Thanksgiving 2011!!

Thanksgiving is such a special day to remember God's faithfulness in each of our lives over the past year! I love being able to take a day to reflect on all of God's good gifts...

I am so thankful for the family members that were able to be with us to celebrate today! Ivey and Thomas came, but poor Tom had to work! Robby was in the same boat, and we missed them both! Most of my mom's side of the family came today as well as some special family friends. We had a wonderful time of food and fellowship!

My mom is an amazing cook and southern hostess! She did an amazing job getting all of the food ready! 

 One of God's amazing gifts to me: my sweet sisters!!

 Uncle JonJon and Thomas:

 Our sweet family friend, Martha with my mom:

 Sisters:

 Thomas and Ivey ready for some food!

 Nathan and Laura:

 One of the tables:

 Another one of the tables (we were actually missing several family members this year...love a big crowd!)

 Auntie Kat with her buddy:

 Aunt RuRu with the most photographed member of the family today!

 Fun picture right before Grandmother had to go...

 We were sad to see everyone load up in their cars and head home...looking forward to Christmas celebrations together!!

Dinner Party!

 I had so much fun today cooking and getting ready for a dinner party tonight! One of my friends who also lives a couple of streets over has a new roommate who just moved into town, so we had a little "welcome to the neighborhood" dinner for her. We thought there could be as many as 18 people coming, so we planned the food accordingly! I love cooking for a crowd! :) We ended up having 12 actually make it, and we had a wonderful time of good food and fellowship. We had some good 'ol comfort food on the menu tonight: oven fried chicken, squash casserole, creamed spinach, macaroni and cheese, and hash brown casserole, and chocolate torte (the last three other people made).

Squash Casserole:
3 lbs squash
5 Tbsp butter
1 onion chopped
1 c. cheese
2 eggs
1/4 c. mayo
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp salt
crackers
Boil squash 8-10 minutes and drain:

 Melt butter and saute onions.

 Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350 for 30-35 mins (top with crushed crackers first)

 Creamed Spinach:
3 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 c. whole milk
1/2 c. sour cream
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp onion minced
1/4 c. water
20 oz. frozen spinach
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Defrost and drain spinach:

 Melt 3 Tbsp butter, stir in flour and salt until creamed.

 Slowly stir in milk and whisk until smooth and thick--remove from heat.

 In another pot, saute onions in butter (I add minced garlic to taste)

 Add spinach and cook

 Add white sauce, sour cream, and cheese

 Put Parmesan cheese on top and bake at 350 until bubbly...(I tripled the spinach recipe, so it made a little extra)

 Oven fried chicken: Skin and rinse the chicken, coat with flour (with salt and pepper).

 Spray non-stick spray on pan, place chicken, and put a small pat of butter on each piece

 Bake at 400 for about an hour. Yum!

 While everything was cooking, I decided we needed a little fall foliage on the table, so I just ran outside and cut a few branches off the trees in the front yard and threw together a little centerpiece. I LOVE fall, and loved seeing the beautiful colors on the tables...

 Here are a few friends at the table (several others were in the kitchen). I should have done better taking pictures during the night, but I was a little preoccupied being the hostess!

 Today was sweet Ella's birthday (which we didn't know until she got there). We couldn't find the birthday candles, so we improvised with 4 votives on a plate and sang happy birthday! This is the only shot I made it in (well, at least half of me! :)

Such a fun night! Food always tastes so much better in the company of others!! Thank God for good food, friends, and fall foliage! :)

Visiting B'ham Fam

My mom and I went to B'ham yesterday for a little visit. Thomas has started walking since we saw him last, so we had to go see his new little trick! :) I just can't get enough of my little buddy!

My cousin Ashley and her husband just had a new baby, so I also got to meet my new second cousin! He is so precious! What a little gift from God...now I will have two B'ham babies to keep up with!

 Grandmommy and Thomas:

 Meeting the newest member of the Dameron side of the family:

 Sweet little one:

 Cousins:

 This little buddy keeps me laughing!

 The Ireland clan at dinner...so glad Robby and his roommate could make it too! Fun times together! We are so blessed to live close enough were we can be a part of each others lives! :)

Ragnar Relay 2011

This weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a 12 person relay race from Chattanooga to Nashville. We ran 196 miles over a 34 hour period...we started Friday morning and finished Saturday afternoon! We had a group from Children's ER and we were called the "Code Runners." It was a blast! Each team has two vans, and you piggy-back runner after runner all the way to Nashville. Each person runs 3 different legs of the race and the mileage is different for each person. My first leg was about 6 miles, the second leg 3 miles, and the last leg about 9 miles....totaling about 18 miles on my part!

I have been training for a while...and now the race is over! I really enjoyed it...great team building and such a valuable life lesson of endurance!! :) It feels amazing to accomplish a challenge!
All of the vans were decorated and it was fun to see everyone's creativity in their team names:

 Here are the members of van #2:

 My first leg was on top of Monteagle...it was SO cold and windy! Here I am right after the first run:

 Some scenery along the way:

 Van #2 finished our first legs in the daytime, so we had a couple of hours to wait for van #1 to finish their second runs before we started our second runs...the sleeping accomodations one of the exchanges was the floor of an auditorium...I had a blanket but forgot my pillow, so I just folded up a jacket for a pillow...we slept for 2 hours like that and then hit the road again for our second leg of the journey. And yes, I am sleeping in my reflective safety vest! Safety first is my motto!

My second run (which was a 3 mi run) started about 1 o'clock in the morning...I thought I would be really scared running by myself at night on the road, but I actually found it really peaceful...it was so quiet and the stars were so bright (and I had mace and a walkie-talkie and did a lot of praying :) Here I am at the exchange getting the "batton" slap bracelet from the previous runner:

Here I am after my run with my headlamp and all of my reflective gear:

My final leg was Saturday about noon and was the longest one of the team...8.9 miles...this is where the endurance part really kicked in...by this point I had been up for about 30 hours with only 2 hours of sleep, having already run 9 miles, about to run 9 more! Here I am with one of my teammates stretching out before my big run...



The scenery was beautiful along the way...couldn't help but take some pics!

Here I am right after the run! I was so thankful to be finished with my part of the relay! I couldn't believe it...the last one ended up being the hardest, but I actually finished with the best time out of the three races...I knew that people were praying for me, and I really felt the prayers...at one point I was making a steep climb and just kept saying Isaiah 40:31. "Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength...they will run and not grow weary!" I think my IT band on my right leg wasn't very happy with me doing this last leg of the race, though! I had shooting pain along the side of my right knee the whole last part...not sure how I made it, but somehow I did!

We made it to Nashville!

There was a huge party at the finish line!

Watching this team cross the finish line gave me chill bumps! This group of wounded soldiers ran the race with their prosthetics and were such an inspiration! I met one of them afterwards and thanked him for his service to our country and thanked him for inspiring me along the way! I saw several of them during the race, and it reminded me that if they could do it, surely I could!! Which speaking of encouragement....it is POWERFUL!! Time after time during the race, people in cars or other race participants would send out random encouragements along the way...every "Looking good" or "keep on going" just put a little pep in my step and made me want to do the same for other runners! I tried to make an effort to encourage all the ones I saw! We should be reminded to do this for the people we come into contact with everyday in this race of life!

I was so glad to be finished, but I will have to say I didn't like feeling so gross! Here is one tired little runner after 34 hours with 2 hours of sleep after running 18 miles! Yay for my own bed and long, hot shower when I got home!

Here's the whole team!

 Aparently, my IT band is not totally back to normal yet as I discovered walking into church today. Per my daddy/doctor's orders I have been involved in a little RICE therapy (rest, ice, compression, elevation) this afternoon. It's alot better already, and I will be back to normal in no time!

Such an unforgetable weekend! Loved the adventure of trying something new and finishing a challenge!