The Feast

This is the first Thanksgiving ever that Matt and I have stayed home in Nashville instead of traveling to visit family. I am certain that traveling five plus hours in a car would have been VERY uncomfortable for me at this point. I can hardly sit on the couch for 30 minutes without my back hurting. So we took the opportunity to create our own Thanksgiving feast.


















Matt and I picked some of our favorite Thanksgiving foods to make. Matt chose his mom's sweet potato casserole. It sure was yummy!















I chose green bean casserole. We used fresh green beans so that it would feel a little more healthy.














Then, I decided to try to make chicken and dressing. This has always been a staple at Thanksgiving in my family. Thanksgiving just wouldn't have been the same without it. So, I found a recipe in a cookbook, made my very own cornbread, and mixed it up! It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, and it was SO worth the time!














OK, then there was the turkey breast. I was up quite early this morning (2 a.m.), so I decided to look online for a "how-to" guide to cooking turkey. I found that it was really important to brine the turkey first to make it more tender. So, I woke up this morning and "brined" my turkey breast, cooked it for an hour and a half, and it was done! Here is the finished product. I have to say that it was pretty good.














Last but not least, there was the Kentucky Derby pie. I borrowed this recipe from Rachel Lackey a few years ago. It was amazing!














That concludes the presentation of the first ever Metcalf family feast! Matt and I were a good team. Is it a lot of food for two people? Yes, but now I don't have to cook for at least two to three days!

Bibs, Bottles, and Bloomers ... Oh My!

This past Saturday some amazing women hosted a wonderfully beautiful baby shower in honor of Avery's upcoming arrival. We played some fun games, had some amazing appetizers, and opened LOTS of gifts.













I was really glad that my mom made a quick trip from Arkansas just to be at the shower!












We were blessed by the generosity of so many friends and family! From a crib mattress to bibs, bottles, and monogramed bloomers, we are almost prepared with the things we need for Avery's arrival. Matt and I certainly have a big job to do over the next few days!













I wish I had thought to have taken a big group picture of all my friends who attended. I am so thankful for each of them. There was one male at the shower, and I just have to post his cute little picture. He was so well behaved! This is Matt and I's nephew Nathan Kafer!

35 Weeks Later

Tomorrow I will be in my 35th week of pregnancy. I can't believe that I have approximately five weeks left until Avery arrives. I was looking at a picture of myself at about 12 weeks. Here, let me share it with you!














OK, now a picture of me at 35 weeks. I mean, you don't realize how much bigger everything is until you compare the pictures. I was a bit discouraged, but I also know that that is just part of being pregnant!















By the way, these are two of my sweet friends who were at the baby shower yesterday! I will blog about that later! I have been procrastinating, but now I must go to the grocery store!

1st Baby Shower

Today, we had our first baby shower. It was SO much fun and has defiantly made everything seem more real. The shower was hosted by the wonderful ladies I work with at Sunset Elementary! Here is the 1st grade team—the wonderful hostesses.














We got many wonderful gifts that we will need when Avery arrives.


















You know, I think my teammates really want to stop by and change Avery's diapers! Maybe I will make a rotation list! HA! They bought us approximately 240 newborn diapers, a Diaper Genie, Diaper Genie Refills, three packs of wipes, and more. We got so many other great gifts too! I can't wait to find a place for all of it!