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Sunday Morning #CoffeeTalk

Coffee Talk | Old School Blogging with Jo-Lynne Shane

I had two posts scheduled to go up yesterday so I decided to hold off on #CoffeeTalk till this morning when it’s not so noisy. This time of year, there is SO much noise. With all the gift guides, what to wear to every event, how to decorate your home for the holidays, crafts and recipes for the holidays, and of course all the Black Friday/Cyber Monday nonsense . . . Sometimes I wonder if anyone actually READS all the stuff we’re putting out!

And it’s like this everywhere we go — online and in real life. I’m so confused every time I walk into Target or CVS, what with all the Thanksgiving decor on one side of the aisle and then it looks like Christmas threw up on the other.

Amidst it all, we have birthdays to celebrate in our house. My son turned 15 this weekend. And that makes me old, clearly. I’m ashamed to say we don’t even have a decent picture of him to post. His birthday festivities were spread out over a couple of days because . . .

We also celebrated our church’s 10th anniversary this weekend (on the night of his birthday, poor kid.)

cake

I remember when this church started. It was actually started by the church we attended in our last home, about 30 minutes away. When it got started, we had no idea we would ever end up out here. But when we got pregnant with #3 and started looking at bigger homes, our hunt eventually led us to this area, where yards are larger and housing costs are smaller. It’s crazy how life works out sometimes. Now I can’t imagine my life without the friends and community we have built here.

We had a get-together here at the house last night and D shared a cake with our neighbor who shares his birthday. And did I get a picture of that? No, I did not. So I stink in the motherhood department this weekend.

I wanted to get out and enjoy the weather yesterday before the arctic blast sets in, but I was too busy running around with the kids to truly enjoy it. It’s so awesome to be able to get out there and walk! I still look down in wonder at my two matching shoes . . . and I’m terrified of messing up my feet again and being put back in that awful boot — especially right here at holiday time. So I’m being extra super duper careful. Which means I’m getting no exercise to speak of, which stinks. It’s such a catch 22. I wanted to heal my feet so I can exercise again, but now that they’re on the mend, I’m afraid to exercise and end up back where I started. I guess all things will come in due time, yes??

We’re starting to get geared up for Thanksgiving. I’m not hosting, thankfully, but I do like to bring a few things to share. I’ll probably make my always popular roasted brussels sprouts with bacon and caramelized onions, and I placed my cupcake order this week.

I’m also starting to shop my closet for what to wear for Thanksgiving AND what to wear for our family photos next week. I made an appointment at a local portrait studio. We’ve had family photos done several times over the past few years, and one of my favorites comes from the one that we had done at Little Nest. See?

FAMILY PHOTO web version

I LOVE that photo. It hangs on the wall in our family room.

My goal this year is mainly to get a nice photo for our holiday cards and something updated to give to family members. My kids are changing so rapidly these days, it’s crazy! So I have to figure out what we’re all going to wear. The last one we had done, we also wore similar colors. I guess I like purple and grey! LOL.

ShaneFamily

So I really want something different this time. I need to look through our closets and see what I can come up with and then go from there. It works in perfectly to my 12 Days of Holiday Outfits series because one of our topics is what to wear in family photos. So stay tuned!!

I guess I better get ready for church. And there’s another cup of coffee calling my name . . . I hope you all have a blessed Sunday!

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11 Responses

  1. Good morning! As I sit here drinking my coffee in sunny Florida, I thought I would give you a shout out. I am totally with you on the noise front. Not sure if I’m getting older, or it’s getting worse, but I can’t stand being out and about this time of year and it feels way too early for the Christmas assault on my senses. We are seriously rethinking our gift giving this year. I think it’s absolutely insane that we make ourselves crazy every year over “the perfect gift” and don’t just rest in the celebration of the season.
    Secondly, I love your church name. Talk about highlighting the two best things about being a Christ Follower!
    Third, happy birthday boy! You’ll find that as they age, birthdays are less hoopla, but still mind blowing that you have a 15 year old.
    And lastly, love the family pics and your desire to kick it up a notch. A great photographer captures your real family, not your posed one!
    Enjoy your winter blast. We are just hoping not to run the a/c this week. 🙂

  2. Happy Sunday!! Nice post! I was just out last night and I said to my daughter that I cannot believe it is the Christmas season already! Every Christmas we sit around and say “It will be here again next year, even sooner”, and it seems like just a couple of months ago we were saying that! The year has gone way too fast!!
    Happy Birthday to your son! My youngest will be 17 in January and even she can’t believe that she is that old! She often says that she doesn’t want to be that old 🙂 She still feels like she is 13. Just wait until your oldest is 21! I felt really old then; my birthday is 5 days after hers.
    Love your family portraits!

    1. 21 . . . no . . . I am dreading the day they’re gone and the house is quiet. Funny b/c I LOVE a quiet house and enjoy it during school hours, but I also love the chaos of having kids around.

  3. that is a fantastic family photo! I like that you are shopping your closet for a Thanksgiving outfit. It is a good reminder that we don’t always need to run out and purchase a new outfit all the time.

  4. I think purple and gray is my favorite color combination. I’m looking forward to your family photo outfit post b/c all of the (grown-up) kids in my family are chipping in to get a family portrait done for our parents’ Christmas gift this year. We did the same thing several years ago, but not only have the kids changed a lot since then (none of us adults have aged at all, of course

  5. Your family pictures are amazing. 🙂 I’ve always struggled to get husband, myself, and 5 boys wearing similar colors for a photograph. Last year I gave up and we did our Christmas picture in black and white. I love how it turned out and it eliminated any issues with color coordination.

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