Gratitude

 On Thursday morning, David and I set out for Lake Sinclair, heading to the Coody lake house to join my Aunt Dinah, her four kids Adam, Claire, Ben/Ned, and Taylor/BayBay; my parents, siblings, and Gongaman. We had a very traditional Mama Doris/Datee Thanksgiving meal - they were certainly watching us with love and pride.

My Aunt Dinah made special "thankful" cards for each of us!



As always, everyone gathers in the kitchen.

Brince, David, Dad, and Asa - The fried chicken cooks!

Love these two!

Gorgeous day for giving thanks

Asa

Gongaman and Mom

Claire and Taylor

Adam

Ben

Abs

Bax

Friday afternoon, David and I headed to Lake Blackshear to the Griffin lake house to join my in-laws, Amanda, Ben, David's Aunt Noel and Cousin Pamela. Ben was happy to share what he, David and Pop caught on their fishing poles! We had a delicious Pop-fried-turkey for dinner, and lots of Southern Thanksgiving dishes. After watching the UGA/GT game on Saturday, we set out for the Coody Cabin Classic back in Hawkinsville. It was a great weekend!

My favorite almost-6-year-old

Someones sleeeeeeepy

Gorgeous sunset over the lake

An afternoon enjoying family time

On Thursday, we even had a good ol' fashioned photo shoot for the proverbial Christmas card.
Sneak Peek of the Coody card.....

I've been seeing lots of Facebook and blogger friends making declarations of what all they're thankful for during the month of November. I'm a little late to the Facebook game, but it got me thinking of all the things I am thankful for every day.

David - My heart is full and my days are better because I get to spend them with him! We've been married for almost 3 years, but I've loved him for much longer than that!
My faith - I am thankful that my days are led by divine intention, my prayers are answered through God's will, and that my spirit is led by Jesus.
My parents - I am so grateful for their guidance, love, and support. They're two of my most favorite people.
Brince, Abbye and Asa - How blessed am I that my siblings are also my friends?
The opportunity that comes with every day - I am thankful that each day presents a time to do something good.
My grandparents - I am thankful for truly knowing all four of them, for what all they taught me, and for the legacies of love than they've all left.
My job in retail and my work in interiors
Creativity - I love looking at a photo of something, or seeing something in a magazine, or an empty room and being able to imagine all of the possibilities.
My in-laws - Pammy, Pop, and Amanda - Having them as family makes me a lucky girl. And having them be close with my family is such a bonus.
Our nephew, Ben - he's our little angel. David and I love spending time with him! He reminds us of what's important, and always makes us laugh with his funny little comments.
My Aunts, Uncles, and many cousins....its super fun to come from such a big, lively, healthy family!
My travels - what a great big world there is to see!
Our health - I think it was Oprah that said "If you have your health, you are truly wealthy beyond measure."
My co-workers are awesome!
Our home - David and I love being at home, working on our home, and having family and friends here. Its been such a fun project for us to work on it all together.
Roots - Since I moved off to college 10 years ago, the time has gone by so fast! But, I am always happy to come home and love the small town perks of being from Hawkinsville. Having both sets of grandparents from the same place, our family roots are deep in middle Georgia.
The holidays from Thanksgiving through New Years - I love all of the gatherings, invitations, and times spent with friends between the end of November through January. Time spent in festive attitude is always fun
My education - I loved every minute of school, and I am so thankful for my parents and all they provided in the way of elementary, middle, and high school, and college.
Nature - Its so nice to appreciate the beautiful farmlands, river landscape, and open fields where we're from. In North Georgia, I have such a love of the lakes, rolling hills, and mountains in the distance.
Books - Someone said "If I could be paid to read for a lifetime, I'd die happy." I concur.
My girlfriends -When it comes to my buddies, I am humbled by their love, support, and encouragement. In this way, I am really lucky.
Laughter - Its really such a fantastic feeling to laugh until it hurts.
The Internet - I mean, what was life like without it?
Music - I love the way a song can transport your mind to a moment in the past, a place in time, or a sweet memory.
Art - Since I was a kiddo, this was always my favorite subject in school. I always chose it as my elective in high school. Growing up, I had a few drawers devoted to my art supplies; in college, and even now, I had an art closet to hold endless possibilities. Pinterest has only fueled this love of creating things myself. :)
Baxter and Sandy - I can only imagine how much David and I will love being real parents. For now, the joy these two little furry kiddos bring to us is wonderful every day.
The art of cooking - How blessed am I to have learned to cook from my Mom, my Mama Doris, my Baboo, and our Susie?
Dreams - Its bittersweet to wake up and remember a dream in which I saw someone I've lost. But I am thankful for those unconscious moments always.

There's many things to be thankful for; I am a lucky gal! And am so thankful for all of you blogger readers every day!

A packed week

The pace really picks up as the holidays approach, doesn't it?
I can feel it, and definitely see all that there is going on when I look at my calendar! Its so fun, and I love having things to do, places to go, and people to see.

A little while ago, my friend Meredith asked if us gals wanted to attend her mom's annual church event, the Christmas ladies' dinner at Smoke Rise in Lilburn - the same church where Meredith was married during the summer of 2010.
The dinner was a huge event with ~200 women all sitting around beautifully decorated tables. The guest speaker was Middle Georgia's own Gena Knox.

Meredith and her mom, Mrs. Kathy, did a beautiful job on our tablescape! It was so pretty! And we had a fantastic table. Lauren M, Mere, Lauren G, Mayer, Meghan, Hollie, and me!

After a dinner of pork loin, green beans, potatoes, salad, rolls, and cheesecake for dessert, Gena took the stage to give a talk on her philosophy of {Keep it fresh, Keep it simple}. She did a great job! Can you believe she is 8.5 months pregnant here??? She looks amazing!

Here's a photo of Gena visiting one of the many farmers she writes about in her second cookbook, Southern My Way

On Thursday night after work, I hopped in the car to head home for the weekend. Asa was playing football in the semi-finals, we were celebrating my and Amy's bdays belatedly, and my friend Shelley was having a baby shower. Surprisingly, Shelley and Mitch's baby girl came way early! So, little Ansley is an early Christmas gift, and her shower was cancelled. I got to see daddy Mitch, and all is well with mommy and baby too!

On Friday night, the fam gathered at Tattnall Square to cheer Asa and the Hornets in the semi-finals. Don't you love the sibling and Gman support in our green and gold?

Getting ready for the run through!!!

Can you spot Dad?
Sadly, we didn't win, and were put out of the GISA playoffs. Gladly, Asa is just a junior, so hopefully his senior year will be complete with a State Championship!!!

On Saturday, Mom, Abbye and I stopped by Mistletoe Market to see my aunt Jill who's store Kimberly's had a booth, my friend James Farmer who was signing books, and meet up with my friend Linsey and get some sugar from her baby girl Faegan!

If you missed it this year, be sure to come next year! Its great to visit lots of vendors and to see lots of familiar faces!

Since heading off to college back in 2002, Amy and I have made a point to celebrate our November birthdays closer to Thanksgiving when everyone is home for the holiday. We managed to get together this past Sunday. I love spending time with Amy, and am always thankful when we can get together. We met Becca for a little icecream cake and a quick visit before dinner.


On Sunday, I had a belated birthday dinner with my fellow bf Scorpio, Amy. While in high school, we spent many dinners at Applebee's in Perry, so in honor of our long friendship, we headed there and treated ourselves to our favorite dessert - a blond brownie!

 My Monday was busy with a client delivery and my attempts at getting my house Christmas-fied. Its getting there, slowly. :) But, on Tuesday after leaving my day of work at Heery's Too, I had to capture the trees lit for the holidays.

When leaving work last night, I was crossing Clayton Street and was struck by how lovely the night was. The sun was setting, and the lights are on all the trees. The yellow leaves of the Ginko tree are still hanging on and its so pretty!

Go Dawgs!

We were so excited for the GA/AU game weekend! Abbye and Brince both came up, and Abs' friends Samantha and Ashley came with her. Clayton, Cam, and Chris all drove up too. I worked on Friday getting ready for the James Farmer booksigning at Heery's Too, and later joined the girls at Speak Easy for dinner. We headed to The Loft and danced, danced, danced.
On Saturday, we hit the Hill's tailgate before watching the game at The Georgia Theater. So much fun!!!! What a win! The night was spent at The Loft once again. After a Mellow Mushroom lunch, we all got on the road again. It was a super fun weekend spent with friends in Athens!

Friday night at The Loft

These guys are pretty tight

So happy to have Brince and Abbye there!

On Saturday, we watched the game here.

And it was awesome!

And Saturday night, we were back at The Loft

View from a kitchen window

David and I have a gorgeous view of our backyard from our kitchen window. Its so pretty in the afternoons, when the sun is behind our house. I love it when I am cooking and he's on our little green sofa in the kitchen, especially at this time of day. The leaves are falling now, but I had to share a snap of all the glorious colors of fall right outside of our window.

Need a new Christmas idea?

How about a drawing by me? :)

I've been commissioned to draw the family farmhouse, grandparent's homes, even the family business.

It makes for a really personal gift, and I can even print them onto notecards for super meaningful stationary. 

If you're interested in a drawing for a Christmas gift, please email me at maggiegriffinid@gmail.com, or call at 478.893.2781. 

Happy {almost} Holidays!