Friday, January 16, 2015

Friday Favorites - They're Home Edition

Happy Friday, Friends!!! And in about 12 hours it will be a three-day weekend! Can I get an amen??? ;)

If you're linking up with us today - don't forget to grab our graphic, link up to one (or all!) of us and then share your Friday Favorites!



- A Sweet Homecoming -
Last night was, by far, my favorite day of 2015 so far.

The Shulls came home from China and we all gathered up our kids and headed to the airport to welcome them home.  There were lots of kids and lots of posters and a little bit of waiting...





... but it was worth the wait!!!

I'm fairly certain that the entire terminal cheered right along with us and a collective "awwwwwwww" could be heard throughout DFW :)


And let's just talk about Luke in this video...



There will be no shortage of playmates for Ashby!

Almost a smile!!!

In a moment of forethought and pure genius, I threw a giant bag of dum dums in my purse on the way out the door.  :)

Shull! Party of Five :)

It's strange - my friends have been pregnant and had beautiful, healthy babies literally dozens of times.  I've visited the hospital, held those babies and been thrilled for their mamas.  But this was completely different and awesome in so many different and unexpected ways.  When one of your besties is pregnant you do things like make a food that they're craving when they come over for girls night, swing through Sonic to pick up a Sprite when they're feeling icky and bat baby names back and forth.  This scenario was so different and, for me personally, so much more prayerful.  Shay didn't need me to grab her a Sprite or make Skor bars when she came over and so we prayed.  Watching them walk through the doors last night and seeing Shay holding Ashby was an answered prayer and a testament to amazing faith and trust.  Y'all... it was good.

And so fun that it was something that we got to experience together as a group of friends!  I love that our kids will remember going to see Ashby on the day she came home :)




Welcome to the club, Ashby London!!! 

Oh! And as we were leaving (yes... that's MAson in the background with 2 different shoes on), G was NOT wanting to hold my hand and Shay and I were hugging goodbye when Sheaffer snapped this picture.  I'm sure these two girls will have LOTS of pictures together, and it cracks me up that this is the first one :)  Shay and I are nothing but honest with each other (#soulsisters) and I love this super honest moment with our girls :)

- #spokenbibleverses -

This may be my FAVORITE hashtag EVER!  The idea is to fill up Instagram with God's truth and encouragement.

I shared this one on Tuesday night and was blown away by the responses.  I'm thinking that I'll definitely be doing it more often adn hope that y'all will join in as well!

 

- Favorite Chili -
I posted this pic of my mug of chili and cornbread and had several requests for the recipe.

I almost wasn't going to share because it's so embarrassingly easy, but we all need an embarrassingly easy meal every now and again (topped with Fritos!), so I'm sharing the crazy simple recipe.

I browned 2 lbs of ground beef with a bunch of chopped onion and then drained it.  After that I threw it in my crock pot with 4 drained cans of kidney beans (2 light and 2 dark), a big can of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of tomato soup, a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce, some chili powder (to taste) and some brown sugar.  I put it all in the crock pot on low for a couple of hours, add more chili powder to taste and then call it a day!  I typically top it with cheese and serve it with cornbread.  Perfect, easy dinner!
 

- Evy's Tree -
I have a new FAVORITE piece of clothing... the Sophie Hoodie by Evys Tree!  Evy's Tree is SUCH a cool brand and I love the story behind the company.  They sell a variety of "luxury hoodies" and the style and quality is unmatched.

Last week I got the Sophie Hoodie in Rust in the mail and I haven't wanted to take it off.  It's brushed with fleece on the inside and is light, yet warm.  It's awesome.


Yesterday, the sweet girls at Evy's Tree sent me the new Sophie in Jade and it literally arrived on my doorstep as I was throwing Capri Suns and wipes and action figures into my bag and heading out the door to go to the airport.  Right there on my front porch I ripped into the bag, stripped off the sweater I had on and zipped this new one up.  It was love at first feel :)  It's not fleece lined, so it's more of a Spring weight and the color is PERFECTION.


I took zero pictures in it (remember, said rushing out the door), except for the one group pic above where I look like a HOT MESS, so be sure to check out my instagram later today for a better pic of it on.  My rust sophie is a small and it fits great.  I sized up in the Jade to see if I could wear it with leggings and it fits great as well - the sleeves are a little looser and there's more room in the top - plus the material has a little more stretch than the rust with fleece on the inside.  I love them both :)  The Rust color is sold out, but the Jade is available starting this afternoon!!!  I promise you won't be disappointed!

It's supposed to be beautiful this weekend (in the sixties!) and I'm looking forward to three days with my crew!  Enjoy your weekend, girls!!! 


   

33 comments :

  1. All the pictures from the airport bring tears to my eyes!! what an amazing moment! God is so good! ;)

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  2. Goodness Andrea! Words cannot express how much I love you and your sweet family. Thank you so much for coming last night!! Thank you for 18 days worth of text messages and funny emails too :)! I love you so much!

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  3. What a sweet homecoming! It's so awesome that you all could be there for their family. It seems like you all have a great community of friends, which is a treasure for sure. Happy Friday and thanks for hosting the link-up!

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  4. This just warms my heart! What a lucky little girl to become part of such a great extended family.

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  5. You are just the cutest! Thanks for sharing that verse this morning...it was much needed as I get ready to teach crazy 7th graders on a Friday before a 3-day weekend! :)

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  6. That last pic in the airport cracks me up! Ashby is looking at Griffin like "what's her deal?!" It's too cute! How close are they in age? -Jess

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  7. Ashby coming home to so much love....best favorite ever

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  8. We have been at home this week passing around the stomach flu so it definitely brightened my day to see all the posts last night welcoming Ashby home. So, so precious!!! And I know all the mamas appreciated the fact you brought lollys to pass around ; ) I know you get told this all the time, but you are such a sweet friend and y'all are so incredibly fortunate to have each other. Hugs.

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  9. Thanks for sharing these pictures. What a happy night for all of you! I am an adoptive Mom, so I bursting with joy for them!!!

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  10. What a great post - it's funny because I don't know you, Shay, Shaffer, or Erika but I follow all of your blogs and the friendship you all have is awesome, not only for you, but for your kids! Not only does sweet Ashby have a great family, but a great friend family as well! And the Luke sandwich was awesome!

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  11. Such a great post...all of you are so lucky to have such great great friends!!!

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  12. I watched those videos each about 10 times and I just cried....the love and joy and excitement in those moments when the Shulls walked through those doors was something special. I have prayed for their sweet family and am just SO very happy for them! The hugs and love between all those kiddos too is something to treasure. You girls and your families are truly blessed to have one another. Thanks so much for sharing!!!

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  13. Seriously one of the best nights of my life. Love you girls!

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  14. Loving the pictures of Ashby's homecoming! So sweet of you and all of their closest friends to be there to meet them - brought tears to my eyes:) Can't wait to follow along and see how the Shull family is adjusting from 4 to 5!:)

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  15. Hi Andrea!
    I have read your blog off and on for awhile now, but have never commented before. I just wanted to thank you for your spoken bible verse. I am a mom of young kids and we have been having a particularly stressful week. Nothing really terrible, but I've worried about my kids a lot lately. On Tuesday after a restless night of sleep, I went to my bible to read> I kept going back to Philippians 4:6-7. On Wednesday the verse popped up in my regular devotional reading. The next day it popped up on my facebook feed. I literally laughed when I saw your spoken bible verse. Clearly God is trying to speak this verse into my life and heart. Thanks so much for sharing God's word! Things like spoken bible verse may make me come out of the dinosaur era and finally join Istagram. :)

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  16. As an adoptive mom I just love seeing sweet Ashby's homecoming! I cried reading this post! Such an amazing, amazing day!

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  17. Literally crying tears of joy for the Shull family! I have loved hearing the story of Ashby, their travels, and now their arrival home. You are all such sweet and wonderful people :) Ashby sure is loved! Thanks for sharing!
    Side note: I loved Luke and Kensington's hug! Melted me! And I will be adding that chili recipe to my meal plan next week! Thanks!

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  18. Loved this post!! Such a sweet homecoming!!

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  19. All the welcome home pics have made me cry! What a fun night for your group! So sweet!

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    1. I just got a chance to watch the videos - so so so sweet! The Luke sandwich about did me in! Gah I love living the homecoming vicariously through you (and I mean that in a totally not creepy way! Haha)

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  20. You all have to be the best group of friends! What a sweet homecoming for Ashby and the Shull family!

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  21. I wanna be friends with you guys!
    and i love a good easy chili recipe! Thanks!

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  22. So fun!! I love the chili and cornbread! That looks delicious!! ❤️❤️❤️

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  23. Oh my gosh, what a precious moment in the airport! So happy for your friends! Ashby is beautiful!

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  24. This post totally made me tear up. Sweet Ashby is going to be surrounded by love. What an amazing group of friends you are!

    And yay for a 3-day weekend!

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  25. Thanks for sharing your friend's family's homecoming! As an adoptive mom myself, I love seeing other families grow through adoption. As wonderful and amazing as adoption is, I just wanted to share with you as well that the family will (most likely) continue to need your prayers and support. I can tell you from experience that bringing home a toddler can get hard - they have all those usual toddler behaviors on top of the trauma of a new start without any language to say what they're going through. While the waiting part of adoption is hard, the aftermath of figuring out your new family can be harder and very lonely, since on the outside it can look like everything is done once the child is home. I know every family is different and I hope your friends have the smoothest transition possible but you may still need to make some Skor bars and bring over Sprites. :)
    Amber at OurCharmedLife.net

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  26. Thanks for making this, and thank you soooo much for the video. I just knew someone would video it, you just happened to be the lucky person.

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  27. I love Evy's Tree! I ordered the Sophie today. I live in the Diana wrap so it will be nice to have another option. They are from the same area my husband grew up in CA and she even mentioned eating at his best friend's restaurant recently. I love supporting people with a story like hers!

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  28. love love love this post!!! Ashby and G are going to be BFF!!! xoxo

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  29. When you talked about how you guys just prayed before Ashby came home, it really made me misty-eyed. Such a sweet, sweet friendship! And to see the answered prayers? Wow, it must've been just an incredible night!

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  30. Oh my gosh that homecoming, you guys are so sweet, and I am all choked up watching the videos and seeing the pictures that you, Erika and Narci posted about.

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  31. Love your newly updated side bar...Glad Jack Bauer made an appearance there! Too cute!

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  32. I've followed sweet Ashby's story for more than a year and when I found this post through your year end favorites, it brought tears to my eyes. It's so incredible what a year and love can do to a child. Thank you for sharing this post with us, Andrea! Wishing you and your family all the best in 2016! xox

    Angela @ Top Knots and Curly Locks

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