Thanksgiving Weekend.

 Our weekends have been busy and super full but that means our hearts are full too!

Thanksgiving was spent with family once again around Mom Lapps spread out thanksgiving table!  The Lapps gathered around for turkey and sweet potatoes!  Cake and pumpkin pie were eaten for dessert!

It was so fun seeing my older nephews again and then playing games later that night with Mike's siblings. Ashlyn was begging to do some Black Friday shopping but guess what????  No stores opened until Friday morning.  I couldn't believe it!  I mean that's great!  I try every year to keep Thanksgiving .... thanksgiving and not let it run into Christmas.  The day after thanksgiving, we then think all things Christmas.  We finished up the Four Up and Four Down games at Mom Lapps before heading home.  We watched some football and fell asleep in our cozy house!

The next morning, Ashlyn was up super early to help Lena clean offices and then they made a few shopping stops.  Matthew went with his friends shopping early!  Mike went to work and Austin and I stayed home!  I just need some time to get into the Christmas mode and that usually happens the day after Christmas!

Thanksgiving Weekend started with school parties!

The kids dressed up in Camo for school!  Hunter and Adrian came home with us after school and I had then smash the pumpkins out in the field!

Football is the sport these days!

The next day ... we gathered around our kitchen table for our annual Family Thanksgiving Meeting.  We wrote down some things we are thankful for.  Then some goals!  It's just a good time to reflect and look ahead as a family!

Then we headed to Mommy Lapps!

I love these people!!!!

The Lapps gathered around!

Mom Lapp makes yummy foods!

The day ended so pretty!  We are so blessed!

We home to sleep and then do some early shopping and then pack up for the cabin to spend the rest of the weekend with my family!

They blew so many huge bubbles!

These girls braided their hairs together.

I made some chocolate covered peanut butter crackers.

Colson suited up and went out with his dad!  How fun!

There were lots of hunters going in and out of the woods and Megan shot a six point!  Way to go!

We ate more good food and cooked dear heart.  Monday came too soon and it was time to clean up and head back home!  Family weekends like these are priceless and packed with so many memories!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Football Weekend in Minnesota!

We spent the weekend in Minnesota a few weeks back because it was our annual football weekend getaway!  We started this nine years ago, skipped one year but we have been to different stadiums each trip!  We look forward to it so much!  It's a time of fun, football, food and a weekend we get to be with John and Kathy!  

This year we booked a flight to Minnesota and watched the Vikings VS Cowboys.  The Cowboys swooped the Vikings and we were totally fine with that!  Go Cowboys!  Each year, we always go to a different stadium but we always watch else the Cowboys or the Chiefs!!!!  

 The flight was super early in the morning and we left the house at 2:30 AM.

We drank our first holiday coffees together!  It was so cold when we arrived but there was a busy breakfast place not far from the motel that we ate at both mornings.

The Vikings have an indoor stadium so we were not cold at the game which was nice because it was freezing the minute we hit the streets!  We love this weekend!

Kathy always does the research of what the city is known for or favorite foods.  This time it was the Juicy Lucy Burger.  And we walked quickly through a park to see the water falls and huge icicles!

So pretty!

The game was so fun!  Great crowd around us and good seats!

We went to the largest mall in America while we were in the city.  It really was large!  An amusement park was inside of it!  Kids were taking rides!

I usually didn't like to shop with Mike.  He window shops and doesn't buy anything.  If I take the time to go shopping ... I'm going to buy something!  Over the years, it has been really fun to shop with Mike though!  We now window shop a lot!!!!

Carlos bakery was in the mall.  We tried a lobster roll pastry!  Yummy!

There was a Lego store in the mall that had huge Lego displays.  This dragon was made in all Legos.

We went out to a lovely fine dining restaurant for steak and Lobster!  Divine!

I love this man!!!!

The city did have a sky walk that we used a lot!  It was 11 miles long and went from one building into the next.  We actually walked to the football through these "tunnels"!

We went to a sky deck to view the city.

The sky walk went through many coffee shops and little holiday shops.  We bought another winter puzzle as a souvenir.

Game day foods!

I've never been to a large waterfall and this really cool!

Before we knew it, the weekend was over and we headed back to the kids on Monday!

Weekend getaways are so fun for us!  It gives us a time to focus on each other and have fun!

I love you, Mike!

Ladies Retreat!

It's November and the holidays will soon be here.  I can almost feel that holiday rush come over me but I really do hope to start on those holiday gifts and wishlists soon!  I also really hope that this holiday season will be a simple season of peace and loving and spending a lot of time with the family instead of all the rush and gift wrapping and hustle.  I'm not sure how to balance all of that at times with a growing family and lots of fun things to do all around us but I'm going to try to celebrate both Thanksgiving and Christmas with a heart of worship to my KING!

And here's what I mean when I see a growing family and fun things to do!  Austin was excited to go to basketball tryouts again and we can't wait to cheer his team on!!!!! 

We had a Ladies Retreat with the church ladies on Thursday - Saturday and it was so good!  Some ladies were asked to share their life story.  Others shared on marriage.  We laughed and cried!  Priscilla had a makeup morning that was such fun!  We ate yummy foods and drank good coffee!

Honeybrook Community Church has been our home church for over seven years now but the past two years, many families joined our church family and it's been wonderful to get to know these ladies better!

I am so blessed to have these ladies as my friends!

Mike was home with the Littles while I was at the retreat.  Because the retreat was only a 1/2 mile down the road for me, I came home to sleep and get the kids on and off of the bus!  Perfect!

Ashlyn and Mike blew the lawn leaves away on Saturday while Austin was at a birthday party.  I got home late afternoon from the retreat and hoped on the mower!  I sat a lot over the past few days listening, worshiping Jesus and playin the fish bowl game with the ladies into late at night, so it felt good to do some work outside!  Hadassah came over that night and watched a movie with the Littles as we all just relaxed here at home.  She missed Jer when he hunts but we love that she comes to our house to hang out!

Sunday morning, Mike and I both taught Sunday school.  Matthew was at youth cabin having a good time!  We watched some football and relaxed in the afternoon and then attended the "I Heard the Bells" premiere at Sight and Sound!  It was a wonderful date night and a great Christmas movie!!!!

There is much going on these days and I love a Monday morning here at home, getting the house cleaned up, bathrooms cleaned over and some time writing down some shopping lists and looking at our week ahead!

God has been so good to me and I can feel his love and peace!  I am beginning to think of the upcoming holidays more and more and I am excited!  Ashlyn and Austin both made Christmas lists at Meg and Mels house last night and they had twinkles shining in their eyes this morning when we talked about Thanksgiving plans and then Christmas!  Austin said he loves Christmas and his birthday the best!!!!

The sun is shining!  The hear is officially turned on beginning this morning and the dryer is drying our freshly laundered clothes!

Have a blessed week!

Warm days of November.

There has been day after day that are just gorgeous.  Each warmer day, I think OK this is going to be the last warm day before it gets freezing cold.  

Well, today was another warmer fall day and it was delightful! 

Ashlyn forgot her water bottle for school and so after my morning walk, I drove to school to give it to her.  The trees along the driveway are still full of color!

I grabbed groceries at Strasburg Market Place today and because it was in the 70's, I also grabbed an acie bowl.  I was there in short sleeves and flip flops!

So many leaves were blown away today!  In short sleeves!

Daylight Savings Time has us all rubbing our eyes and yawning right after supper.  I love how it's now day light when I wake up the children for school but having it pitch dark at 5:30 PM is not my fav!

I can't believe that the holiday season is just around the corner.  I have some goals and I hope to have a lot of my shopping completed before December!  Which means, I gotta start thinking about those things soon!

Happy November and what a lovely day to be alive!