thanksgiving at the farm

love the views from my parent's house

 

 

 

we went exploring and found the Oregon Trail

Audrey made her own chocolate pie (with Grandma's help with the crust)

 

and when we got home there was a lot of naps

 

 

 

Thanksgiving 2011

making cranberry chutney

I need to apologize to my in-laws about this post. Although it was their year to host us and we spent most of our time at the Vipperman's house- somehow I didn't get any pictures there. There was just too much going on to distract me I guess. But we did have a great time visiting with Justin's siblings and eating some great food, and Marc even liked my "chicken feed" cookies.

We also saw my parents for a few hours on Friday and Saturday and that's where all these pictures came from.

"onward!"

It was a good holiday. We had two thanksgiving dinners, saw fireworks, drank java's hot chocolate, played games, saw cousins, ate rolls with honey butter, played with cousins, and I gained 3 pounds. Not kidding.

giving thanks

decorations going to Wendell with us today for my Mom's thanksgiving table

I am thankful.

-for spontaneous tea parties in our big bed with a cute little blonde girl named Audrey.

-for logging on to my blog this morning and finding a lovely surprise. Check out the post below.

-for a husband who is my best friend. Who works hard, worries about us, listens to my thoughts and opinions, plans for our future, and makes awesome french toast.

-for a sweet, tiny baby who will be making his grand entrance into our family soon, and the chance to be the one to carry him these past 8 1/2 months.

-when I hear Justin sing under his breath as he walks around the house, he only does it when he's happy.

-for our great families who continually surprises us with their strength and support, their generosity and love.

-for my Mom's pumpkin pie. (and all the rest of her cooking)

-for nights when Justin and I go to bed and then stay up another hour or more talking and laughing, and telling each other to be quiet because we're going to wake up Audrey.

-for changing leaves, falling snow, bright sunlight and quiet evenings.

-for the moments when Audrey randomly looks up from her coloring book, or her baby doll, or her blocks and says "momma, I love you."

-in short: my husband, my children, my family, my faith, my circumstances
my life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

thanksgiving round up

Thanksgiving was great. We stayed at Justin's parents house this year along with all of his siblings and their children. It was definately a full house. We watched football, talked about our kids and watched our kids play together. There was also a trip to Wendell so Audrey could see her other grandparents. We're lucky to have our parents live so close to each other.

We saw the fireworks at 'Christmas in the Night-time Sky' in Twin and did some shopping. We ate pumpkin waffles. And as is usually the case, we stayed up late into the night talking and laughing. The first night Lyric and Ariane and I traded wardrobe and sewing tips.

The second night was spent around the game table, talking about old family stories and at one point Justin was laughing so hard that he was literally crying.

I'm pretty sure a great time was had by all. Thanks to Justin's Mom and Dad for hosting, and to his siblings for just being themselves. It was fun to catch up. And Lyric- thanks for the fabric. I now have another skirt to add to Audrey's Christmas stash.

"live in thanksgiving daily"

Alma 34:38

cupcakes my daughter good food health my Mom's pies

great friends warm beds faith blogs opportunites to grow

leftover turkey sandwiches my best friend Justin reliable car

parents good books pearl stud earrings traditions

Happy Thanksgiving

Holiday Weekend

So I was a little nervous to have Justin home from work for 5 days straight. I mean, I love having him home, but Audrey and I don't do much exciting stuff during the day and I was afraid that most of the weekend would be spent just looking at each other wondering what to do now. But, I've been pleasantly surprised and we've had a great time. After coming home from my parent's house on Thursday so we'd be home for our anniversary on Friday we've actually stayed pretty busy:

• We slept in both Friday and Saturday morning.
• Justin put the lights up on our house, they look great and he's not even finished yet.
• We put up Justin's Grandpa's small Christmas tree in front of the big window in the den.
• Justin and I celebrated 5 years together with a nice dinner and our first time (ever!) hiring a babysitter. That was almost as big of an event as our anniversary. Hello, my name is Becky and I am an over-protective Mom.
• And, he surprised me with roses that I've been smelling all weekend.
• We received our Christmas cards that we ordered last week. Watch your mailboxes, cause they're cute.
• We purchased a big Christmas tree for the living room and drove it home at great peril half-hanging out of our trunk.
• We did A LOT of eating and cooking. As always.
• Audrey learned to whistle. Sort of.
• We've watched about 5 Christmas movies on tv. I love tv movies. There are times that I'd never think to put in a movie but we turn the channel and all of a sudden I'm watching Home Alone while baking rolls.
• We went to the Boise Botanical Gardens to see their "Garden A-Glow" light show. Awesome. Audrey was in heaven.
• According the the count on our camera I took 183 pictures. Typical
  

So, since posting 183 pictures in one post isn't smart, I'll break it up and I'll start with the food. We all know that's the most important anyway. My Mom sent us home with LOADS of leftovers. Turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, califlower in cheese sauce, and two kinds of pie.


I also roasted my very first turkey

And made Justin carve it

We tried a new roll recipe

And on Saturday Justin said he was craving sugar cookies

This is Justin's "tie-dyed" cookie. I told him it was marbled, he swears it's tie-dyed.

Audrey woke up from her nap to find us still frosting cookies

And helped herself to a few

And- as of today I've finished the NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) 30 Posts in 30 Days challenge. Woo Hoo!

Happy Turkey Day!

I'd post a little more but right now I'm too busy shoveling my Mom's "posh" pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream into my mouth. Hope your Thanksgiving is a great one!

I'm loving that pomegranates are in season right now.

So is Audrey.

Isn't she gorgeous??

Also- how is it that I always seem to give her things that will stain her clothes when she's wearing white? And- you can see the rug that I'm getting from 'Santa' in the background. Shhh..don't tell me, I want to be surprised Christmas morning.

Today we're doing laundry and cleaning, getting ready to head to my parents house a.k.a. "the farm" tomorrow for Thanksgiving. I'm also watching all the Thanksgiving cooking episodes on Food Network and drooling like crazy. I'm so ready for my Mom's yummy food. Plus, last night Justin and I purchased our first turkey that I will be attempting to prepare this weekend. I've always wanted to try and the best part of Thanksgiving is all the leftovers, so we're making sure that we've got plenty.