Housewarming / Halloween Party

Last night we celebrated Halloween with a housewarming party for Ian & Jenna...they bought their first house! It was such a fun night...yummy food, good friends and of course...pumpking carving contest!

As a little gift...I made this for the Allens...

No, it was not a costume party, Ian dressed up anyways. And no, that is not his baby. And no, the parent had no idea that the baby they were bringing was going to be part of his costume.

The Beach...

You know you have found a lifelong friend when BOTH of you move away and you still stay friends :). I have been blessed to have a handful of those!!!

My sweet friend Kelly and her lil man, Riordan, invited lil' man and I to go with them to the beach for 4 days!!! It has been such a blessing (and amazing timing) for me to get away from "life". I love my job of being a SAHM (most...of the time), but not having to do laundry, dishes, clean the house, change sheets, vacuum, pick up toys, cook, run errands...has been SUCH a needed break for me during my current "season". Yes, it has been tiring at times not having both of our hubby's around to help with beach time, bath time..and having extra hands. BUT - SO worth it. I have loved every minute of being with my friend and making memories for the boys.

So here are some of my favorite pics of the past few days! Did we get a picture of the four of us? Of course not! Did I get one MILLION pictures of the cutest little boy in the world? HECK YES I DID! If you aren't family - you don't have to look at all these. Family...HAVE AT IT :)

Ella....GREAT NEWS!

We received great news about sweet Ella (her story is here http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ellaupchurch/journal)! They were told that Ella would most likely have 8 rounds of chemo. Last week while she was at Egleston having round 6...they told her "THIS WOULD BE THE LAST"!!! They had scans done that week and they were clear. As of now, she is cancer free. However, they journey is not over! She has still been sick and will continue to have to be monitored, but her next scan is JANUARY 1oth! What a blessing they can go thru this holiday season without chemo. So much to be thankful for.

I have learned so much from my cousin Sheli during this season of their life. She is 9 years older than me so growing up she seemed so cool and I wanted to be just like her. They past 5 years I have spent being her "friend"...no feeling of age difference. I have never known a woman filled with such grace, beauty, strength, poise, integrity, servanthood....she embodies the kind of woman I hope I can be some day!

Several months ago, Remax of Greater Atlanta (where my Aunt/mom of Sheli/grandma of Ella works) planned a Benefit for Ella to raise money for her medical expenses. Little did they know that it would fall on the weekend of her last chemo and news of being CANCER FREE!

It was a wonderful night to be with family and to celebrate Ella and her amazing family! Please enjoy some pictures below. And for any of you that followed Ella's story and prayed for her, thank you!

The twins birthday...

The nice thing about living in ATL for several years (and still being within 2 hours) is that I get to see my family (extended family) a good bit. I always missed them growing up in Texas so far away and I try and take advantage of living close!

The twins are 3 1/2 months younger than lil' man and they just turned one. We headed up to ATL to celebrate with them and had a great time!