Spelling Tuesday

So, we spent "Black Friday" in the car heading down to Bolivar for our second thanksgiving feast. I don't mind missing the insanity of that shopping day- that is really not my style. So anyways, the Lenz clan got together on Saturday to count our blessings and stuff our faces. Loralie and Grandpa had some snuggle time before dinner... And Daddy and Uncle Jon fought a battle of wits. Check out this spread! Yumm -O! And my cheesy potato casserole was a big hit! It was the only dish that was scraped clean! You're welcome! After dinner we took Loralie on a drive through Dunnegan Park, where they have a holiday lights. She was again SUPER excited. A girl after mommy's own heart!

On our way home from Thanksgiving dinner tonight, we decided to take a little detour in our neighborhood to look at some Christmas lights. Loralie got SO EXCITED. She was squealing and clapping and saying "OOOHHH! Pretty! PRETTY! Drive daddy DRIVE! Ooh look at that one!" The very best part was when she looked at a particularly elaborate display and said "It's so pretty! Did Jesus make it?" HA! Mommy said "Yes. Jesus and Santa together. Hehe". Then we pulled up to our own dark house and Loralie said "Daddy, where my houses Christmas?" No pressure or anything Daddy...

A good book on a rainy day, a comfy afghan, and a snugly puppy. My super sweet hubby who takes care of me and even does floors. My adorable daughter who makes me laugh and is learning so much. A new recipe, fun friends, a text message from my BFF. Flannel pj's, a fire in the fireplace, hot cocoa with marshmallows. Funny TV, Loralie's singing voice, a hot bath. My Mom, who loves me unconditionally and my little brother who isn't so little anymore. Three sisters-in-laws that I love, and in-laws that are great. (Oh yeah, brother-in-laws are good too! HAHA). A church that challenges me, a country that gives me the freedom to worship however I want. A house that is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Reliable transportation and modern medicine. Chocolate in all it's glorious forms.

Even though we see things from a different slant at times, Even though we can be as opposite as can be, You are the one I want to argue about sweaters with for the rest of my life. Even though sometimes we "verbally clobber" each other, Even though I never win a single argument, You are the one I want to wake up with every morning for the rest of my life. You make me laugh, You let me cry You hold me together when everything is falling apart. You scoop me up off the floor, You pray for me when my heart is broken. You are a gift from God, My hero, My friend. I love you.

So this morning we had a dreaded breakfast event. Breakfast events suck because you have to get up hella early, and you make practically no money. Anyways, our chef, Will was supposed to be out there at 3:30am to start preparing the food. My mom got out there at 4:30am and guess what, no chef. So I called him to see where he was and he said "I am on my way", and I was like "well you are late" and he was like "I am leaving right now". So I decided to go out there myself just to see if there was anything I could do before he got there. Turns out, he didn't ever show up, so guess who got to cook dinner for 120 guests? You guessed it. Me and my mom. Guess who got to bus all the dishes and then wash all of them. You guessed it. Me and my mom. Will turned his phone off and hasn't returned any of our calls. Really hope I am not going to be doing all the cooking for the wedding this weekend, cause I really don't know what the heck I am do...

I was working on my computer today and must have had a look of deep concentration on my face, because Loralie came up to me, and patted my back and said, "Mom, you makin' poop come out?" HAHAHAHA!

Today, I was getting Loralie out of her car seat and she looked at me sadly and said "Mommy, wook!" I quickly kissed the little finger she was holding out to me and said "Oh, poor baby. You got a boo boo?" She said, "No, a boogie." :P

This week has been really hard for me for some reason. I have been missing my Dad and just feeling very lost without him. I am feeling very stressed out and lonely and just... AHHH . So I wanted to start a list of memories of my Dad. I feel frantic to record them. I don't want to forget him, or even the smallest memory I have of him. So here we go, in sort of a "stream of consciousness " order: 1. My dad was very generous, and loved to spoil me. I remember that whenever he came to visit me in college he would take me to Wal -Mart and let me load up my cart with whatever I wanted. 2. He loved to be on the water. He taught me how to sail (sort of). I mean, he tried to teach me, but I didn't pay attention much to the part about how you can tell where the wind is coming from and what your response should be... haha . He recently built a kayak from scratch and used to take it out on Smithville lake early in the mornings. 3. Speaking of early mornings, one ...

So yesterday, after a very positive meeting with the club owners, my brother and I headed out to The Tuscan to meet with my mom. When we pulled up, there were about five KCP &L trucks parked outside, and they informed us that the building had been without power since midnight on Thursday night. Matt and I checked out the walk in cooler, where we had all the food for the wedding on Saturday, and they were still pretty cold, and since the KCPL workers told us the power would be back on in about an hour, we didn't worry about it too much. Later that night, around 7pm, Matt called me and asked me if I would go back out there and make sure that the coolers came back on and worked after the power was restored. So I loaded Loralie up in the car and headed out there again, only to find the KCPL workers up to their necks in a hole in the front of the Tuscan! I tried to take Loralie into the building with me to assess the situation, but since it was pitch black, freezing cold, and...

There's nothing cuter than a toddler in a Halloween costume! We had a fun family Halloween here at the Lenz house. Loralie was pretty darn excited because even if she didn't know all the details, she knew that trick or treating involved CANDY. We came home from church and did our usual, lunch + nap, and then it was off to see cousin Ada and do a photo shoot with the two little cuties. Loralie practiced her "trick or treat" on Aunt Andie, and was very happy with the candy pay off. Have you ever seen a ladybug kiss a flower? Well, no you have... Then we went home and carved pumpkins. Loralie mostly observed this process, and when I tried to assign her the job of picking the pumpkin seeds off of the pumpkins "lid" and putting them in a bowl, she literally started gagging. So not a fan of the pumpkin carving. Then NeeNee came over to see Loralie in her costume and to answer the door for us while we went trick or treating. Our neighborhood takes all holidays...