Prayers and Pumpkins

Before I even begin talking about all the pumpkin I have consumed this week, I need to ask a big favor of my readers...I am calling you ALL to prayer!
My sweet "niece/cousin" Hannah Grace was admitted to the hospital this morning. She is almost 2 and has been limping on one of her legs for the past 3 weeks.  After two X-rays, nothing showed up, but the limping persisted.  This morning Jessi and Booney (her parents) took her in for an MRI to see if the doctors could find anything.  After waiting for the results, the doctors admitted HG for a possible infection in her knee.  Please pray for this little girl, we love her so much! Justin and I are heading down to the hospital after I get off work today.

As for this week in the Viddy household...we officially kicked off pumpkin season! I am a little "late" according to the rest of the world....But...I was waiting for the official beginning of Autumn! I needed a chill in the air to enjoy a little pumpkin ale, pumpkin bread, pumpkin fruit dip (omg.) and my favorite thing in the WHOLE world...PUMPKIN FROZEN CUSTARD AT GOODBERRY'S! Which is happening TOMORROW! I'll try to contain my excitement!!

On Tuesday, I stayed after work to have a little make-up fun with my boss Allie! We had a great time and I hooked her up with some great Mary Kay products.  Well, I forgot to text Justin that I was staying later at work...and that I was also heading to the Container Store after that.....oops....Turns out he had gone to Starbucks to get me my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season! He wanted to surprise me when I got home because he knew I was waiting for fall and how much I love them.  In his words, "I even got you the skinny healthy kind! But it might have gone bad now :(" I was beside myself with excitement but was so sad I missed out on the surprise :( Its funny, because the reason I was going to the container store was to get a cosmetic organizer for our bathroom counter so HE could have more space! It is so sweet...we were thinking about each other :) I just love that man! Well, I made it home in time to enjoy it nice and hot, and my bathroom sink was transformed! Awesome day! Here's what I got:

For $12.99/each, I got the two 3-drawer clear countertop organizers and stacked them on top of each other. Let me tell you how much it has changed my life.......wait, I don't have time for that. Just go get 'em ladies!

Yesterday I had a big craving for pumpkin fluff dip so I decided to make my own recipe! I mixed:

1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree

1 8 oz. container of cool whip lite

1 box of instant vanilla pudding

1 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. of vanilla extract

3-4 Tbsp. of Maple syrup (I just eyeballed it....add as much or as little as you like!)

It turned out SOO good, Justin and I ate some of it with just a spoon! It is my favorite apple and pear companion, but also great in a parfait! It's so versatile, you can do almost anything with it! We polished it off with a delicious seasonal Pumpkin Hard Cider by Woodchuck (shout out to my girl Elizabeth Yopp). And wow was that a treat!

Fall has arrived here at the Viddy's....any pumpkin recipes out there that you'd like to share with me? Have a GREAT weekend! We will be playing at The Summit Church this weekend so come see us!

m o l l y

Concerts, Homecoming, Weddings...

I have to say, this weekend, beginning on Thursday, was one of the most fun, eventful and exciting weekends I've had in a LONG time!  The memorable ones always involve weddings...and family. I'm about to flood this post with pictures, so enjoy!

Thursday night, I got to see one of my all-time favorite piano heroes....Ben Rector.  The first time I heard him play, I recognized that our chord progressions are EXACTLY the same.  Music people know what I'm talking about.  His singing voice also sounds JUST like my brother's...so what's not to like about this guy? Nothing.  He is awesome, so go support him and pick up his albums! He covered Whitney Houston's "I wanna dance with Somebody".  I mean come on! The guy is a rock star.  Justin was such a good sport for going with me, and running into Emmy Senger topped it all off! Great night!

Friday at work was entertainingly busy with helping my boss get her house ready to sell! We cleaned every nook and cranny of the house before the realtor came over to take photos.  Shelby went with the flow as we decided during her afternoon nap to hit up the outlet mall in Mebane! (Wait, you don't do that at your job with your boss? Oh, sorry.) JCrew...Banana Republic...it felt like the old days of shopping in Blowing Rock. Ahhh.... So Justin came and picked me up in Mebane and we headed to Greensboro to get Miss Melanie ready for representing her freshman class on Homecoming Court! She had a BEAUTIFUL black dress with a gold sequin peter-pan collar, worn with about 4" wedges.  We had her make-up done in record time and she looked stunning! Her friends didn't even recognize her.  We like to play with make-up so this was one of those times...plus, it was at night, and she was out on the soccer field so we had to do a dramatic smoky eye :) 

My father-in-law was sadly not feeling well that evening and was unable to walk her out on the field. So, my sweet sweet Justin walked her out in his place.  Not a dry eye in the stadium, folks..
We had a great time.  It was so great to see the Hunsuckers and catch up with Miss Lisa! I just adore them.

After the game, Leah and I stopped at the store to get some hair color to give her a beautiful ombré! I don't have a before and after photo....(ehhemm....leah) but we do have a during photo. She might kill me for this. Love you Leah!!!!!!

The next day, I was up bright and early to get Melanie ready for the Homecoming Banquet! This time we did hair AND make-up (I could really do this the rest of my life)...and She looked gorgeous once again. I don't have a photo because we had to leave to get to Charlotte for my cousin's wedding, but the ones on Facebook were fabulous.  Forgot to mention that two of my favorite people in the world were also at the Vidovich house this weekend..BABCI AND POP POP! If you know me, you know who they are. If not, I could and will probably do an entire post on them one day.  It was sad to leave (as it always is) but I was so ready to get to Weddington to see our other fam!

Getting ready for Ashley's wedding was a full-blown affair...Getting myself, my sister and my mom ready is always so much fun! I think that has been my job since I was 10? Am I right mom? Annie?  Yeah.  Chip's beautiful girlfriend was visiting and didn't even need my help! She's awesome. I also LOVE my siblings....So much! Spending the weekend laughing with them all day for two days is probably my favorite way to spend time with them.  Especially when we have such hilarious parents and other family members for material! HAH!  It was so great to catch up with other distant family members as well...and not so distant ones...Here is my beautiful cousin Kelly who just earned her first Mary Kay Pink Cadillac! See the family resemblance? Me too.

And I have to throw in one of my and my handsome mister :)

Sunday was a lazy morning, which was exactly what we all needed to recharge.  And then this guy showed up.....!! The littlest boy who has my heart...Mr. Colt Bankston. He is walking and talking and SUCH a joy in my life! It was great to finally sit and catch up with his mama, my Mandi! We laughed at him all morning!

We stayed as long as we could on Sunday....until an early dinner came along and I got HOOKED on the first episode of Breaking Bad.   WOW.  That's all I can say! We said goodbye to my family and headed home.  After the 3 hour drive back up to Raleigh, sitting and watching the Emmy's were so exciting! Julie Bowen definitely had the best dress, IMO.  I was sad that none of my shows won! I guess I will have to start watching Homeland.  Love and Props to MadMen, Breaking Bad, Modern Family (which did win a few!) and Game of Thrones.

Now that I've officially categorized myself as a nerd, its time to go.  Have a beautiful Monday everyone! GO OUTSIDE!

m o l l y

Overwhelmed!

 Friends, I am so overwhelmed at the beautiful responses! Its funny how there were no comments listed here yesterday, but the loving texts and Facebook posts absolutely made my day! Thank you all for your support and friendship during this difficult time.  I think I can speak for my family when I say we are so blessed and thankful for the friends and family that really reach out to us.
THANK YOU!!! 
I decided to bless you all with some updated pictures. Hah! Above is Justin and I before a date night recently.  He is so good about giving us a weekly date night, we always have a blast! I love him so much it hurts.  Below is my sweet sweet Shelby! (People that don't know me, she is not my child...even though sometimes it feels like it!) She brings me so much joy... and like I tell everyone, she is giving me unrealistic expectations about children! She hardly ever fusses, is a good eater, and giggles constantly! She is so smart, loves books and loves to clap. I think Justin and I decided that if we were guaranteed our first child would be like her... we would have one tomorrow! But ah, no guarantees in life, so I think we are going to stick to the 5 year plan... :) which means we've got one year down, possibly four to go.

 

have a lovely Thursday my friends, a tearful (full of joy) post will come this weekend!

warmly,

molly

One Thousand Gifts

I am really going to try and be better at this, I swear! Here is a brief update:

On July 19, we received a phone call that would change our lives temporarily.  My father-in-law, Paul, had gone to the doctor to get a lump in his neck checked out.  They did a biopsy, and found that he had 2 more lumps and that they were cancerous.  After more tests, they found that the cancer was located in his left tonsil and had spread to his lymph nodes. Thankfully it had not reached the status of Lymphoma, but was still full-blown cancer and would need to start treatment immediately.  The prognosis is good, but the treatment is absolutely brutal.  The number one thing I have learned about cancer is that it is an hour-by-hour process.  His health varies throughout the day.
We wanted so badly to be there with our family that day, and it really hit us hard that not living near family really, for lack of a better word, sucks.  We had always talked about settling in Greensboro one day, but that day had come.  This was the push that we really needed to go on ahead and get there.  God since then has opened door after door to get us there. 

Sadly, I will be leaving sweet Shelby and the Carpenters (Allie Carpenter of The Saturday Housewife), when she turns a year old and starts day care.  Justin has a great opportunity with Syngenta brewing up, and we are simply waiting on that call for his formal job offer. We have to be ready to go at any moment! The hardest part of all of this is leaving our beloved Summit Church.  WE LOVE SUMMIT.  More than I have ever loved any church, ever.  Few times in my life have I had the opportunity to play with such talented musicians.  However, God is seriously at work....The Summit Church has a brand new church plant in Greensboro which we are feeling led to be a part of! I am so blessed and happy to be serving a God who takes care of the details.

There is something else I am going to start doing, which will hopefully enable me to write more (gosh I miss it)....GOALS!
Here are my September Goals (which I realize it's already half over but oh well)
1. Run 2-3 miles per day instead of every other day (my new kicks really help!)
2. Lift weights 2-3 times per week to supplement cardio
3. Finish reading One Thousand Gifts
4. Start packing up the apartment
5. Have a Pumpkin Spice Latte on the first day of Autumn!
6. Start reading The Hobbit so I can actually say I've read it and go see the movie

So there we go. I have so many things to be thankful for. The book One Thousand Gifts has taught me that living in "eucharisto" is absolutely essential to the Christian life and living in reverence to God. It is the source of complete Joy! I now understand how to achieve this "joy joy joy joy down in my heart".  The root word of "eucharisto" is "charis" which means "grace". God's grace. Understanding grace, how can we not live in complete thanksgiving? The root word of "charis" is "chara" which means "joy". THERE it is. The literal root of grace and thanksgiving is Joy! Start naming what you are thankful for today and not just one day of the year.

in Jesus name,

Molly