Christmas Market

There was a little Christmas Market in Bury on Thanksgiving weekend so we went to check it out. Mainly, the kids just rode on some rides and we ate lunch. But it was a fun day out.

Christmas is Coming!

We were so excited to kick off the season, that we started on Thanksgiving.  Since we were heading to Arizona, we wanted to have our decorations up as long as we could.  And let's face it, we LOVE celebrating Jesus' birthday for as long as we can.

The Santa letter to kick off the season

Nothing like a nearly naked 3 year old hoovering to prepare for the tree

Mommy's little helper

Fake tree. Check.

Joziah grew very impatient quickly and wanted to go outside to play......

When I told him "NO", he moped around and played a game instead...totally ditching the decorating

But, then, the cheese came out!

We took a break and went outside to play...this is his favorite swing, STILL

Random photo.....one of Bella's inventions for cleaning up

The best part...The Nativity.   Joziah wanted to put everything inside of it at first.

The baby lamb is giving Jesus a kiss

Onto her bedroom Christmas Tree.  For some reason, I don't have a picture of it completed...but it was red and white this year.

Thanksgiving

I've been in a very reflective mood lately.  When Thanksgiving roles around, I know it can be cliche to think about what you are thankful for, but this year, I really gave it some deep thought.  In particular, I thought about all that God has brought me through.  I thought about the various phases of my life and all that they entailed, which brought me up to the present time, and how it has shaped me to be the person I am today.  I thought about how even though God has shaped me in so many ways, I am still this broken human who still falls short in every area, yet HE still loves me and blesses me daily.  

This year, we had a very low key Thanksgiving with just the 4 of us.  In fact, I don't even have a picture of it.  But, it was heavenly.  When you strip away all the hoopla and just spend time enjoying each other, you really realized how blessed you are.

A few memories I have about the day are as follows:

Bella and I were playing with her Barbies and talking about how some of the outfits really aren't that appropriate.  So, she came up with an idea to make a line of church clothes for the Barbies. I thought that was a clever idea and just made me smile to think that my daughter would eagerly want to do something like that.  

Bella and I talk about everything.  I pray that this openness remains throughout her life.  We talk about boys here and there and after this day of talks, she said,  "You can train me mom, because you picked a great man.  I hope my husband is just like daddy."  My heart melts.

Lastly, I spend a lot of time watching my kids interact.  This day, Joziah and Bella were sharing the blanket and space like they truly loved each other.   When I mentioned how loving it was, Joziah said,  "Yeah, and we might get a treat for being nice to each other."   So much for intrinsic motivation and true love! LOL

Hodge Podge November 2016

We often have a large group of Elk and Deer in the fields going to our house

Curt and Bella go on lots of Daughter/Daddy Dates.  They almost always include a movie, lunch and shopping.

Just another day at a play place

Selfies

New game: Googly Eyes...have to wear these silly glasses and draw stuff

Next game: Dinosaur Train