Happy Thanksgiving

We started off our week with over 2 feet of snow!  Monday the sun finally broke through and the kids spent the afternoon playing in the snow and building a giant snowman! 

Monday night we were off to 4H where Elam got to hold one of the flags for pledges!

Back at home, we scrambled to get school wrapped up early for a short week due to Thanksgiving,  Lucky was very insistent upon being a part of it all.

Wednesday, with school behind us and Thanksgiving yet ahead, it was a no school day for us and for Hopkins, and also a day we had Bristol, which meant we also got to have Payten with us and that was so much fun for the big girls.  The kids got in a good 3 hours of play together outside, in addition to all of the play inside.  It was a great day!

Thursday morning, we were up and preparing food to bring to Thanksgiving lunch at Grandpa and Grandma's house while the kids watched the Macy's parade.  When it came time to leave, they watched the parade on Daddy's phone and finished it up after we arrived, as the station was unavailable on Grandpa & Grandma's television.

Some pre-lunch shenanigans ensued...

And then we enjoyed a Thanksgiving lunch with Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Mike, Aunt Kerri, Aubrey & Wesley.  Following lunch and some down time to clean up and digest, we switched holidays and celebrated Christmas as well, due to Grandpa and Grandma leaving for Florida for the winter soon after.  It felt weird to do Christmas so soon, but as soon as the presents started being handed out, the kids adjusted quickly to the idea and were thrilled with what they opened.

Friday, we spent the day with Opa, Oma, Aunt Becky and Francesca and enjoyed our time together.  The sunset that night was gorgeous!

Sunday afternoon, we had a funeral visitation for Daddy's Uncle Bob, who passed away on Thanksgiving, so we got in a little more family time to round out the Thanksgiving weekend.

Now, we look ahead to a few weeks of regular life with some holiday fun sprinkled in before we jump into Christmas!

Snow Storm?

 Last week was packed with more than we could handle.  

Monday night, Ezri discovered that Wiley was not acting himself, and upon inspection I agreed, so it was off to the emergency veterinary hospital where it was confirmed he was indeed not ok.  He was in GI stasis, where his GI system had stopped working, which is very serious and often fatal for a rabbit.  In addition, his temperature was very low, 5 degrees too low.  This found us awaiting x-ray results to check for blockage and confirm suspicions and then we had to leave him at the hospital for the next 36 hours while he slowly came back around.  We were thrilled to be able to pick him back up on Wednesday morning and have him home again.  So many people were praying for Wiley's recovery and we fully believe in the miracle that was granted us.

To make the week even more crazy, it started snowing mid-week and just didn't stop.  

The predicitions we heard for up to 14 inches we initially laughed at, but we far surpassed it!  To the point that we had all of the local schools closed on Friday!  The kids loved it!

Because of the snow day, we also did not have MOPS, so we took advantage of a full day free of school and other obligations to set up the Christmas tree.  This also meant it was time for the kids to open their new ornaments.  This year, I couldn't decide because it was a year so full of big moments, that each kid got two special ornaments.

Tierney loved baking this year, and was also very aware of people's needs and ready with a hug, so her ornaments reflected that.

Elam started Kindergarten and learned to ride his 2-wheel bike without training wheels, so his ornaments reflected that.

Ezri preached a message at church and played on a soccer team this year, so her ornaments refected that.

Alora played on a soccer team and showed a turkey for the first time this year, so her ornaments reflected that.

We wait to decorate the tree with other ornaments until the kids have put their new ornaments on,

Then I set the kids loose on decorating the rest of the tree and we spent considerable time talking about some of the ornaments and had a few emotional moments as we found ornaments from Great Grandma's that we had each chosen.

With the snow outside getting deeper and the tree up, the Christmas music was also playing and moods were cheerful all around.

We tracked the snow with a yardstick when we remembered.  Friday morning we opened our door into this.

Later that afternoon, it was deeper yet!

Our big pine tree was a hit during this snow storm as it created a fabulous fort under all the droopy branches and snow!

While we weren't quite ready for all that snow so soon, it was quite beautiful and certainly ushered in a holiday cheer.