Thankful Month

Sometimes it is hard thinking of family night lessons but not around the holidays. All month we tried to have family night lessons about being thankful. One Monday I told my kids we could make a thankful tree. Then that afternoon I noticed a kid movie was playing at the dollar theater and I thought for sure they would want to go to the movie for family night instead of making a thankful tree. So I asked them if they wanted to go to the movie instead and surprisingly they wanted to stay home and and make a thankful tree. It is times like that when I realize they are more happy spending time at home as a family and keeping up traditions then going places. Since the twins have been born, I always feel bad that we don't get out and do as much and go to as many "fun" things. I'm learning that my kids don't really care about all of that. They care about being together and have fun doing things together at home.

So we made our thankful tree. Every got a handful of leaves to write the the things they are thankful for. Then we displayed the tree on the fridge for the rest of the month.

Lynnlee came down with a weird stomach bug this past week. The night before Thanksgiving we took it easy and us girls had a mini girls night upstairs while the boys were playing the Wii downstairs. I love the time I get to spend with my mom and sisters and I'm so thankful for my girls and the future girls time we will have.

Thanksgiving morning was beautiful. I'm so grateful to live on this beautiful earth and enjoy the scenery on my morning runs. I used to hate waking up early to exercise. When we only had James and Lynnlee I would push them in the jogging stroller later in the morning and never had to wake up early. After I had Kaden I had to bite the bullet and wake up early if I wanted to exercise. Now I love waking up early. It is nice to have that time to myself every morning.

My assignments for Thanksgiving dinner were rolls and pie. I made Lion House rolls with the official recipe and tried to roll them the same way. I think they turned out pretty good. I'm so thankful my mom taught me how to bake! I made gluten free banana cream pie and it was pretty good too, especially for being gluten free. If you eat gluten free then you would understand this.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house. The place settings were beautiful and you would never guess that this is all disposable. Why did it take so long for someone to design disposable dishes that look like China? I'm so thankful for things that make life easier!

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and spent with my parents, Betsy, Aunt Pat, and my Aunt Kathy and her family.

My kids sat at the kids table next to us.

On any normal day people eat lunch around noon and dinner around 6:00.  So why is it that Thanksgiving dinner is normally scheduled right in the middle. Growing up I would be so hungry at lunch time. If I ate something for lunch then I wouldn't be hungry for Thanksgiving dinner. If I didn't eat anything at lunch then I was starving by the time dinner was served and was miserable until then. Thankfully we have changed that in my family. We ate Thanksgiving dinner at lunch time. The other benefits of eating at a normal time is that you have the whole rest of the day to rest, watch football, go for a walk, eat seconds at dinner time, and lots of time to eat pie. 

We went for a walk after dinner. It helped move things along so there would be room for pie later. The minis were cozy in their snowsuits in the stroller.

Sienna even fell asleep and had her own built in sleep mask.

Lynnlee and Kaden were spoiled and pulled in the wagon by Aunt Betsy.

Lynnlee and Kaden hit the sack early that night but James got to stay up and play with cousins. These four were hilarious sitting at their table playing Chinese Checkers so I had to get a picture of them. They all put on their best silly faces.

The view was beautiful the morning of Black Friday. Betsy and I went walking and I had to keep stopping to snap some more shots.

 

We usually see a movie the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year we went on Black Friday to see Big Hero 6. We loved it and I totally recommend it. Everyone sat through it well, including the minis. My mom and Betsy came with. We had this crew in our car and I couldn't help but take a picture of everyone because they looked like they could all be ours. Lily is 13 so I would have had her when I was 16. Ha ha, I was totally incapable of being a mom at age 16. Lucy and James could be twins (they were born 2 days apart and they definitely look like twins). I can't imagine actually having 7 kids right now.

I'm so thankful for my family. I am so grateful that I get to be with them for eternity!