Thanksgiving on the Lake

This year we went to my Mom's house in South Alabama for Thanksgiving.  My brother and his family came as well.  We headed out to my Mom's "sweetheart's" lake house to celebrate Thanksgiving.

It was an outdoor affair

Lots of food, wine, juice boxes, and conversation

Her first Thanksgiving

Then the fun really began

Pulling wagons and swinging on swings

Checking out the local wildlife

Driving around

Simple smiles

Football kicks between pine tree "goals"

Boat rides

Family photos

Even time for naps

The kids also enjoyed the zip line across the lake. It starts out 40 feet high and goes across the entire lake.  I did it once.  Enough said.

And then, it was dark.

Time for the biggest bonfire ever....

Thanks to these two who planned it all!

More cousin fun

Watching in amazement....before the s'more eating began

and then it was day two...

time to share our thanksgiving

how fun is it to feed seagulls

outdoor cousin breakfast

Having CHRISTmas too?!

Burning off calories

we found the softest grass EVER!

We even took time for school

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving...the older my kids get, the more quickly the days seem to pass.  I treasured our family time....and was so thankful all 4 of our kids were home for this year!

One year ago today....

My Call to Love: A Thanksgiving to Remember!: (click to read)

Remembering one year ago tonight...when we first saw Florie's face....and realized SHE was to be our DAUGHTER. It seems so long ago, and it seems like yesterday.

Our first look....11 months old

To our first update when 17 months old

To our spunky LT now at almost 29 months old

Whom we have known for 7 months now

Orphans are easier to ignore before you

 know their names. They are easier to 

ignore before you see their faces. It is

 easier to pretend they're not real before

 you hold them in your arms. But once 

you do, everything changes. 

--David Platt Radical

How true. An orphan no more.  Her name is Florie, and she is well loved.  She loves well too.  Praises and thanks to GOD for connecting us, ONE YEAR AGO.

Thanksgiving Week and FREE time

Happy Thanksgiving Week!  We had our first week with NO after school activities. As much as I look forward to that, it always takes a week or two to get "used" to being fully at home again. We have had a lot of messes, and chaos, and not really getting our chores done.....as we adjust to the new normal.  We had a family meeting to discuss hopes/plans for the holiday season, and to serve as a reminder for being respectful and mindful of others in our home and community.  One of my friends recently reminded me of a comment that when your child is 5, they seem to be 5 going on 15.  BUT, when they are 15, they are 15 going on 5.  So, with a lot of patient reminding, hopefully we can keep our eyes focused where they need to be this season.  Love God, and love your neighbor.  I really do not need any more details than that until we all get THAT down really well!

Also caught up a bit on our "memories." I am a packrat by nature, and with 4 kids, I might eventually qualify to be on Hoarders if I do not stick to following the Flylady and my goal to not save everything. The boys and I decided a few years ago to take pictures of their works we were not keeping so we could show their kids one day.  So, we played a bit of catch up yesterday....they loved it!

Ah....I hear Christmas music in the background.  That means my sweetie is ready to help get everything out to start decorating. Florie's first Christmas, praise God!

Jack weaving at school, with a little help from Daddy!

Thanksgiving "feast"

Waiting at Starbucks for a friend

Her favorite activities...wearing Jack's boots and "helping" Moma clean

Documenting our favs

Artwork from last summer, age 6

Such a handsome guy now!

Ben....my animal lover

Flower for Mom

Memphis Soccer....gotta' love it!

We spent this weekend in Memphis at a soccer tournament for Ben and Alex.  The soccer complex was AMAZING!  One of the biggest I have seen so far.  The boys had amazing games and great competition.  Their teams BOTH made it into the semi-finals at the same time on Sunday, so William and I were running back and forth between the fields.  They BOTH made it to the FINALS, and BOTH ended up tying (did I mention their finals games were also at the same time?)!  They BOTH went to a PK shootout which can always go either way.  The winds were blowing like CRAZY all weekend, with gusts up to 45 mph.  Ben's team won his PK shootout and were the champions, and Alex's team came in second in their match and were the finalists. I am so proud of their hard work and the wonderful coaches that we have.  They work the boys hard but also help build their self esteem and confidence at the same time!  What a way to "finish" the fall season!

Ben as captain

Picking goals

Ben's team gets a pep talk after their semi-final match

Alex throwing in

Calming the ball

Alex's team's pre game talk

Trying to play in 40 mph winds is hard when you are only 26 pounds!

Good time to just roll down the hill

Over and over

My favorite shot...cheering on the team during the PK shootout

WINNERS!

AH....what a little bling will do for one's confidence

My two big guys!

Mommy and Daddy "bling"

Soccer is over, so sad!

Alex and just what he needed!

SIX MONTHS HOME TODAY!

Six months home!  It seems like a lot longer than that!  Florie has done really well.  She is a trooper with soccer practices and games, school activities, errands, lunches, meetings....she loves to GO!  She also enjoys home but still has some anxiety at home. She wants to go over who is home, when is night night, when is bye bye, who is going bye bye, who is leaving, coming ,going, staying....etc.  Usually I can answer a short answer and she is back to playing, but this past week, we had a babysitter on Saturday, a friend who came to help a bit on Monday, and bible study on Tuesday(where she goes to "school" for 2 hours and just loves it!).  All THREE of those things in a row have increased her anxiety.  Right now I cannot leave the room or really her SIGHT without her crying for me, frantically.  Some of this is her concern I might leave (although we never leave without directly saying BYE BYE), some is being two years old, and some is CONTROL.  Nonetheless, it has been a challenging week, and I pray it will be short lived.  Please pray for patience and grace for me....

Now to my favorite part, likes and dislikes!

LIKES:

Halloween candy :)
Leaf piles
Coloring
Book reading
Playing outside
Playing bears with William and the boys
Stroller rides
DOGS!
Yogurt
Soy milk
Nutella
BBQ air popped chips
Orange juice

Dislikes:

Vegetables (still)
Sticky fingers
Putting the tops back on her markers
Butterflies
Gloves..

Some recent pics:

Hanging at a chilly soccer game...her choice of clothes :)

Loved the pose

Passing time while Mommy unloads the dishwasher

In the middle of the mix....where she loves to be