Top Chef Las Vegas!

Another VERY exciting part of our Atlanta trip included getting to go to dinner with our friends Kevin and Christine at the Woodfire Grill. We have been following the show Top Chef on Bravo this season for months and got to go to Kevin Gillespie's restaurant, who is in the top four contestants on the show. The finale airs this Wednesday at 9 pm central time. I think he's going to win. We are definitely rooting for him. His restaurant was incredible!

We dont go on many dates these days, and it was a very special treat!

Thanks Josh, I love you :)

Thanksgiving -part 1

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we shared with both our families this year!

We started off in Atlanta and had, as always, such a great time.

We celebrated a princess party for Hadley's 3rd birthday and had Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday evening, and a family photo!

Ruth's Thanksgiving table, beautifully set to enjoy, with an ornament for each of us

to take home for our tree.

A special day at the park with our cousins..

Isabel and Luke enjoying watching Butler, their newest cousin in his stroller

Oh boy....The Varsity!!!

We are ever thankful for Isabel and Luke's wonderful grandparents, Ruthie and Papa, and all their sweet Aunts and Uncles and ADORABLEY sweet, and precious cousins!

We can't wait until we're all together again!!

love, the Italian way!

Look - it's a picture on the blog without the twins!

You know it must be something good right?!

Well....it is!

This evening I made an old tradition in our family....

spaghetti and meatballs!

Who doesnt love it?

A very special lady has come to stay with us for Thanksgiving, by the name Mary Josephine (AKA "Baba") , our Grandmother, Isabel and Luke's Great Grandmother. On her way to my parents house, she stopped with them for a visit!

You have really never tasted spaghetti sauce quite like this, and that is why we all love it.

My Mom and Dad have perfected the recipe, and we all make it a little different, but the one who made it the best was "Popsi" my Dad's Dad, who went to be with the Lord nearly 15 years ago. He would simmer it on the stove all day long, then add more seasoning, and tweek it all day....and by the time supper came around, it was truly delicious.

Perhaps it has warm memories with it as well, which makes any meal that much better.

Here are the meatballs, ready to be placed in the sauce and slowly simmer until done...

Not a great picture of the sauce, but mmmm I love to open the lid and smell it as I'm cooking!

No picture of the finished product on the plate :( I was too busy enjoying the company.

Thank you Popsi and Baba for starting this wonderful family tradition that will always have such a special memory in our hearts...

I cant wait to share this photograph with Isabel when she's older, of her at 4 months,

gently touching Baba's face and smiling up at her.

There is something about a picture of the very young and the very old together.

I wish YOU joy and comfort this week as you celebrate the bounty of Christ's table.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Exhaustingly fun!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

twinky moment

When Isabel and Luke were first born, sometimes we would put them together in the bouncy seat. (This was only when they were newborns) Well....I didnt think much of that memory, until today, when I walked into the laundry room where we were storing some things we've been meaning to take to the attic, and this is what I found. And, perhaps because I have been extra emotional this week, but I started thinking back on the time when they were just little newborns, and how they've grown and how thankful I am for them. And, perhaps because it's that time of year, when it IS important to take the time to be thankful.

Growing, growing...too fast!!

There's a holy laughter, and tears so pure, there's an innocence that will always endure.

There's a dream and vision, an endless sea,

the tingling of life in a heart set free.

Nothing to prove, no possessions to hold but a joy and peace more precious than gold.

It's a beautiful place, fiery and wild when we return to the heart of the child.

Time....please stand still. I treasure these days!!