Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was a blast with tons of food and spending time with friends. Kristen came over Wednesday night and the two of us headed to 4 stores before we started in the kitchen. We did some prep work and made the desserts for today.

On Thursday, our friends Branon and Katy Mack joined in on the fun with the most important item of all....the turkey and the deep fryer. That's right, we fried the 18 pound turkey and it was delicious! The appetizers included: crackers and dip, olives, artichokes, sour cream & caviar, seasoned nuts, pickles, pickle okra, and cheese. The main menu was: fried turkey, stuffing, cornbread dressing, 2 kinds of gravy, sweet potato casserole, potatoes au gratin, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, brussel sports, homemade rolls, and a yummy cream pudding Kristen made! Desserts: pecan pie, pumpking pie, upside down blackberry cake, homemade whipped cream, and ice cream. We sat down for the main fare around 2pm and tackled desserts around 6pm. It was a great time and we all had plenty of leftovers for the week!

Appetizer Tray

My yummy plate of food!

Katy, Branon, Kristen, Me, and Adam

Can't forget the growing baby....13 weeks!

Random Fact from Adam: "Maine lobsters account for 80% of the U.S. lobster catch, according to the Associated Press. Other lobster-related facts:

• Maine lobstermen haul around 400,000 pounds a day.
• Lobster is Maine's most valuable fishery. Its haul of roughly 63 million pounds last year was worth some $300 million at the dock with a total economic impact estimated at about $1 billion.
• The annual catch has more than doubled in the past 15 years; at the same time the average price paid to fishermen has risen more than 75 percent, with lobstermen averaging $4.44 per pound for their catch last year.
• Lobster prices fluctuate widely during the year depending on supply and demand. The price lobstermen receive for their catch fell to as low as $2.25 a pound this month.
• Along the Portland waterfront, seafood shops are selling lobsters for as cheap as $3.89 a pound, about the price of bologna at the deli counter.
• Retailers as far south as Washington, D.C., are selling live lobster for as little as $5.99 a pound.

Time to Celebrate!

1) It's my birthday today!!! Whoohoo! Nothing to crazy, just turning 28. I had a work conference this weekend, so there was minimal excitement today. But, I did get to take a day trip with Adam last weekend to Pinehurst. That was a ton of fun as we got to view the Festival of Trees along with walking around this super cute town. The Festival of Trees is a great fundraiser for a local Children's Hospital and it was just awesome seeing the decorations and beautfiul Carolina Inn.

2) We are also celebrating the end of our FIRST TRIMESTER this weekend! That's right! We are going to have a baby!!! The due date is currently at the beginning of June and all has been going quite smoothly thus far. I haven't been too sick or too tired, but both things have definitely occured.

3) And, if that wasn't enough.....we put an offer in on a house and it is currently under contract! We are expected to close at the end of December. We do have our apartment lease until the beginning of February, so we'll use the month of January to do a few things to the house (like painting a couple rooms) before we move all the way in.

Adam and I are so blessed by the way the Lord continues to provide for us and how He never ceases to show His faithfulness in our lives. It has truly been a memorably season of life with so much more ahead!

Random Fact from Adam: "Think of NC this holiday season. North Carolina is the 2nd largest turkey processing state in the country, and 4th largest chicken processor. North and South Carolina combined have more than 50 poultry processing plants."

The Summit Church Sermons

Adam and I have truly been blessed to be a part of the Summit Church here. We started going back in January and have settled into a small group now that we really enjoy. Adam and I jumped in and started serving on the "First Impressions" team. We specifically greet first time guests and welcome them to the church by giving them a nice little bag of treats and showing them around. I am also serving on the Hospitality team to provide snacks for the worship team. It is a great way for me to bake and make treats without all of them staying in our house! We have also adopted a few UNC college guys, but it is kinda tricky meeting up with them as often as we'd like due to scheduling and such.

Anyhow, I wanted to post the link to our church's sermons because I know I have mentioned them to some of you a few times. Back in the summer, we did an AMAZING serious about dating, relationships, and marriage. When you click on the link, this series in titled "Exposed." It really was a hilarious, enlightening, and convicting message each week that was just awesome. The most recent series we have finished was titled "Why I am not a Christian." We covered some of the major areas people tend to debate over a couple months. Adam and I continue to learn from our Pastor J.D. along with the entire staff. We are blessed to be a part of such a growing body of believers and thankful the Lord has us where we are! So, here is that link if you want to check any of those sermons out! Click here!

Random Fact from Adam: "In honor of the election and candidates' talk about taxes, here are some facts courtesy of the Associated Press:* "The richest 5% of Americans now pay well over half of all federal income taxes"* "40% of Americans pay no federal income tax at all"* "The richest 10% earn an average of $93,000 a year; the poorest 10% make $5,800"