Thanksgiving and then some

We had a lovely Thanksgiving this year. We're used to being with a lot of extended family for holidays, but this year it didn't work out that way. And, I just love when God shows us why in the end. 

First, we'll back up to Wednesday. Handsome Man had an adorable program in his preschool classroom. He was a very handsome pilgrim. The kids and I had a great time watching him sing and enjoying his classroom 'feast'.

Our Handsome Pilgrim singing.

Then came Thursday, Thanksgiving. It was just our family (which is up to 6 total) and my parents. Mom and I planned the menu (and may I just add that I love to be the one in the kitchen because I get to help chose the food. Yum.) We tried to stay simple (and actually, we did hold back on the food) but we ended up with a few courses anyway...
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1. Butternut squash soup...made in the crock pot. Sooooo good.
2. The Thanksgiving stuff...turkey, stuffing, sweet potato souffle, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, bread
3. Salad...sort of course in itself because we all like to eat it at the end of the meal.
4. Nuts and fruit...just almonds and clementines. Keeping it simple.
5. Artichokes...a surprise addition that my mom couldn't resist bringing.
6. Dessert

My man carving the bird.

Learning to crack nuts.

Yum, right? We started eating at 2:30PM and didn't finish dessert until 6:00PM. (We don't sit the whole time but do spend a good bit of time hanging out at the table.) It was a nice night.  Quiet...but that's for good reason. Read on.

Here is why God was so gracious to keep our Thanksgiving small and at our home. My mom ended up in the ER on Monday. She came home early, early Tuesday morning but was on antibiotics and not feeling great. (I was somewhat successful in getting her to sit most of the day.) My dad was also on antibiotics and not feeling super. The babies napped for numerous hours on Thanksgiving. (Did I just hear an Amen from other moms of babies out there?) Then, the Munchkin woke up Thursday night, after Thanksgiving dinner vomiting. That continued for 36 awful hours. I was so thankful that we didn't expose lots of people to our germs.

Friday...Black Friday...is one of my favorite days of the year. You'd think for the shopping? Nope...for the holiday decorating. (We did get some good deals that day though.) We got our tree up, the kids opened their Christmas ornaments from their great Aunt Polly and Uncle Dirk and we decorated the tree and put up my beloved Nativity scene that Ben's parents got me.

The Munchkin opening her ornament from the couch. She was sick all weekend.

The Little Mister opening his first Christmas ornament ever.

Yay for new ornaments.

The Nativity scene set up.

Our tree. Full of beautiful kid-made ornaments. A new star is hopefully coming this year to top the tree.

The Munchkin has made a full recovery. Thank you, Lord. And no one else has yet to get the horrible virus  in our house. Thank you, thank you, dear Lord. When she was all better on Sunday, Ben set up the Snow Village in the front window.  Let the holiday season begin!

My Little Daisy

The Munchkin became an official Girl Scout this week....a Daisy. She had to say 2 words in front of all the parents, and I wasn't sure she was going to make it. She gets really nervous in front of groups, but she did it! I was so proud of her. And, she was so relieved when it was over.  Here she is with one of her Daisy leaders... :)

The Princess is One

I can't believe it. A year ago, I had just come home from the hospital with a new baby girl. Our 3rd child. She was (and still is) such a sweet addition to our family. She laughs, wrestles, climbs and does just about whatever she can to keep up with her older siblings.  We love you, little lady. Here she is declaring her one-ness in all her caked-glory.

The week's happenings....

It's been a fairly normal week around here without much new to report. Here's a quick recap of what's been going on lately:

• Last weekend we got to see our nephew and his super parents. It was so much fun--even if both our babies preferred not to sleep much at night. :)
• The Little Mister had a couple of doctor appointments so we weren't home too much this week. He also has more visits now so he's gone a lot when we are home. The judge ruled he must see his biological parents 4 hours a week (it used to be 1). It's a lot for him and we're praying that the judge will change that.
• We had the final inspections on the new bathroom and passed everything. Ben did such a great job!
• I went shopping on Friday before one the doctor appointments. I decided to stop by Gap and try to spend some of my birthday money.  I haven't bought new clothes since before I was pregnant with The Princess. I very much dislike buying clothes that are not my 'regular' size but I thought I'd give it a try.  I mean, she's almost a YEAR old. And, sure enough, a pair of pre-preggers size of jeans fit. Glory, glory!!! I bought them without trying on another thing and ran out of the store.
• Today our small group from church was doing a service project by painting a new pregnancy resource center. I'm not much of a painter--in fact, Ben has banned me from any such activity in our home. And, he (the very proficient painter) has graduate school all weekend. So I volunteered to watch everyone else's kids while the rest of the group painted.  I'm much better at changing diapers and doling out pretzels than painting walls. We all have our gifts, right?

Under Construction

If you check this blog from time to time, I apologize if I'm driving you nuts. I'm searching for a background that I like. There are so many out there. It's like shoe shopping--I just can't decide. I've been changing everything around a lot until I find one I'd like to stick with. Bear with me as I try to figure this all out. Thanks for your patience!