Quote of the Day

"It might surprise you to discover that the word frugal originates from the Latin word frui, which means 'to enjoy, profit by, delight in.'  It's the same root from which we draw words like fruit, fructose, and fruition.  Living simply is sweet for your soul." - Cherie Lowe

10 YEARS!

This blog started with our engangement and has remained a sporadic constant for ten whole years!  

Rusty, Lorelai, and I went to Negril, Jamaica for 7 nights to celebrate the momentous event.  10 years felt like the biggest accomplishment in the world to us, in a time where many of our friends have divorced, where we've navigated growing up and starting careers, one of those careers in law enforcement where the divorce rate is close to 90%.  Over the course of 10 years we've brought a beautiful little girl into the world and in the span of that time she's blossomed from a prayer in our hearts to a tall tumbling brown eyed beauty.  We bought our first home, and some new cars and some beaters too.  Throughout the past decade we've fallen and stumbled more than we like to admit and we've learned to trust God and rely on Him.  We've learned the power of prayer and the importance of circling the wagons and battening down the hatches around our family.  We were just kids when we stood at the altar, really. We wanted to celebrate the blessings of the past 10 years and the accomplishment of how far we've come so we packed our bags and headed to Jamaica!  

We've been to Jamaica before for our honeymoon, our first anniversary, on our "Caribbean of Divorce" cruise, and also on a cruise the month before I found out I was pregnant with Lorelai!  It holds a special place in our hearts but Lorelai had never been and so we decided to go to Negril, a part of the island we've never traveled to and we spent 7 nights in a bungalow on famous 7 mile beach at The Treehouse Resort!  It was FABULOUS! CHEERS!!!!!!!!!! I'm SOOOOOOOOOO excited to see where the next decade takes us!

Anniversary dinner!

Family photo.  The family that wears matching swimsuits together, stays together!

Cliff jumping at Rick's Cafe (one of the top 10 bars in the Caribbean)!  Lorelai took this picture... I'm so glad we took the plunge (getting married and jumping like maniacs)!

We went paddle boarding!  It was harder than it looks... I was actually good at it, Rusty spent more time in the water than on the board though... watching us fall in was Lorelai's favorite part!

Our baby LOVES dolphins and orcas!  Watching her light up is the best!

Rusty swam out to the reef and brought a starfish back for Lorelai!  We decided to let it go after watching its tentacles for a bit and marveling at God's creation!

Horse riding on the beach, this was an absolute surprise and treat!  

Weekend in Paris

Tennessee has a town on the Kentucky Lake and Tennessee River called Paris!  They have an Eiffel Tower too!  We went for a little Spring Break getaway!  We stayed at the state park inn, brought CC along for the trip, ate outside, and fished!  

Look at those buttons!

Nothing better than Lorelai's fan club!  They travel for 24 plus hours in snow and ice, for a two minute and thirty second performance. Because that's what family does!! They show up, they cheer louder than anyone else, they wear buttons with your face on them, and then they hashtag funny commentary after the fact!  #family #teamlorelai #je

Tunica Weekend

Derek and Angie flew in from Ohio to watch Lorelai compete this weekend in Tunica at the Athletic Championship Gold Event (a two day competition)!  It was her last competition of the season, and the first one that her Meme and Grandpa have been able to make it to also!  The visit was a surprise to my mom, and Derek took her to the Merle Haggard concert in Tunica on Saturday night!  Before they went we all went to dinner at The Hollywood Cafe, the song "Walking in Memphis" references the restaurant, and it was delish!  It was a GREAT weekend!  

Valentine, you CHEER me up!

Lorelai had a VDay themed cheer practice this morning and is anxiously awaiting a party at Meme and Grandpa's this afternoon!  ❤️❤️❤️

Daddy Daughter Dance

Lorelai's school hosts an annual daddy-daughter dance!  My loves look forward to it every year, and I live for the chance to dress up my girl and do her hair, make-up and nails!

Athletic Championships

The Jackson Elite Mini Twinkles took the stage in Chattanooga this weekend at The Athletic Championship!  They placed second and performed perfectly, it's so fun to watch Lorelai light up and take the stage!  This event brought in 14,000 people, now that's a show!!!!

Crafting

There's pretty much nothing I love more than a good craft/ school project!  Lorelai's class is having a 100th day of school celebration and all the children are supposed to wear a shirt with 100 "things" on them. The instructions said to make the shirt as special as your child and have fun... so L and I racked our brains and decided the most special and fun thing to her is her dog CC and this is the result!  I bet she's the only kid with dog bones attached to her, haha!

A Pinterest hodgepodge!

It doesn't look like much, but it tasted really good!  It's a chuck roast, a can of beef broth, and a packet of Italian seasoning. That's it!  Set the crockpot on low for 6 hours, stir in a block of cream cheese at the end and serve on little rolls!   Cream cheese steak sliders!  Delish!!!!  I got the idea from a few I have seen on Pinterest, and just sortof simplified it/ combined a few ideas!

Christmas Morning

I forgot to post about our Christmas morning until I read Wade's World's post!  This was the first year Lorelai woke up and was ready to open before I was up and ready.  I absolutely loved it, it's something I've been waiting for for a few years!  I kept wondering when her excitement would exceed mine on Christmas morning and this was the year!!!  I'm normally up and ready to get a video before she has a chance to make a run for the living room but this year she was up at 6:30 and we were finished opening by 7:20!

1st meal of 2015!

Pork sausage sautéed in butter, sauerkraut, and black eyed peas!  We traded in the cornbread for blueberry muffins, and stacked the "luck" in Lorelai's favor by hiding the penny in her serving... not all traditions have to be old, a few new ones along the way are good too! 

Ole Bola 2015

2015 here we come!  I'm SO looking forward to 2015, Rusty and I will celebrate our 10th Anniversary!  Lorelai will turn 8 years old!  And we have nothing life changing on the agenda, it's going to be a simple year hopefully and I LOVE that!  Cheers 2015!

We rang in the new year piled in bed together, pinkies up for the fanciest party ever!!!

Christmas Eve Eve and Christmas Eve

Santa came by for a bit for pictures with CC on Christmas Eve Eve and then we went caroling at our neighbors' houses!  And today we went to breakfast at The Old Country Store and for a final visit with Santa!

Annie!

My kid loves tv, movies, and theater... especially musicals!  

The Ugly Sweater

Lorelai had a cheer party on Friday night, and it was amazing!  We are so lucky to be a part of the best gym in the world!!!

Santa's Porthole

We found Santa's porthole from The North Pole to West Tennessee!  It's in an old gas station in the middle of no where, and adorable! 

The Nutcracker Tea Party & Ballet

I took my mom and Lorelai to The Nutcracker on Sunday, complete with a tea party to meet the characters!  This was the first year she wasn't scared of the mouse king... she's growing up!

Christmas Craziness!

I have somehow not made the time to address my Christmas cards yet... I have however spent three plus hours decorating an ugly sweater for Lorelai's cheer party contest!  

Clearly my priorities are in the right spot. Stay tuned for a picture of the ugly sweater!  I'm thinking about adding some battery powered lights to really take it over the top?  

#thankful

My brother and sister-in-law are here for the weekend!  We live far too far away from them, and visits are far too far inbetween... so it's so nice with four extra hands to help us with entertaining and horseplay and snuggles!  We love that they're here, we stayed up until midnight last night just drinking them in, and as we head into the late hours tonight, and plan for an early morning hunt tomorrow we know that we cram as much as we can into these visits!  It's going to be a great weekend!!!  Happy Thanksgiving from the Cahill family table!