gina) a BBQ on 84 that would take a Fried Turkey order. It made my kitchen smell all yummy that afternoon and had me anxiously looking forward to the following week with family.

I had tons of proofing to do from all the photography shot this past weekend.

I love the results. We had clients over to select their Christmas Cards and see their proofs online. They loved them and I loved that. It's great to see the happiness my photography brings to families and friends. I just so enjoy sharing with them.

Tuesday

This day was spent with Helen's friends at Monroeville Baptist Church for our Thanksgiving Feast. What a special treat it was to see everyone and enjoy a fine meal with such good company. The tables were set with cute little touches that our children had made. They dressed in their little handmade Indian Vests and they did a cute little song for us. They also stood up one at a time to share with our group what they were most thankful for this year. Such a good time was had by everyone. Almost none of my red velvet cake made it home with me so it must have been as good as I thought and I recieved quite a few questions about how I cooked such a great Turkey. LOL! Of course I've pointed everyone in the direction of the Landing Strip for their own Thanksgiving feast.

I really enjoy all the MA events I go to. They are traditional and well thought out. It's good that the parents in our school are so happily involved with their children's class. It's just wonderful.

Wednesday

I can't even remember. Funny right how that can happen? I know we did Gymnastics. Helen is getting better every week. I'm so proud. The only other thing I remember was making a crock pot of White Bean Chicken Chilli ( <--- Yum!) and making Helen's stocking for a K5 bulletin board decoration.

Thursday

New Moon day finally arrived! I am sure all of you know how obesssed I have become with this book series. It's one of the best page turners I've ever gotten my hands on. I read a ton of books every year and very rarely do I read any more than once. However, Twilight is the exception. I've read the complete saga 4 times now. That's a personal record for me. I don't think I've even read Pride and Prejudice that many times. :)

So Thursday, when I wasn't thinking happy Twilight thoughts, I was on my way to pick up Brett in Mississippi. He is spending some of his Thanksgiving vacation with us. We were anxious to get him so I urged Momma to hurry up on his tests. We met in Waynesboro on Thursday afternoon. Then we picked up a very excited Helen. (She ADORES Brett.) We took him clothes shopping. I love to dote on him. Then we rented Twilight so he could be caught up before New Moon at Midnight. Of course he liked the film. I am urging him to read the books so that all us Campbell Kids can have that in common. Imagine the discussions we could have over the holidays.

So the kids get to bed and Brett contemplates taking a nap before heading to the theater. I of course could not sit still long enough to nap. I've waited for what seems forever for this film to arrive. At 11 I couldn't wait another moment. We dressed in warm, casual clothing and left the house. I thought it would be a slim crowd at this hour in Monroeville. I can not even begin to say how proud I was to see the parking lot almost full an hour before the showing. I'm sure almost all 160 seats were full.

Now there is a side story to this New Moon Movie Night that must be told. See Leigh and I share our Bdays in November. Hers is the 17 and mine the 27. 2 years and 10 days apart and we do everything together. So of course New Moon was going to be our Bday gift to one another. I promised that I would resist the urge to see the film before our planned night to see it together next Wednesday. Obviously I could not contain my excitement. It was too tempting knowing that it was a mile and a midnight drive from my reach.

So Brett and I are enjoying the music and the highly excited crowd awaiting the show. The lights dim and cheers go up. We settle in and the movie begins. Five minutes into New Moon the film skips forward almost 40 minutes ahead. (I know because New Moon is one of my favorite books of the series.) Not only has the film skipped the poignant break up scene but blast it the darn thing is playing UPSIDE DOWN AND BACKWARDS!!!! I kid you not. The house lights go up and a very apologetic theater employee informs us the screw up will take 3 hours to fix. Only in Monroeville I thought with a smile could New Moon get jacked up for me on opening night. Of course this is what I deserve right for breaking my promise to Leigh. Brett and I got over it easily since we were already tired from the days drive. We'll be seeing it tonight together. Leigh even knows of my hilarious New Moon premier night. She has given me permission to see it with our brother so long as I keep my big mouth shut and don't ruin the film for her this coming Wednesday. Now there is a promise I can attempt to keep.

Friday

What a day Friday was. Helen skipped school. We all slept in until 8. So nice!

We packed the car for the big game. This was going to be the highlight of Brett's trip to see us. I really wanted him to go to the Monroe Academy State Championship Game with me in Troy. We had a fun morning. I packed and Brett worked in the yard with Chad. He was good help. We followed my friend Robin and her kids to Troy. The drive was nice. Troy reminded me a lot of Hattiesburg. The tailgating was fun and the pep rally hilarious. The Senior Football Moms put on a skit that was a hoot. I loved every minute. One of the best things about MA is family involvement. You can tell these parents go the extra mile for their kids. The sense of community and tradition there go deep. It's just nice to belong to this group. As they say it's good to be a volunteer.

The game was one of the best I've ever seen. Seriously. It was a nail biting experience. I was proud of our players. Their skill and strategy amaze me. Especially that last 55 seconds of the 4th quarter. We watched almost the entire game on our feet. It was just too good to sit down to watch. The team we played really put on a show as well. We were well matched. They did an outstanding job as well last night and I'm sure it's a bittersweet loss for them to miss this by 1 point. In the last three seconds of the game our team kicked in a 3 point field goal to win by a single point. Amazing. Words can not describe the noise, cheers, and tears that we saw in the stands. Of course we were all hugging and jumping up and down with glee.

The fans stormed the field when the game was over. It was just so exciting. You had to be down their to congratulate them on a job well done. Helen was ecstatic for her school. She had said about a 100 times today, "MA ROCKS!" I'm glad I took Brett and Helen with me. It will be a memorable experience for them.

So that was our week. What an eventful one. I look foward to this afternoon. Our father in law, Mr. Lester is visiting with us today and we'll be eating out together later this afternoon. There is New Moon to look forward to as well. Sunday and Monday hold photography work for me and Tuesday is packing to go home. Oh how I love this time of year! Y'all remember to be grateful for your blessings. Remember to kiss your family and give good hugs. Their is so much to be happy and thankful for.

-Erin

LLH #7

Wow we just finished up a fantastic week! I am so looking forward to the next as well. Before I go into that (saving it all for another post this coming week) let me recap what has been going on at the Pope Household.

Thursday we headed back to school. We all felt a little better from our cold. Helen was happy to hang out with friends again after being off for two days. Markus and I spent the time cleaning and prepping for photoshoots on Saturday. Friday afternoon we all went to the pep rally and had so much fun. We were very excited to go to the game on Friday night. We won! So now the Vols will go on to the final state championship game this next Friday night. Of course we are attending it in Troy. We are even taking Brett with us.

I was very proud of the way our team played and behaved themselves on the field this past Friday night. We played our arch rivals Escambia and there has been some tension. While I can't say that the away team behaved themselves, I can say I am proud of the game our team played and the manner in which they played it. It's good to be a Volunteer!

Saturday the kids spent time with Chad while I did two Christmas Card sessions and a senior session. I am so anxious to sit down with these photos and cull through them. I know I got some beautiful shots. I have fantastic subjects to thank for that!

Today we have just been laying low. We have had some laughs. Chad and I went outside to cull through what I bought for Christmas for the kids. I felt like it was too much and I wanted his advice on what I might not need. Bless that man's heart because he was so cute about looking through the toys. He loves his children so much. He didn't want to return any of it. He told me to keep it all and just not to do a bunch of big outings at Christmas. (Which is where he thinks we spend all that money) lol...I just love him! It makes me smile to think of how he can't deny his kids anything. He really bends over backwards to do everything in his power to provide for them all their wants, wishes, and needs.

We went ahead and gave Markus and Helen one toy each. Helen is currently watching her new movie and Markus has kept us laughing all day with his. We gave him a knight's costume complete with shield, armor, helmet, and a sword. I haven't giggled this much in a long time. Helen put on her princess nightgown and went yelping around from atop the chairs/table in her room yelling "Help!" and our little night in shining armor would go over and offer her a hand. It was hilarious.

Well I really ought to do LLH by now right. This post is almost done. I'll end it with my LLH list. Y'all have a blessed and happy week! I'm going to the dining room for dominos. It's family night here :)

Erin

LLH:

Love me some good books!

Love me some New Moon! Yeah for Thursday's midnight showings.

Love me some fall. Love me some fall photo ops!

Love me some Chad. That man is mine oh mine and I'm so happy to know it.

Love my birthday. I didn't like 30 but I can't say that 31 is really bothering me. Who cares? I'm young at heart!

Love me some Garnet Hill, Cafe Press, Gap online, and Silly Bandz. Yes even I have played with them/ wore them.

Laugh at Helen, Markus, and Chad. I can't get enough of my family. Laughing at Adele and Leigh too. They keep me rolling.

Hate all the drama of facebook. I have seen some people be so rude here recently. Why can't folks just get happy with their lives instead of bashing everyone else's and what they buy and what their kids do? Don't they ever think before they open their mouths? Hate me some jealousy too. It's just a sign of poor self confidence.

They Bake They Own

So this week has been so wonderfully relaxing that I hardly know what to blog about. It's been a breeze. I realize now how 'overly' busy we've been the past few weeks what with the lack of any to do's going on this time around.

On Sunday I got home from my trip with Adele. She and I had a wonderful visit. She lifts my spirits. She's so funny and just full of life and happiness. She just radiates a good vibe. She also has neat ideas and knows about new things so I always leave a visit with her excited about something new. She took me to Sephora this go round. I had heard of it but had never been. We had fun trying out new products. We shopped for Christmas, books, and ourselves. We had a Thai food experience. I'm not nuts about peanuts, but the company was amazing as always. We laughed about Damian the doorman, handicap showers, and bikers. She even helped me track down the elusive Zhu Zhu pets. I am the happy owner of the entire collection now.

The only draw back to the whole weekend was that I got a head cold. It was a further let down that when I came home my children were sick with it as well. At least the head cold made sure I wouldn't have to clean up on Sunday night for dinner guests from Finland. I was relieved to have Chad cancel that event.

Luckily we were able to pull it together for Monday at school and cleaning/laundry day at home. The hurricane and the holiday helped us out as well. By the time Tuesday morning and it's rainy weather rolled around none of us felt like leaving our pj's or for that matter our beds.

Tuesday and Wednesday were wonderful days. We napped, we ate in, we lounged in PJ's all day, played games, and watched movies. It was so very uneventful. I only did a little light cleaning in the kids area of the house and then we ironed while watching UP and Tinkerbell. I love days like this when it's just me and the kids hanging out. It almost felt like summer since they were both home. Down time is always good. I feel so refreshed now and our little germ is almost gone. I am going to clean out the kitchen window sill the morning. This is a true sign if there ever was one of the Pope family having a sickness.

I line the sill with medicines and keep a pad close by to right down who, what dosage, and the time.

The highlight of our stay at home vacation was Helen getting some mail. I'd ordered more silly bandz for her.

She thinks these are the coolest things. I have the Christmas ones coming soon too. I got a Garnet Hill catalog in the mail along with a book I ordered so between the mail running Helen and I were happy campers Tuesday afternoon.

One of the only things I had to take care of this week was finding a place to order my turkey for Thanksgiving. Helen's school will have a feast and I signed up for Red Velvet cake and turkey. Of course not a turkey that I would cook, but one that I would buy. That's what we've always done. It's not that I wasn't raised right. I just seriously am not a good cook. The idea of having to cook a big bird puts me in a tailspin. I've never had to worry about it thanks to Heavenly Ham or some other mail order place that will refrigerate fed ex your meats prepared to you.

So I begin the hunt for a local baker/deli in Monroeville to order my meats from. I went into the Winn Dixie here first. At the back of the store there resides the Deli. I take my cart back there and wait patiently for a clerk. I ask them if they have started taking orders for Turkeys and say that I am ready to place mine. The girl looks at me kinda funny. Asks me "What is you talking about?" I explain about how my momma has always gotten the fried Turkey at her Winn Dixie for Thanksgiving and that if they have that available then I'd like one. She says, "We don't bake no Turkey's." Shocked as I am I stumble for words. I ask if she can recommend another Deli in town that does that bird orders for the holiday. She laughs. I can see another of the staff far over to the left shaking her head. I believe if I read her lips right that she said "Girl don't know how to bake a bird. Shoot." So the clerk I'm talking to recovers from her fit of giggles and says "They usually bake they own."

I am now surely the laughing stock of the Winn Dixie Deli Dept. Imagine moving to a place where it's shameful to not know how to bake a holiday bird. Oh well. Me and the Fed Ex or the UPS man will get it here somehow. It will just be a bird from outside Alabama and I guess that suits me just fine.

Finally yesterday afternoon we had to get out of bed. Markus had a hair appt. and Helen had gymnastics. Markus did really well. Almost no tears. I think we have made good progress with Miss Debbie doing his hair cuts. We schedule one now every 3 weeks even if it's just a tiny trim. It's helping him to get over his hair cut issues because we see her so regularly.

While we were there Helen got a little reward for helping me clean up yesterday afternoon. She picked out pink with blue sparkles. She cracks me up. This morning she wore the cutest little dress to school. She complained about wearing a dress saying she couldn't play in it. I felt bad about it, but if she knew how much I spent on those dresses she'd be quiet. She looks like a doll so I don't care if she can "only peel nuts" instead of 'really play' as she says. We only wear one dress a week now. I think this is gonna be our last year for dresses and it makes me kinda sad.

In other Pope Family news, Markus is being potty trained. That is code for put me to the top of your prayer list. We've had a few accidents here lately and I was about to give up again. I've bought diapers until a child was three so I guess I can do it for him too. Then suddenly this morning we had a break through. He ran in here all excited, necked from the waist down, exclaiming, " I did it! I did it!" I have never been so proud. He even put his diaper in the garbage can. We hugged and did a celebration dance. I can't believe he did it all on his own. I hadn't even asked him if he needed to go. Then I went hunting for the M&M's I had for this auspicious occasion. Wouldn't you know Chad has eaten all of them! We opted instead for some scooby gummi snacks. He shoved them all in his mouth at once. Of course I didn't see this because I was calling Momma so she could congratulate him. I now have a sticky hand because he spat out all the gummi's in order to clear his mouth to talk to her. :)

Today I plan to spend prepping for several shoots on Saturday and scrapbooking a bit. It's so nice to have my house tidy and my to do list empty. Coffee sounds good too so maybe a stop in at the Beehive is a good idea as well.

Happy Thursday Y'all,

Erin