So thankful

I  really like Thanksgiving.  I'm not sure why I like it so much - the food is great, but I wouldn't choose turkey and all as my favorite meal or anything.  The meal prep is always a little crazy at the end, but maybe the chaos of too many cooks in the kitchen is part of the goodness - it is certainly an integral part of all my Thanksgiving memories.  Maybe it's just the being together, celebrating, and enjoying good food without much agenda.   I love the attitude of the day - being thankful, encouraging our kids to be thankful, and loving our family and friends who are gathered around.  I love that we have to use our grandmothers' recipes and that everyone has a favorite dish that they look forward to, and that even the jello has tradition and memories and meaning.  I love that both of our extended families celebrate with love and a lot of laughter around the table.

We got to host this year, and we were so excited to put in all the leaves for Great-Grandma's dining table and use our wedding gift dishes and the giant roasting pan that Patrick gave me years ago, when we still lived in tiny places that didn't even have an oven big enough to roast a chicken, let alone a 20 lb turkey, in expectation of being able to do this someday.  i was a little nervous about being in charge of the important stuff - turkey, stuffing, gravy - but it all came out great.  And even though getting ready was a little hectic (especially after Finn was mysteriously very fussy ALL DAY the day before) it was so nice to be home during the day - Molly got a reasonable nap in her own bed, and I could take care of a still extra fussy baby in his own room when I needed to.  And it is just so fun to have a crowd of people that we love in our home. =)

I didn't take many pictures - sorry!  But we had a great time and great food.  I am thankful for lots and lots of things.  We were thankful for my mom's help while she was here, helping us get ready even though she didn't get to stay for turkey.  We are thankful to be so near Patrick's family, and to get to celebrate with them.  I am thankful for Patrick, and Elijah and Molly and Finn.  I am thankful for all the many blessings God has given us this year, and for a day to celebrate being grateful.

Our dining room, ready for Thanksgiving, with the new light Patrick put up.

Making our first turkey -the giant bird goes in!  We made a 27 1/2 lb turkey.  I was surprised it even fit!  And it was so yummy.

Molly and Elijah made lists of things that they are thankful for - I thought they were fun.

Molly:  I am thankful for Finn, Mommy, Daddy, Elijah, my"friends" in my bed (her stuffed animals and baby dolls), and Jessie, my toy (from Toy Story).

Elijah:  I am thankful for Nana, my turkey, Mom, Finn, Dad, Molly, God and Jesus, Love, (his friends at school), puppies and kitties.

Celebrating today ...

Wishing a very happy birthday to my daddy today!  We love you so much!

And thankful for all those who have and do serve our country, and the families who love, support, and sacrifice for them.  Thank you, to Papa, Grandpa, and our many friends and family who have served.  And a special thank you to Uncle Cameron and the men who serve with him in the Marine Corps around the world, to Nana and Grandpa and Uncle John and Aunt Linde who loved and supported him through deployment and war, and to Aunt Amanda who loves him enough to marry into the service and sacrifice of being a Marine wife.

The Horse Show

A few weeks ago, Patrick took the kids to the Pennsylvania Horse Show.  They had a great time seeing the horses, watching some equestrian events, having their faces painted, and even getting a pony ride!

Our morning

Today we are having a quiet day at home.  The kids have a cold - Molly has been a giant snotty mess for a week now, and although Elijah has been fighting it off pretty well, he was just totally worn out when we picked him up at school yesterday.  I decided that he needed a day off, too.  Finn has been a little congested and a little extra fussy, but he's eating and sleeping pretty well anyway.  Thank goodness!

Finn woke up at 7 and I fed him and changed him and we got the big kids up. It was nice to take it easy and not have to run around in hurry to get ready for school.  In that way, today is not at all typical!  The kids played a little, and I made baked oatmeal.  While it was baking, Finn went down for his first nap, and the big kids colored some pictures to send out in the mail with some photos we need to send to grandparents and aunts & uncles.  As usual, Molly lasted a lot longer than Elijah, but they both did a nice job. =)

For breakfast, we had baked oatmeal with blueberries and milk, and they both had apple juice (their favorite perk of being sick).

Molly calls this hairstyle "hello kitty" because of the one bow -
I call it "desperately keeping her hair out of her snot."

Molly did some more coloring after breakfast while Elijah played.  Then we gathered pillows and quilts and they settled down for a sick day movie - A Bug's Life, which they hadn't seen before.

yep, lots of laundry!

I fed Finn and changed his diaper (a huge poopy blow-out!) and then his clothes.  Finn and I talked and smiled together for a bit, and I put away some laundry. I didn't get as much done as I hoped, since Finn was feeling a little fussy. But I got most of it done once he got back to sleep.

all clean again!

The big kids had some more time to play (build more train tracks) while I made lunch.  They had ham & cheese pinwheels with green peppers and carrots, and tomatoes for Elijah of course.  I fed and changed Finn again while they ate.

After lunch we had the regular flurry of sending everyone to different bathrooms and getting Molly into her training pants for nap, and then it was time to read.  Molly and I read Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs! and then she got to read to herself for a few minutes while I read a chapter of Farmer Boy to Elijah.  Finn enjoys the nap time reading, too. =)  After I got both the big kids settled in, Finn and I rocked for a bit until he did that slow, sleepy blink that says he's ready to lay down.

I forgot to take any more pictures of the rest of our day.  I got a little more spray painting done - we had two nice sunny days in a row!   But I also spent some time holding Finn so he could sleep.  We tried a new recipe of creamy chicken enchiladas for dinner and they were good.  Patrick said he liked them almost as well as his new favorite dinner - baked chicken taquitos - yum!

First Snow

On Saturday we had our first snow of the year - and we got enough to get out and play in it!  The kids were so excited.  They got bundled up ...

It's a long process ...

and we still need lots of help from Mama.

What did Finn do while the big kids played outside?  Took a nap by the fire, of course.

... and went outside to play!   They built a snowman, and made snow angels, and wrestled with Daddy, and had a grand time.  Yay for snow!

Got him!

Ready for some candy!

Elijah was very excited to wear his fireman costume - not that you can tell here.

little ballerina - as ready for the cold as a ballerina can be!

the ballet bun

little fly boy - he didn't last long in his costume

We had a fun night!  Note to self: next year, get more candy!  There are a lot of kids in this neighborhood!

October pictures

Wow, it's the end of October already.  We did not get to do all the fun fall things that I meant to do - with Elijah in school five mornings a week our free time is a lot more limited, and Patrick had some traveling overnights and working weekends this month, so apple picking and the pumpkin patch just didn't happen.  Maybe next year it will be easier when Finn is a little bigger.  We have been working on some projects around the house and just trying to keep up with all the every day things that need to get done.

Today we are getting our first snow of the year, and we have a fire in the fireplace.  It's the kind of day that I want to spend cuddled on the couch napping and reading!  The costume party that we were planning to go to this afternoon is canceled because of the snow, but it will be nice to just hang out at home and play games. =)

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

piggies with lots of bows!

check out those chubby rolls!

i love baby smiles!

the kids love to talk to Finn

enjoying tummy time

Molly has become quite deliberate with her coloring lately - so focused

We took the kids to Family Reading Night at Elijah's school.  It was a fun event with fall snacks, and some teachers and parents reading aloud, and time for us to just read together.  At the end of the night, we went home with a tote bag of new books and a bunch of apples - does it get any better?  Elijah discovered the Magic Treehouse book series and he has been loving them!

silly baby face!

Happy fall!

Ha - retro blog header!  I saw this one the other day and it made me laugh, and I love the pumpkins, so I thought I would put it up again for a bit.  (It's hard to believe it's three years old!)  I hope you all are enjoying some beautiful fall weather too!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

 Today we celebrated Patrick's birthday!  We took the kids to a local township's touch-a-truck event, despite some rain, and the big kids had a great time getting to climb on and in some construction and emergency vehicles.  (Finn and I stayed in the van where it was dry.)  Afterward we met up with Bobbi & Papa and Danny's family at Five Guys for lunch.  Yay! 

Elijah and Molly made Daddy some fun cards, and gave him some cool frames to put up the pictures they draw for him in  his office.

Finn was not as excited about the hamburgers and peanuts as the rest of us.

Birthday candles in a big ol' burger.  Awesome.

Molly digs into her cheeseburger!

Finn celebrated Daddy's day with a cool motorcycle outfit.