Coming Soon . . .

Our Christmas House

{just as soon as Tarver checks each light and untangles the strands . . .}

Small Celebration Big on Thankfulness

Aahh . . . Thanksgiving.  For our family it usually means a day filled with food, games, puzzles and time to sit and enjoy just being with us.

 One of the traditions that came from Bob's family is the snack bar- his favorite memory of Thanksgiving from his youth.  It is quickly becoming a favorite for his sons, too!  Another tradition the sons of this house are becoming accustomed to is having a meal to feed a small army.  Generally the Mom of this family enjoys the cooking and baking so much that she prepares enough food to feed 100.

{Hooray for leftovers!}

 Langston is anxious for the official opening of the Snack Bar!

 Let's see- peanuts, caramels and baby pickles. This three-year old is not exactly holding to the traditional Thanksgiving fare.

The weather was amazing with temps near 70 - perhaps the first time we spent Thanksgiving afternoon riding bikes!

Setting up a marble track {look closely above, you can see Braden's marble making a jump!}

After playing and snacking comes the grand meal - turkey, stuffing, biscuits, cranberries, spinach salad, potatoes and baby pickles.  My boys love pickles!

Someone enjoyed getting dibs on a turkey leg it seems . . .

{Ties somewhat optional}

Reading to remember why they did it -

why we need to remember and be thankful.

The sure sign of a successful meal - clean plates all around.

And finally, taking the time for some family pictures.

So much to thank Him for . . . Psalm 100

Thankful Garland

Our thankful leaf project takes on a new look with each year -

this year we opted for a mixture of paper leaves and then traced our hands and each wrote what we are especially thankful for this season.

I love incorporating hands into our decorating as it gives me a neat memento to save of our growing family.

FDNY in NC

Last week we had an amazing opportunity to attend a ceremony at the Fire Department.  Our F.D. is one of two places in all of Nebraska to receive a piece of World Trade Center Steel -

truly an honor.

Two FDNY families escorted the piece of steel from Tower One to present it to the Nebraska City Museum of Firefighting.  The ceremony opened with the F.D. Color Guard and Bagpipes - it was a very reverent and moving ceremony.

Enjoy some pictures . . .

{and see if you can pick out our favorite firefighter, two junior firefighters and two reverent Scouts!}

FDNY in black and Nebraska City in white

 This particular flag, covering the piece of steel from Tower One, was used to cover the bodies of First Responders as they were pulled from the rubble in September, 2001.

A FDNY helmet offered as a gift - 343 signifying the number of lost to FDNY

Tower One

In Memory . . . Never Forget

Success . . .

is sometimes {or most of the time} about perspective.

Although Braden's hand is on the shoulder, Ryland has a somewhat mischievous twinkle in his eye, Langston is obviously singing 'Merry Christmas' and Tarver is missing his wonderful smile -

it's not too bad and I think this is the winner for our 2011 Christmas card photo.

Twelve

Happy Birthday, Braden!

Thanksgiving Campout with a Feast

 Our two Boy Scouts had a great time camping out and then preparing and serving a Thanksgiving-style meal over the campfires - to feed approximately 150.

Moms and younger siblings were invited to join the feast so that meant - no planning, no fixing, no messy kitchen and my favorite:  no cleaning up.

I love the Boy Scouts.

Tarver chose to contribute baked sweet potatoes to the meal.  Langston was fascinated with the 'rocks' he was pulling out of the campfire and once Tarver walked away with his bucket of spuds decided he would fish for a 'shiny rock' too.  *See bandage picture below.  Ugh!

Braden wanted to impress his mother with his extra large frying pan. {Ahem, if you are reading this kiddo, know that Mom put that on her Christmas list!}  He whipped up nearly 10 pounds of french fries, made the old fashioned way, and cooked them over the fire.  They were a huge hit!  I'm not sure they count as a traditional Thanksgiving food, though . . .

Outdoor crock pots {sometimes known as Dutch Ovens}

Deer roast with veggies - another contribution from Braden.

It was a beautiful afternoon to spend with all of the families involved in Scouting in our area and so much fun to watch the boys prepare, serve and clean up from a meal cooked over coals.

Beauty!

Baby Luke & Co.

I had the awesome privilege of snapping a few newborn pictures for a sweet friend a few days ago.  Baby Luke was a *long* time in coming and we are praising the Lord and rejoicing in his safe arrival.

Welcome, Baby Luke!

Luke was welcomed by the sweetest older siblings imaginable:

Grace and Wyatt

Thanks for the awesome afternoon with you, B family!  Congratulations on your sweet addition.