Thanksgiving 2016

This year's Thanksgiving was really different from every Thanksgiving we've celebrated over the last six years. Usually we'd either travel to see Deric's family or my family would come to us. This year though, we were traveling the week beforehand and we arrived home on Wednesday, so we didn't spend the actual day of Thanksgiving with either of our families. Instead, we spent the morning at a Turkey Bowl some friends coordinated in the field right behind our house. The men all played a game of flag football while the rest of the families watched, the kids played, and we ate plenty of brunch and hot chocolate on the sidelines. Plus it was one of the first days we'd had in months that was actually cold! The entire family napped most of the afternoon in between watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade that we had recorded while out at the game. Its just not Thanksgiving without at least a few minutes of the parade!

We joined our next door neighbors for dinner that night. Their tradition is to eat at Calhoun's, a local restaurant, so this was my first Thanksgiving dinner out! And it was delicious. ;) We are so thankful to have neighbors who are part of our church family and who have become the boys' in-town grandparents, as we call them. They take great care of our family and love the boys so much. It means a lot especially when our families both live so far away. It just felt right to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them since they're essentially family after being neighbors for four or so years!

After dinner we pulled out the Christmas 'pa-jammies' as Jake calls them and watched a Christmas movie! Definitely the beginning of a tradition right there.

Our weekend was blissfully low-key. After a week of traveling, we didn't want to do a single thing...except haul out Christmas decorations. ;) Deric was so kind to pull everything out of the garage, fluff the tree and string the lights! I love Christmas, but those are all my least favorite parts. He's a good man.

Rediscovering the Christmas train that used to belong to Deric's grandparents!

There's one random hook on the underside of the mantle and Jake took it upon himself to hang up all our stockings. ;)

Decorating his little tree! He likes to use the ornaments from Deric's childhood.

And meanwhile, Reid was content to chew on the camel from the nativity.

Jake was given this Mickey Mouse scene last year from Deric's parents.

The best nightlight! I'll turn on these lights even when the boys aren't in their room. :)

Its so peaceful to turn on the tree lights and play Christmas music while the boys and I play in the living room. Even when we're dealing with root canals (me), ear infections (both boys) and then pneumonia (Jake, today), the lights and music are a calming backdrop and more importantly, a reminder of the hope Jesus' birth brought us so long ago that I can still hold on to when life is a bit stressful.