My Favorite Picture

 

 I don't have a lot of time but just thought I'd show you my favorite picture from our trip to Illinois!

Isn't that the face you want to see every time your child opens a present??!!! He was so happy Aunt Angel gave him a set of Hexbugs.

 Actually, this might be a favorite. We don't see our cousins enough, but the four of them were so sweet with each other.

 Come to think of it....I just adore this picture. Will doesn't just snuggle up with anyone. He remembered Grampy as soon as he saw him. He sat in Grampy's lap a lot.

This picture just cracks me up. Do you see anyone familiar???

I'll be back next week with a real recap of our trip!

In the meantime...have a great weekend! We're celebrating Christmas with our other cousins this weekend.

November Cell Phone Dump

 Why yes, I did let my four year old hang on to the side of the car while I drove it down the driveway :)

 Don't worry...she survived!

 And so did he!

 This is the look I get anytime I say "Will, what are you doing?"

 Our cousins sent us this picture!! They had some super exciting news to share!!! They're going to have a new brother or sister! Whoop! Whoop!!

 "Mommy, send daddy this picture so he knows I want this book for Christmas!"

 oh my.

 I found this sweet picture when I was unpacking my Christmas stuff. I texted it to Emma. Was she not the cutest thing EVER??!!!

 Dear Ryan, Don't ever send me a sweet picture like this again when I'm trying to have a few moments away from our kids. All it makes me do is miss them and then all I want to do it come home and it totally defeats the purpose of me trying to have some alone time.

 McKenna's preschool class at church carried in Operation Christmas Child Shoe boxes during one of our services. I forget the exact count, but we collected over 1200 this year!

 This is what happens when you have a big brother and your the little sister. He gets to play the game while you sit on the floor and press the peddle for him. The funny thing is...she liked it.

 A baseball nutcracker. He just had to have it. But he didn't get it. It's a tough life.

She doesn't believe in him, but she sure does love him!

And so the season begins....Tree Lighting

 We packed up the gang and headed out to our first Christmas event of the year....our annual tree lighting. Clearly Will was thrilled to be heading out into the chilly night air to stand around with a bunch of strangers and wait for a random tree full of lights to turn on. He must think we're crazy.

 The kids ran into Sparky, who was kind enough to reveal his real face to McKenna so she wouldn't be terrified.

 Just a few of our neighbors...Mandy, Angie & Taryn

 We love these sweet girls and their mom!

Ellie, Mandy & Kate

 This is Will's "what on earth are we doing and why do I look like a bear???" look!

 They were handing out helium balloons and kids kept losing them, so Will was entertained by watching them float off into the sky.

 McKenna with her bff, Gwen.

 Christian with his bff, Carter.

 Yay...Daddy finally found the boy a balloon.

 The big boys got a balloon too, but it quickly became their punching bag.

 PopPop was there to make sure Will didn't lose his balloon!

This boy can hardly wait for Christmas!

Grandmom and Chrish

McKenna had a bird's eye view.

There's nothing sweeter than little girls and their daddy's!

My snuggle bug wasn't into it.

So blessed to have this crew as neighbors!

 Watching the tree lights come on!

 Hooray for Christmas!

 Will was thrilled with the lights after waiting for an hour for the tree to be lit.

 I love driving through town and seeing the tree shining from our town square.

 These 2 girls kill me! ha! They never stop talking.

Let the Christmas season begin!

Thankful

I am especially thankful this year for the healing power that God chose to exercise in Will's life. It still crosses my mind every time I wash Will's hands and every time I hold his hand when we're walking somewhere. I'm thankful every time I change his clothes or give him a bath and I see his perfectly clear skin on his tummy and under his arms. God has been faithful to bring about healing to Will's body.

I'm thankful that after years and years of praying Christian finally has a peace about him. He is mature and extremely responsible. He is a leader among his friends and is the guy everyone wants to sit with at lunch. Yet he barely seems to notice the attention. He has a deep rooted conviction about what is right and what is wrong. This year he has become very interested in God's word. He won't let me skip a night of devotions. He told me it's one of his favorite things everyday. 

 We're going to get that little gap in between his teeth fixed at some point, but I actually adore it. And those freckles...melt my heart.

I'm thankful this year for the bright mind and joyful spirit the Lord has given McKenna. She is so full of life it just bubbles out of her. Even when she's whiny and fussy she's endearing. I'm so thankful that she's around to be my side kick and help me take care of all these boys. She is either singing or talking all day long.

I am so very, very thankful for these three treasures.

Thank you Lord!

I'm also thankful for the rare moments when all three of them look at the camera!

Only my mom could capture this moment!

My Little Pilgrim

 I went to McKenna's preschool on Monday and found this cute little Pilgrim girl.

 She took my picture and we had a fun lunch together.

 She was sooooooo excited!!!

 This was not posed at all, which means I probably shouldn't have been taking pictures while we were praying...but come on. Could that be any cuter??? Look at her sweet little folded hands.

 Her little turkey was made out of daddy's hand (orange), mommy's hand (red) and McKenna's hand (yellow).

 McKenna's BFF

 

 The Pilgrims and the Native American's are still friends :)

Now I've got to share a funny story of one of my "epic mommy failure" moments.

My mom sent the kids Thanksgiving Day cards and they each got $1.00 in their card. We are going to be traveling for the holiday, so I said "McKenna, why don't you save that dollar and we can go in a gas station on our trip and you can pick out a special snack."

And McKenna says, "Oh that's a good idea. I was going to give it to church for the poor kids, but I think I want a snack instead. That's a good idea mom."

Oh my. Her heart is so precious.

Happy Thanksgiving!