Thanksgiving recap

Part 1: Tennessee = Sophie

Sophie is the McMurray's new dog. Thanksgiving consisted of: playing with Sophie, laughing at Sophie, talking about Sophie, playing with Sophie some more, and trying to avoid stepping on Sophie. Very fun ;) (For more on what Thanksgiving is normally like in Tennessee, sans Sophie, check here). She is indeed very, very cute, and we all decided that we too want a Sophie.

One of Steve's sisters, Stacy, with Sophie:

Part 2: The U-Haul.

Yup. 8 months pregnant, and we're movin' furniture!! Ha! Fortunately, we had super-helpers on either end (thanks Papa John and Adam!). Steve's family graciously gave us some furniture that they've been storing for many years, and the time finally came to haul it out. Actually, it ended up being no big deal at all...whew!

Part 3: A quick stop-and-drop at our house in NC...

...just long enough to unload and return the U-haul, then for me to feel depressed by the white walls, remember that it doesn't matter because we don't live there anyway, then cheer myself by setting up a little Christmas tree!

And of course long enough for Steve and Adam to play lots of music all night long!

(Below pictured is the "new studio" in the basement apartment)
Steve takes a break from his usual station at the piano to play on the drums...
Steve's normal spot when their drummer is around is here:
Back to mixin' it up!
As Thanksgivings go, ours was pretty low-key, I'd say....yet just how we like it.
So much to be thankful for! ;)

Another wonderful baby shower!!

Some of my bestest DC girlfriends got together and hosted a delightful baby shower for me last weekend...how blessed am I?!

Because they know that fall is my favorite time of year, they decided the shower would be "fall themed", so the food spread (which was incredible!) ranged from chili and cornbread to pumpkin spice cake, candy apples and hot apple cider...yummmm!!!

So many yummy treats!! :)

Another big treat for the day was my cousins, their daughters (pictured above and below) and my aunt (above) came down from Baltimore to attend the shower. And my other cousin Julie from DC came too, but she was the woman behind the camera capturing all these cute shots......their family presence made the whole day SO extra special!!

And most of my sweet girlfriends from school and church trekked to DC to attend...lots of chatting and catching up to do!

And yes, Mini-Mac was further blessed with more HAND-MADE adorable gifts!! Thanks, Meredith for the monogrammed onesie and the knitted hat...how cuuuuute?!

(And the "M" is for "McMurray"...don't get excited, we're still not tellin' his name! ;)

I had lots of super-helpers to open my gifts!! So fun!

The hostesses with the mostess that created SUCH a special day... Thanks Melody and Jessica - ya'll are the best!!!

Yay! Baby Grusy has arrived!

Some of our bestest DC friends, the Grusy's, just delivered their first baby on Wednesday!

CONGRATULATIONS to Adam, Jenny and Ethan!!

How cute are they??

SO EXCITING!!

One of our pastor's and his son stopped by while we were there:
Do Steve and I look like we want to steal this baby? 'Cause we totally did...he's SO precious and we're sooo ready and excited to meet our own little man!!!
Congratulations Grusy's!!

We're so happy for you and thankful for this healthy little life.

For more coverage on the Baby Grusy, check with our other dear friends, the Hardins!

My funny family strikes again...

Okay, so Grandpa's family and their obsession with the North Carolina Tarheels has gone over the edge...Mini-Mac, with his very own jersey, is now officially one of them! ;)

LOL....Thanks, guys! :)

Finally! A recap of the fabulous NC baby shower!!

To all of our adoring Life-with-the-McMurrays.com fans (haha, hi dad), apologies for the delay in posting this past weekends excitement. There was indeed sooo much excitement that it knocked me off of my feet and into the bed with an extreme cold for almost a full week. Thank goodness I am feeling somewhat better...er, at least better enough to share our special weekend (a week late!)!!
To those that may not know, I have some wonderful friends from my growing up years. We make a point to stay involved in one another's lives, which in recent years has taken on the form of bridal showers, weddings, and most recently, a baby shower for Mini-Mac! Steve and I travelled to NC last weekend because these great friends hosted an awesome baby shower in honor of our little man!! And it was truly fabulous...not one detail missed!!

Arguably the most important detail, next to good company, is delicious food...of which there was plenty!!

World's most beautiful diaper cake, compliments of Alice!

(Yes, she hand-rolled all 5-zillion of those little diapers!!;)

And let the games begin....
The Baby Memory Game was a hit, with the gals and grandma's alike!
And then on to Baby Bingo...

(We had some SERIOUS Baby-Bingo-ers!...this picture just doesn't do justice to the seriousness with which this game was played....;)

Below is the adorable sweater that my aunt Rosemary

knitted for Mini-Mac...how CUTE is that?!

Next up is the AMAZING quilt that my friend Sarah's Mom, Debby, MADE for us...and yes, those are most definitely tears in my eyes!! How incredible is that?!

The famous quilt-maker, Debby

(and I believe she cooked quite a bit of that food pictured above as well!!;)

Okay, so we laughed...alot. And not so much at the book "The Giving Tree", but more so at the fact that Alice decided to announce that this is her husbands favorite book!! Shhh...don't tell Joel, but his secret is out...!

Well, what do you expect? Someone has to try on Mini-Mac's new clothes!!Cutting the cake!
Me with my family:(L to R: Janis, Miriam, my mom, and me - and Mini-Mac!)
And the diaper cake...we couldn't get enough shots of it!! And the best for last...the best hostesses and friends a girl could ask for!!
(L to R: Alice, Sarah, Mama-Mac, Allison and Karen)
Thanks for such a fabulous baby shower, girls!!

You're the bestest!!