Thanksgiving in Saint Simon's

We spent this Thanksgiving with Mark's parents at the house in Saint Simon's Island. It was such a nice way to relax and enjoy the holiday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. We rode bikes, had picnic lunches, went to the beach, etc. Belle had all new surroundings to explore. Mark's brother and his wife joined us as well with their two dogs. Belle isn't around dogs much at all and so it was very interesting to see her reactions. She needed to know where they were at all times and didn't like when they went out of her sight. She also didn't want them to close - particular much?

Belle could have cruised around this coffee table all day long. It was very fascinating to find the remotes and pull all the magazines off the table!

Daddy and Belle-bug on the beach. Sooo sweet!

We went to visit Fort Frederica. Last time we went it was summer and I was pregnant -- aka MISERABLE. This trip was much more pleasant and Belle enjoyed seeing all the beautiful scenery.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for our family and friends. We are especially thankful for the precious little girl that the Lord has blessed us with this year. I will leave you with her blowing you some kisses!

Sneak Peek

Check out the sneak peek of Belle's pictures we had made two Saturdays ago:
http://lisarussophotography.com/blog

10-25-4

No that is not some crazy safe combination for you to win a grand prize. That number sums up what a busy week we had. Here is the rundown: Saturday - Belle turned 10 months old (crazy, I know!), Monday - I turned 25, and yesterday - Mark and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary.

This last month has been a busy one for Belle. She has her very first tooth and it is oh so cute. She is in the process of getting a couple more. I guess the late teethers have to make up for lost time. She is learning new things left and right. She can say a few words on command and occasionally she will say them spontaneously. She says: dada, mama, hi (sounds more like a southern haw) and tries very very hard to say "uh-oh". The uh comes out and then she works so hard to say oh but never really gets it out - very cute though. The sweetest is at the end of the day when the alarm beeps that Mark is walking through the door, she stops what she is doing and waves and says dada over and over.
She will give you kisses on command and loves to blow kisses at random strangers. Belle loves to give "five". She is on the move cruising all over our furniture, being a daredevil climber, and shaking her little bottom to dance. She loves finger foods and will eat anything - even paper we have found - oops. The only food she has ever had a reaction to is green beans - weird I know! She is starting to be a much better napper. I think all the movement wears her out. I wish I could say all the things she loves and does but there is just not enough time for all the rambling.

On to pictures...

Look how long she is getting!

I don't know about you but their is something mischievous about this grin! She is very attached to "Rosie" her doll that used to be my doll.

This is her excited face I taught her. It cracks me up every time.


Lastly, I will preface that this picture is gross! Belle has a little cold with her three teeth trying to come in, and it is fairly icky. She sneezed the other day and I looked at her and saw this:

YUCK! Of course, I had to get a picture.

Stay tuned... Belle had professional pictures taken on Saturday and I will post the link to the sneak peak as soon as it is available. I will post tomorrow about my birthday and our anniversary.

Featured Meal of the Week

Since I love to cook, I thought I would share with my fellow bloggers some of my favorite things to cook. I try to cook at least 4 meals a week. The easiest way I have learned to plan our weekly menu is to cook one thing chicken, beef, pork, and eggs during the week. That equals four meal ideas I have to come up with, and I also try at least 1 new recipe a week.

This week I will share with you one of my favorite quick and easy meals:
Cashew Pork Stir-Fry over Hot Rice with Broccoli Slaw

Cashew Pork Stir-Fry
1/2 lb. of boneless pork chops (I can often find them sliced thin which I like the best)
3 Tablespoons of Stir-fry sauce
1 Tablespoon of thawed OJ concentrate
1 1/2 teaspoons of corn starch
1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil
2 stalks of celery chopped
1/2 -1 cup of matchstick carrots
1/2 cup dry roasted or unsalted cashews
Hot Rice

Slice the pork chops into 1/2 inch strips. Combine next three ingredients and toss with pork. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Add pork with sauce, celery and carrots. Cook 4-6 minutes or until pork is cooked through. Add carrots and stir over heat for 1-2 minutes. Serve over hot rice.

Broccoli Slaw
2 Tablespoons of light brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil (I prefer canola)
1 package of broccoli slaw
2 apples chopped (I prefer Gala or Rome -- red delicious or yellow will get to mushy. I think green apple would be nice in the summer)
1/2 cup of golden raisins

Whisk first four ingredients together and combine with slaw, apples, and golden raisins. Chill in fridge at least 2 hours. This makes many many servings and is a nice crunchy, cold side dish to accompany the hot stir fry and rice.

Let me know what you all think if you are brave enough to try them. Bon appetit!

Chaleston or Bust

We ventured this past weekend to Charleston, South Carolina for a trip celebrating Mark's birthday a little late. We were actually there because Mark's parents gave him a custom made suit for his birthday and he needed to pick out his fabric and get measured. Why not make a weekend out of it?

We stayed at the Market Pavillion Hotel which I highly recommend. It was right next to the open-air market which is so much fun. We got in Friday night and walked over to Fleet's Landing to eat dinner by the water. It was funny to see Belle's reaction to riding in her stroller over all the bumpy streets. Saturday we got up and went over to King Street to help Mark pick out his suit fabric and then we browsed through the shops all up and down King. Lunch on the roof of our hotel was a must as you can see so many gorgeous views. That afternoon we walked through the market to pick up a couple of things I had scoped out earlier. Belle rode in the Baby Bjorn and enjoyed grabbing other peoples shirts and blowing everyone kisses. My favorite is that she said "Hi" to everyone we walked past. Her Hi now comes out like a little southern girl saying Hah! SO funny.

We had to take Max to the airport Saturday afternoon so we drove all over the city looking at the beautiful sites as Belle napped in the car. I highly recommend visiting Charleston if you haven't yet. It is especially nice this time of year when the temperature is so nice. Belle did great in the car both ways and slept through the night both nights at the hotel. She is really turning into a great traveller. I hope everyone had an excellent weekend. Sorry no pictures but we were going, going, going and the camera rarely came out.

Dear Anonymous

Dear "Anonymous",

When you decide that you need to attack someone else's character, don't be a coward and comment anonymously. If you feel you have the authority to make the accusations you did against me and my family, by all means be loud and proud.

I am not writing this as an apology to you (obviously). I have gone and tried to find what comment you are referring to that made you accuse me of being racist. You are free to ask any of my family, friends, or colleagues and they would verify that I would never make a comment that would construed as racist. If you would like to take the time and send me a private message, via facebook, as to what you specifically thought was racist, I will gladly address it with you.

You also said: that last time you checked I wasn't "wealthy". I have never claimed to be wealthy and I don't consider my families financial situation any of your business. I don't know where you got the idea that you had enough knowledge of us that you could say something like that. I consider ourselves fortunate that we have been very blessed in life. The only time I would tell someone I am wealthy is in reference to the fact that I have a God that I serve, a husband who loves me and wants to help me get to heaven, a precious baby girl who has changed my heart forever, an incredibly loving family, a circle of priceless friends who support us in many ways, and the list could go on and on. Those are the times I would claim to be "wealthy".

To address the last portion of your comment. Its a shame to be raising a child in such an ignorant household. That was low and hurtful. If that is what you intended, congratulations please send your address where I can write the thank you note. We intend to raise our child to first and foremost love the Lord fearlessly and in that way live a life of integrity. Since you have made your choice marks completely lacking integrity how about you leave the opinions on how I am parenting up to God and me.

I will choose to pray specifically for you this week. Your heart must be very hard to hurt and tear down my family. I know that deep down you are not proud of the things you have said because otherwise you would have put your name next to it. I would appreciate it if you would take the time to contact me on Facebook personally. I would like to see you stop being such a coward and live up to the choice you made to tear other people down.

The Electoral Process Through the Eyes of a Nine Month Old

I went and voted with my mommy and daddy today. I wore my Conservative Cutie shirt and they even gave me a sticker.

There were some candidates (no names mentioned) that I made this face at:

This is Belle's new "stink-eye" and I have been trying to get a picture of.

There were other candidate who got my smiles and applause.

Belle's First Halloween

This year Belle went dressed as a ladybug. She was so cute in her costume, and I loved it because it was easy to put on and off! We dressed her up and went to trunk or treat at church Sunday afternoon. She was so cute in awe of all the people dressed up.

Checking out all the costumes!

Hanging out with daddy and her other bug friend -- Sassy the Bee.

Hope that everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween. It was my first Halloween off work in 3 years which was very exciting!