30 Days of Thanks: Day 4

Day 4: Oftentimes it's the little things in life that I'm thankful for and this is one of them :) Trader Joe's Sea Salt and Turbinado Sugar Dark Chocolate Almonds… yum! (you can thank me later!) A friend of mine introduced these delicious treats to me and several of them are just the thing if I'm craving something sweet. Pick them up the next time you're shopping at Trader Joe's! 

30 Days of Thanks: Day 3

Day 3: I am thankful for nature. Alan and I had the best time today hiking Abram's Falls which is a 5 mile hike in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We were able to drive through Cades Cove which is beautiful this time of year and we had perfect weather for a quick hike. Every time we go up there I am just in awe of God's glory through creation. What a mighty God we serve!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 2

Day 2: I am thankful for the Junior League of Knoxville which is a wonderful organization where I can volunteer my time and skills and truly see how as a chapter we help make Knoxville a better place by serving the community. I am thankful to be on a great committee this year: Leadership Knoxville where I have had an amazing time meeting new people, helping out with the sessions, and learning about leadership myself.

Last week I spent some time helping with the set-up of one of our annual fundraisers: Tinsel & Treasure which is a holiday shopping event at the Knoxville Convention Center. And then today, I went shopping with family which was so fun and a great way to kick off the season! 

30 Days of Thanks: Day 1

I've never done one of these daily blogs but I thought: what the heck, it's a good motivator to stay consistent with my blogging and I can't think of a better topic: giving thanks. I've found that it is sometimes hard to give thanks, in fact, it can be a lot easier to complain at times. However, I usually find myself confessing this attitude to the Lord and praying for a heart full of gratitude instead. I just finished reading the book The Hiding Place and wow! That's a testament of giving thanks in all circumstances if I've ever seen one (I would also highly recommend the book!) So here goes!

Day 1: I am thankful for my husband, Alan. He is my very best friend. He knows me inside and out. At times, I am humbled by his love because he knows me so well. He knows when my heart is ugly and sees me at my worst (usually when I'm tired and/or hungry or both!) He is the spiritual leader of our household and someone who challenges me in my own walk with Christ. He loves my family (I love his family!) He has a great sense of adventure and lives life to the fullest. Yes, I am so thankful for him.

#Halloween #Gatsby

Once again, Alan and I had a fabulous time at J+J's annual Halloween Party! We decided to do something fun and simple this year: Great Gatsby! …and it turned out really well if I do say so myself! As always, it was wonderful spending time with sweet friends from college that we don't see nearly enough. I am so thankful that we've all stayed pretty close through the years and thankful for their friendships. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with E+P which is always a treat!

Cades Cove

As Alan has been training for his marathon he has tried to run a lot of different places to keep it interesting so today we drove up to Cades Cove for him to run "the loop" which is a beautiful and scenic 11 mile trip. Katie and I drove and met up with Alan at different places to encourage and provide water. It was a gorgeous day!

We saw some horses at the very beginning on the loop :)

There are several small quaint country churches up there.

God's beauty everywhere!

TN Valley Fair

Alan won tickets to the TN Valley Fair so we went on Sunday night with the rest of his family. The fair is one of those things that you can easily talk yourself out of going to but once you're there you have a great time. It definitely has some of the best food (funnel cakes and fried oreos need I say more?) and people watching in East Tennessee.

The carousel almost looks enchanting from a distance... almost.

All in all it was a fantastic night!