Hello Out There!

Hey fellow blog friends! Long time no talk! Thankfully, the Odoms have just been a bit busy, like everyone else, and my blog has been low on the totem pole of to-dos! We had a terrific and low-key Thanksgiving with my parents and my in-laws. We participated in the crazy madness of Wal-Mart on Thanksgiving night...that was one thing I said I would NEVER do, but when what your kids ask for is half off, it's a must! And, because of the devotion of my father-in-law, hubby and dad, we got what we wanted and then some! It was great to start off the season on the right foot. I love to save some money!

The first weekend in December we always celebrate with David's mom's side of the family for Christmas. The Lankford Christmas is always a busy time, but it is great to visit with family and begin our celebration of Jesus. I am so thankful for Him.

Our sweet niece Reagan turned 6 on November 28th, so we were able to celebrate her birthday together. We love sweet Reagan.

These cousins LOVE to be together. There is nonstop playing, laughter, and a bit of trouble!

The "main event" is held on Saturday. We get together, play a few games, eat great food, open some gifts and of course, take pictures!

The Odom Crew

Here is David's Mamaw Loys with 3 of her 4 children and their spouses. They are the heart of this crew!

The Lankford Group

The aunts, uncles and Mamaw always make it super special for the kids. The boys got "real" light sabers! What a great suggestion I made...

Fun times were had by all, and the season is in full swing at our house. I find that this year David and I are having to be extremely intentional about focusing on Jesus...isn't Santa everywhere? We aren't anti-Santa, but don't want him to be the focus...at all! Tis the season to celebrate the Savior!!!

The Year of the Superhero

Noah knew what he was going to be for Halloween last spring...Spiderman. As much as I fought the idea in my mind of the boys being obsessed with superheros, I knew the time was going to come sooner or later. Thankfully, Gavin is pretty flexible, so I picked a superhero costume that came in the right size and was a decent price. Grammy bought the boys their costumes which is such a blessing because my boys are in some sort of costume 99% of the time when we are at home. These superheroes costumes will be well loved.

Noah's preschool had a fall festival/trunk-or-treat the Wednesday before Halloween. We had a great time visiting with friends, eating cotton candy and of course, getting some candy of our own.

Many of our friends headed over to our house on Halloween night to eat supper together and then head to a great neighborhood in the area for trick-or-treating. Our house was busting at the seams, but a great time was had by all!

The boys did such a great job trick-or-treating. They knew the routine... "Say trick-or-treat, get your candy, remember to say thank you!"

The star of this shot is my boys' obsession...Kylie! She is a the same age as Noah, and I am confident in saying that she is his first crush. She also attends Noah's preschool, so each day when he gets in the car, he updates me with statements like, "I smiled at Kylie and she waved at me." Now, Gavin is on the hunt for her as well. Yesterday he informed me that he was putting on some chapstick, so he could give Kylie a kiss!!!

Some of the sweet mommas!

The boys have already decided that they will be the Hulk and Zurg next year, I mean Darth Vader and the Storm Trooper, I mean Scar and Simba... They talk about it all the time, so we'll have to wait and see!!!

My First Pinterest Project

I am sure that many of you reading have taken an interest into Pinterest. For those of you who haven't, it's a website filled with various DIY projects, great recipes, decorating ideas, etc. It can be quite overwhelming and time consuming, but also provides some neat ideas for those of us on a budget.

I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to the boys' art projects, coloring pages, schoolwork, etc. I just can't throw any of them away and my refrigerator can't hold all of the stuff they bring home. So, I found a few neat ideas on Pinterest to solve this problem and melded a few of them together to make my own display wall. Here's how I did it...

I started with nine 8x10 wooden frames from various thrift stores. I think the most expensive frame was $1.99, but most were around $.99.

I sanded each frame, and then I painted them with a paint I already had leftover from our bathroom. After the paint had dried for a day, I put a brown glaze over the frames to create an "antique" look.

Now that the frames were done, I needed to put the burlap backing together. My dad gave me an easy fix. I took the cardboard backing, covered it with burlap, and taped it with some black tape...fancy huh?

Then, I put the burlap in the frame. After that, I stuck a jumbo paper clip at the top of each frame to hold the "artwork". A few of the frames needed picture hangers, so I added those, and that was it! Hanging the frames wasn't extremely easy, but after it was done, I was completely pleased with my Pinterest inspired creation!

Oktoberfest 2011

Our family headed to Walhalla's annual Oktoberfest last month. Just as last year, the weather was perfect, and we were able to enjoy the festival while everyone watched the Clemson game!

A church was offering free face painting at the festival. I don't think either of the boys has ever had this done. Gavin kept a straight face the.entire.time.

As we spent a small fortune on ride tickets, Gavin relaxed in the wagon.

The boys LOVED riding the rides, and as I said, for the cost, they better have been good! They road the helicopters and caterpillar train twice.

In tradition, dad and the boys danced to some familiar tunes. Gavin DID NOT like to dance on the stage, so a good picture of him was hard to come by.

Of course, we at some heart healthy foods.

Fun was had by all and we'll definitely plan on heading back next year!

Pomp turns the big 6-0

My dad is the best...really, I mean, I have the best dad in the world! Though he says he doesn't feel a day over 18, his physical body celebrated its 60th birthday last month. We were able to celebrate together with a surprise party in New York with family and then had another great party with more family and friends back in GA. I love celebrating my dad. He is such a generous man, so I was happy to honor him with a few shindigs just for him.

My Aunt Karen came up with the brilliant idea to surprise my dad while we were up in New York to celebrate his birthday. We all gathered at the cottage and waited on Scott to bring him to us. He was surprised...

We made a special picture frame for him with birthday messages.

I know that is was so special for dad to celebrate his birthday with his mom!

Mom and I put together Party #2 for Pomp!

I enjoyed doing the decorating for the party. Fall was our theme!

We had lots of longtime friends come to celebrate and close family too. Dad got some cools gifts...lots of wine...I didn't even know he liked wine!

We love you dad and hope you had a great birthday! Here's to many, many more!

New York, New York

Our annual trip to New York over Labor Day was wonderful, as expected. The 16 hour drive wasn't at all miserable like I used to describe it as a young lady. I really do love my family and wish I could see them more often. I am so thankful to be so close to all of them and truly love every second of our trip. Here are some highlights, in picture form.

Noah's First Day of Preschool

My eldest little man started preschool right before Labor Day. He attends Trinity Baptist Preschool in Seneca three days a week from 8:30 to 11:30. It has worked out beautifully. He is making a lot of new friends and is doing well writing all of his letters. Noah is quite the artist and writing all sorts of words. He is on the cusp of recognizing sight words. I am so proud of him!

We started our day with the traditional celebratory pancakes. (Gavin's said "MOM" because he is stuck with me!)

I mean, is he handsome or what?

David and I escorted Noah to his new class. He immediately found his name tag and made himself at home. He is on red team!

Gavin had to try out the preschool table too!

We love you Noah! You are growing up so fast!