Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Thanksgiving!  I can easily say that I am most thankful for my husband, kids, and all of you! You all make my life so fun in different ways, and I'm continually thankful to God for bringing you all into my life. I'm also thankful that Claire loves her school so much.  We went for her thanksgiving feast this week and before the feast the kids got to participate in a little skit with the teachers.

Miss Stephanie read the book, Run, Turkey, Run! By Diane Mayr. And it was the students' job to tell the Turkey to run.

My sweet little preschooler in her turkey hat.

And I'm thankful for you too, Claire!

For the feast, I was in charge of roasting a turkey breast.  That only made me want Thanksgiving dinner (my favorite meal of the year) all the sooner! So I decided to roast my own turkey and do a family feast this weekend.  We will be going to a friend's house for Thanksgiving this year, and I wanted to be sure I had some leftovers.  So on Saturday, I invited some friends over for game night and we had quite a feast. I made turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin bread, apple pie, and I cut up some canned cranberry jelly! It was delicious.

Will is thankful for pumpkins!

And he's thankful for shoes! Will loves to go out, so if he's really upset you can just say, "Will, where are your shoes?" and he will forget whatever he is crying about to run and find shoes and then try to put them on. Of course that means that you are now going out...even if just to piddle around the yard.  

Will taking a spin in my shoes!

On Sunday, Claire and I were doing some coloring and watching football. (Go Bengals!)  Coloring is obviously really tiring work because I was the first to doze off and then Claire perched back on my chest again for a nap. My nap only lasted through halftime, but Claire wanted to keep napping so I moved her to the other end of the couch.

We had the painters and drywall guys here this week to fix our walls and paint the bathrooms! It's so exciting to see our bathroom get closer to finished!  The shower glass guys will come on Friday and then all we have to do are the lights, mirrors, window treatments, and put the toilet back in...I can't wait to have a toilet so close again.

Since we've been home bound by contractors, we've been doing lots of playing in the back yard.  The kids love to kick the ball and to be chased around the yard.

Will likes to carry the ball around like it's a football.

Run, Will, Run!

Claire prefers to kick as many balls as she can. I think it's so funny how she can make this sweet face...

and then this one when she is saying, "Don't take my picture!"

Shooting some hoops! Will (not pictured) is happily playing in a puddle of water, of course!

While playing, I saw Chris pull into the driveway and so did the kids.  I took this quick video since I had my phone handy:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXvBWzRcg2Q&list=UUvZhjH5sKcYzOK6sKRyqU2w
This is definitely my favorite time of day. I love to see the kids race to welcome Chris home from work.

To close, I would like to list just a few more things for which I am particularly thankful. First, for Dixie, who was with Dad during his surgery and is helping him now through his recovery.  For my sister who was able to spend time with Dixie and Dad at the hospital and then help them move back home to Northern Kentucky. And for my Mom who, thanks to her skilled nursing expertise, was able to help Sara and Dad communicate with the nurses on how to best treat and care for Dad.  And finally for my Dad, who is on the road to recovery, and for his continued progress and good spirit despite the pain and discomfort that he is feeling.

I try to remember to thank God for all of his answered prayers, because it can be so easy to move on to the next request on the list in anxiety without remembering to look back in comfort to see reassurance of HIS love and proof that HE is listening.

I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Bethie