Nipped in the Bud

I know I haven't posted in a long time. I told myself I'd be a better poster, but lately, I haven't had the motivation or desire to do much of anything. I wasn't sure I wanted to even post this, but it has been a huge part of our lives the past month, so I guess it's important to write about. Last month we found out that Mike didn't pass the Bar exam. To some people this may not seem like a big deal, but besides finishing law school, this is the biggest event in our "law" career. Now, Mike gets to take time away from work to study all over again for the same test in February. And we are praying for better results! It has been rough on all of us--but I seem to be having the hardest time of all with it. Mike is an overall VERY positive person, but even this has affected him. We are more positive about it now, but it has been a rough month. I hope everyone who reads this keeps us in their thoughts and prayers, as we will need every ounce of faith out there.

Now on to more exciting things. Thanksgiving was crazy. We hosted our first Thanksgiving ever. We had 22 people over at my in-laws home. Unfortunately, my in-laws went to Utah for Thanksgiving, so we had the whole house to ourselves to set-up, plan, and prepare the meal. It was quite a success--with TONS of food. Mike made our 20 lb. turkey, our first ever. I made 6 dozen homemade rolls, 2 pies, and a green bean casserole. Mmmm.....




Our Thanksgiving started off with a 10k in Walnut Creek. I don't know what I was thinking running in a race before cooking a big dinner. But it was a great way to start the day.... The best part was running across the finish line and seeing Abby cheering me on. I'm waving to her in this picture. She's such a cutie!



All set-up for the big feast. I set the table the night before so I wouldn't have to stress over it the day of. At the last minute, we had to add two place settings as we had last minute guests show up.


Everyone getting last minute preparations done in the kitchen. Mike is actually "carving" the turkey in this picture, if you can't tell. He watched a video on YouTube and was an instant pro.



Everyone eating and eating and eating. I think my favorite part about Thanksgiving is being squished together at the table, knocking elbows, and bumping plates. I love the feeling of togetherness it brings. I love being with family!

This is a project I've been working on for a long time. It's a tree skirt I made for my sister-in-law and her family for Christmas. I pieced it all together and then did the quilting myself. It was quite the project and took me a lot longer than I thought it would. But I LOVE how it turned out. And my SIL likes it, too, so that makes it all worth it!

Mike took a cake decorating class at Michaels. He's been wanting to do it for a long time, but after taking the class, he's decided it's not for him. It takes a lot of work and time, but he sure is good at it! This is a cake he made at home with Abby. He made marshmallow fondant to roll out and place on it. It was actually very tasty! He's so talented!

We went to the downtown PTown parade one night. It was sooooo cold for here, so I bundled Abby up in her gloves and hat. She excited to wear them for a little bit, but they didn't last long.

This is part of the parade I remember most as a little girl. This group has been around ever since I can remember. They are called the Balloon Platoon. My favorite part about them is the inner-tubes they wear under their outfits to make them look like big marshmallows. When the came marching down in the parade I just had to film them! My family will for sure get a big kick out this video!

Abby and I freezing at the parade. Abby kept showing me her hands and saying "cold". I let her hold my hot chocolate to warm them up, but then she kept saying "hot." Poor thing!

This last video is one of my favorites. It was taken while waiting at a restaurant to eat. A new thing Abby likes to do is spin. She asks me every day to spin her and when Mike gets home from work, she asks him to spin her, too. Sometimes she will spin on her own, but this is usually what happens. She is hilarious!