Bonnet Creek & The Castle

Blog coming soon

I'm so behind on blogging, and I hope to do some catching up next week, so stay tuned! It's been a busy rush since Disney with my preparing for a silent auction, Christmas program, Christmas parties, etc. I am home tomorrow, have activities in town Sunday, & then Josh and I will have cabin time from now until Christmas! I'm excited not only to be home, but to also finally be able to take time to download some pictures and post. So, if you don't hear from me this weekend, look for pictures next week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Praise God for His good works!

If you haven't followed this blog, you really should check it out. It has given me chills & tears to see how amazingly God has shown Himself through this family.

http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/

Deck the Cabin

Here's the evening pictures of Christmas decorations I promised.

As I told Josh the other day, even though we won't have a lot of time home to enjoy them, and even though we have had to put them up really early, I really wanted to fully decorate the house for Christmastime because I have never really had the opportunity to do so.

I was one of those kids that as long as I can remember I always tried to decorate my room for Christmas. Naturally, when I got married, I planned to do the same with my house. Last year we were recovering from the wedding & honeymoon, and although we got some decorating done, much of our decorations ended up staying in Christmas totes.

The homemaker in me cried out for justice! So, this year the house is decorated, and I feel very satisfied with my accomplishments.

My birthday gift from Josh this year was handpicked by me on our last trip to Gatlinburg. I found it in Craftsman's Valley. It's a real leaf that's been coated with precious metals. I thought it was great, and now it's hanging on our tree.
Here's our Christmas Village at night. It's my first attempt ever at a Christmas Village, and I'm sure with years to come I'll get a little bit better at setup, and maybe our collection will grow some. Right now it looks a little bit like a blizzard has come to Christmastown.

Just like any southern town, there's a church on every corner! lol.

The tree.

The front of the cabin. Josh did a great job!

I've had the opportunity over the few nights we've been home to get pictures of the cats under the tree. Awwwww! Usually within a minute or two of me being on the floor with the camera the cat in the picture has walked over to get attention, which only allows me a few shots.

Isis.

Homer.

Athena.

That's all I have for now. I have to go wash some dishes, take a shower, and head to bed. My Disney bags are packed & ready to go. We leave on Thursday evening after our families head back to Cleveland. My other bags are also packed so that when we head to Cleveland tomorrow we can stay in town a few nights before heading back up here.

Hope everyone has a great night! Remember to leave me feedback about what earrings to offer in a giveaway. And, if you didn't catch the post before this, make sure to check out what we've been up to!

Also, check out this blog http://muncksquiver.blogspot.com/ for another Christmas giveaway. The Muncks are great friends of mine, and I love reading about their lives! They've just recently taken a Disney trip. ;)

Sticks & Stones

I slightly flabbergasted as I look to my previous post and realize that it has been two weeks since I last posted. Goodness! It has been quite a two weeks though, and I'll do my best to catch up.

As most of you know, Josh & I live in the Copperhill area. We drive Hwy 64 everyday to and from work, and if you've kept a close eye on the news, we've had a disruption to our regular route.

http://www.wdef.com/bonus_video_rock_slide_in_polk_county_caught_on_tape

Since the rock slide, we have been detouring & displaced. A lot of our time has been spent living in Cleveland. But, on the few nights (such as last night) that we do go home, we end up with an hour and forty-five minute drive versus our usual 45 minutes. We usually go around to Tellico, and we tried a different route through Ellijay last night. Overall, the rock slide is a big pain, but we are very grateful that no one was hurt, and also that we have family to stay with to help ease the driving. Me, Josh & our cats (who have been fawning all over us since we've been home) will be especially happy when the road *hopefully* reopens mid-January.

Admittedly, boulders, stones, & trees blocking a passageway are a pain. But, they shallow in comparison to what Josh has been experiencing this past week. Josh has his first kidney stone. He's been in agony since Tuesday, and thankfully the doctor has given him some STRONG medicine to help him deal with it. He had an ultrasound on Thursday that showed it almost to the bladder, so we're praying that it will pass soon! Please pray for him. Not only does he want it out so he can be pain-free without medicine, but we also leave for Disney on Thanksgiving night, which means he'll need to have it out before then.

So, I haven't blogged much between extra travel, packing, & caring for Josh. On top of that, I've had some extracurricular things going on.

Adore Creations is officially up & running, and I've been making earrings. I posted a few of them below, but overall I have about 40-50 pair already for sale. If you're interested in buying anything you see, or you need me to make a custom pair, contact me through adorecreations@gmail.com Cost currently varies from $4 - $10. I'll be doing a giveaway on here sometime in the next month too, so please leave me feedback on colors & styles that you might like to see in a giveaway! I realize not everyone wears earrings, so eventually I might aim for selling bracelets or necklaces. Don't look for those anytime soon though. lol.

On top of the busyness of everything else we do, we are hosting both our families at the house for Thanksgiving. I'm excited about this, but I realized that with our crazy schedule over the next months (including a week at Disney right after Thanksgiving), and our lack of being home in general, that we had to get the house decorated for Christmas & cleaned up STAT!

So....

Mistletoe.
Our tree.

A Christmas village.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (movie) figurines

Decorations new & old

Snowmen sitting above the fireplace which holds the Christmas village.

A friendly Christmas mouse peering from the doorknow of the pantry.

An advent calendar from childhood.

Our carolers, Ne'Qwa ornaments, & WillowTree figurines (aka "the faceless beasts", according to Josh).

A closeup of Ne'Qwa, safely tucked away high on a shelf since they are not only precious gifts from family, but also expensive due to the way they are handpainted.

The reason for the season! Our nativity, proudly displayed. Also, a quilt given to us by Pattie B. for a wedding gift.

Part of our tradition, watching Christmas movies. I'm sure you know who this is!

Lastly, a few ornaments, to commemorate our honemoon last year. This Sunday, the 22nd, marks our 1st anniversary. I'm looking forward to being back at Disney World soon!

And in case you didn't know...Happy Birthday to me!

I'm 26 years old today, and I have enjoyed being home for my birthday. I told Josh that my best gift to receive this year would be for him to pass that stone that is plaguing him!

Make sure to check back on my blog later tonight, when I'll be posting night pictures of the Christmas lights outside, the tree, & the village! Josh did a great job of decorating the outside of the house whil I worked on the inside this year. He is also my hero who puts the tree together & fluffs it every year before I decorate it with ornaments.

Now, it's off to do some Disney packing & homework!

What have I been up to?

It's late, as usual. Josh & I have been extremely busy the past few weeks either doing things at home or staying late in town. Here's some pictures of what we've been up to.

We have a new KING-SIZED bed! It's an upgrade from our queen, and quite huge, but we couldn't resist this one of a kind frame. We plan to expand the cabin a few years down the road, and then we'll build a bigger bedroom to fit it.

If rearranging the bedroom to fit a bigger bed, shopping for a new mattress, arranging to have the frame delivered & assembled didn't take enough time...then there's my newest venture.

Turning these....
Into these...

Adore Creations Jewelry will be available for sale starting next week. I'll be charging $4 - $8 for earrings. So far I have about 40 made. The ones in the picture above just don't have their ear wires yet.

Why Adore? My middle name was Dorene before taking on my maiden name. So Amanda (A) and Dorene (dore), equal Adore.

Also purchased from the same man who made our bed, is our new porch swing.

The woodcrafter's name is Jeff, and I'm more than happy to pass on his contact information if anyone is interested in having him make you some furniture. Beautiful stuff, and quite reasonably priced.

Last but not least, we've been a little indulgent on candy & goofiness lately, so here's a few pictures from October.

Wacky Wednesday at work

We were "diaper inspectors" for a daycare at a murder mystery hosted by Josh's Sunday School co-teacher & her husband.

Have a great rest of your weekend!