The food all turned out delicious, but by the end of the day Pete and I were beat. Cooking that much food while attempting to keep the kids happy and entertained simply isn't easy (and maybe isn't even possible!) We decided if we do Thanksgiving on our own again we'll stick to roasting a turkey and maybe make 1 or 2 other sides, at least while the kids are young. There's a time for everything, and the stage of life we're in right now might not be the time to put on an entire Thanksgiving dinner on our own. BUT we did get to enjoy yummy leftovers the rest of the week. Almost made it worth it.
We once again got our Christmas tree from Arend Tree Farm, a family run farm that we LOVE. This year we got a tree for our family room and a small tree for the kids room to put all of their homemade ornaments on. It was in the 20's the morning we went, but we all bundled up and stayed warm enough.
I attempted to get some good pictures of the kids to give to grandparents for Christmas. I really don't enjoy getting the kids dressed up and trying to make them smile and be happy while I take pictures, because it always just ends up being frustrating and there's always at least 1 person who doesn't want to cooperate. But looking back at these pictures, I'm glad I made the effort. I don't think I'll ever be a photographer for young children though. I just don't have the patience.
Don't be fooled. This was the mood Will was in for the most of the pictures:
We had the kids exchange names with each other and they each worked on a homemade gift for the person whose name they drew. Even though this meant more work for me (until they get older and can do it on their own), it was really fun to sit down with each of them, to brainstorm what their person might like and how we could make it. These aren't the best pictures, but here is what each of them did:
Joe helped make a sock bunny for Will. He picked out the socks and helped stuff the bunny.
Will picked Dan's name, so I took over on this one. I sewed this art case with spots for colored pencils, markers and a notebook. Will sat on my lap for a lot of the sewing, so I guess he participated in a way.
Dan chose John's name. This gift was only semi homemade. Dan decorated the label to put on the container, then we bought a Lego set to go in it. A traveling Lego case.
Darn, this picture turned out very poorly, but John picked Joe's name, and he did a lot of this himself. He made a tool belt for Joe, complete with a buckle and many pockets for his various toys and collections. I took apart an old backpack I found at a thrift store, then John sewed the pieces together and wrote the labels. John really wanted to do all the sewing and was pretty proud of himself. He's now working on a jean quilt for his bed.
And my homemade gift for the boys and Pete were microwaveable heating pads. I used old flannel shirts and filled them with wheat from our food storage. We've certainly gotten a lot of use out of them this winter! It's been a cold one.
A couple days before we left for Seattle, Pete and I went cross country skiing on one of our favorite single track trails. It had snowed 5 or 6 inches just a couple days before, so we thought we had better take advantage of it. We went on a loop that was probably... 7? miles or so. It took a couple hours and I was completely beat by the end. I've been exercising during this pregnancy, but not much more than 30 minutes, so this was a push for me. It sure was beautiful though. We didn't use lights, there was just enough light coming from the moon through the clouds. A great start to our last Michigan winter!
1 comment:
Those pictures of the boys are beautiful Jess! Totally worth it. Those boys are yours are just getting cuter by the minute! Miss you guys!!
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