We have had quite a few firsts in our world this past week.
We received our very first set of matching family wear.
We all four have Life Church hoodies with our names on them thanks to C.G.
Ryne and Kyle are posing here but Kade and I also nice blue hoodies, too.
We love them! Thanks, C.G.
Remember how I told you Kade was loving to draw?
Well he has started asking me to take pictures of his artwork before he erases it so that his Daddy can see it.
This was the first time I had to take a picture of this particular drawing pad.
Nice train, huh?
For the first time I decided to let the boys help me sort the dirty laundry for the wash.
Before the actual sorting began it was apparently just a big mountain of fun.
And I couldn't help but share this picture of Ryne that no doubt will embarrass him one day.
I'm telling you this boy makes me laugh so hard sometimes. There is no doubt that he often serves as the comic relief in our house.
Our next family first was one I wasn't quite sure we were prepared for.
A trip through the toy department at WalMart "just to look."
We had to go get dog food and on on the way in we saw traffic on the interstate headed home was at a dead standstill. Therefore, we needed to kill some time in Wally World to let it clear up. So we gave it a shot. I have to say, the boys did great. Seemed to completely understand that we were only looking and not buying.
Ryne tried on this cool Iron Man mask.
Kade found this way cool game to play. In fact it took us a while to get him to leave the game. Guess it's a good thing he liked it since this game is coming his way in January as a birthday present.
Okay, moving on to our next first....
the first snow of the season!
It came early this year. Our weather forecasters have been warning us for a couple of months now that we will most likely be having a pretty crazy winter. I think they just might be right. It is quite unusual to get snow in November where we live.
When Kade saw the snow falling he said, "It's Christmas!!"
Well, actually, Kade, it was only almost Thanksgiving.
Look at these cute snowmen someone built in town.
We didn't build a snowman but we did enjoy the snow with another first.
Our first family sledding adventure...
By the time we got to the sledding hill that afternoon the snow was kind of starting to wear thin. But our boys didn't care. I think they are natural born sledders.
Ryne would zip down the hill smiling the entire time. I thought it might kind of scare him because he would go so fast but apparently he likes fast. Yikes, that scares me when I start thinking about the future and bicycles and cars. Okay, better stop thinking about that.
Kade tried sledding every way he could. Sitting up, laying down, on his back, on his front, holding on, not holding on. He was Mr. Adventure on that sled.
Sweet Ryne even tried his best to pull the sled back up the hill so he could go again.
All bundled up to stay warm.
Ryne was nice enough to let Kyle hitch a ride with him down the hill.
Before we knew it, it was getting dark and starting to snow again. We had to head home.
The only thing that made going home okay with the boys was the promise of a package waiting there for them.
Now, you know packages are nothing new in their world.
However, this package was a first of its kind
It was loaded up with costumes from Monk Monk!
You see Elmo there.
Here is Batman...you can see Thomas on the chair behind Ryne.
A Transformer.
And Pirate wear.
But that wasn't all. There was also a zoo keeper costume, a dog, a pumpkin, some clown hair and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
More snow fell that night and the next day so what did we do?
Went sledding again, of course!
The snow was much better on day 2.
They had a blast. Because there was so much more snow Ryne wasn't nearly as interested in sledding as he was just playing in the white cold fluffiness.
There are a couple of videos at the end of this post if you'd like to see them in action.
And here is the snow in action. When Kade woke up to this on the second day guess what he said. "See, I told you it was Christmas!"
But still it was only Thanksgiving.
A Thanksgiving full of firsts!
For me it was my very first white Thanksgiving. I've had very few years that there was a white Christmas, never even dreamed of having a white Thanksgiving. Kyle said he thinks he remembers a white Thanksgiving at his Grandparents' as a kid. But definitely a first for me and the boys.
Another Thanksgiving first...
Smoking a turkey!
Isn't it beautiful?
Oh and it was delicious!!
I think Kyle gets the title "master smoker" after this yummy bird was done.
The next Thanksgiving first is rather sad. It was the very first Thanksgiving that we have not spent with either of our families. So to make up for the sadness we just invited everyone else that we knew couldn't be with their families to join us for a Thanksgiving Extravaganza at our place. And it was quite a fun-filled day. We had 28 people at our house for Thanksgiving!!!
Eddie was the first guest to arrive and his timing was perfect because he entertained Kade while we finished getting everything ready.
Kyle carved up the turkeys. Yes, we had two turkeys. How else do you think we could feed 28 people?
Everyone brought yummy food to share. Just look at this spread.
And then there was the dessert table. Oh my!
The line to the food was long...but oh so worth the wait.
We had a kid table sat up in the living room. Their own special place to celebrate with each other. And a nice break for the grown ups to get to eat together and enjoy each other's company.
I think the kids had a Thanksgiving to remember...
Jace played Batman.
Ryne came down the stairs dressed as a zoo keeper and cracked us all up.
Then the little zoo keeper kept sneaking into the dessert table to sample anything he could reach.
After we were stuffed it was time to hang out and do some football watching.
Arin, Kristy, Mollie, Mr. Ray, Eddie, Alesha, Lucy, Jacob's little head and the back of Kyle.
More of the football watching crew.
Kyle, Greg, Russell, Karla and Kayla.
It was such a blessing to have all of the Surround the Sound church planting crew with us. Well, we were missing Derek and Alissa but they decided to do the fun "life before kids" thing and take a trip to Portland for the holiday. Can't say that I blame them at all for that. I know they had a blast but we missed them.
Brian and Jacob hanging out. Brian, Alesha and Jacob are a military family as well is Eddie. We are so thankful for their service to our country and very happy that they joined us for Thanksgiving.
What you are going to see next is the greatest idea ever.
Our friend, Mrs. Esther, asked if she could bring crafts for the children. Well, of course we told her yes. So she did and it was a huge hit!
Mrs. Esther helping Kadence with her pig.
Just look at that craft table full of busy kiddos.
See I told you it was the best idea ever! We were so glad that our friends Mrs. Esther and Mr. Ray came over. And not just because she brought crafts. Mrs. Esther was Kade's Vacation Bible School teacher last summer so he thought it was super special that she came. We enjoyed getting to spend some time with them.
Kade showing off the lion that he made.
Avery with her pig all jeweled up.
Of course Ryne had to jump right in the middle of it all. Mrs. Belinda was so sweet to help him with his craft.
Ainsley was happy just to play with the cow. She is always a happy girl.
You remember our friend Mollie? Well she joined us for her first Thanksgiving away from home with her friend Aaron who flew up for a visit this past week. It was so much fun to have them with us.
Okay I think this is my favorite picture of the day...
This is Lucy and Kade.
She was so kind as to hang out with Kade while we worked on cleaning things up.
Why do I love this picture?
Well, I heard Kade say to Lucy, "Let's go to the ball and dance."
So he took her to the dining room and spun all around talking about how much fun it was to be at the King's ball with her. Isn't that the cutest? And it gave me another first. My first time to be a photographer at the King's Ball!!
We just love Lucy and it was a blessing to have her with us for Thanksgiving, too.
We had a fabulous day! We have so much for which to be thankful!
What comes after Thanksgiving? Black Friday, of course!
Are we crazy middle of the night shoppers out to get the deals???
Yes we are! Well, except for this year. Yet, another first for me. This was the first year that I can remember in many years that we have not gone Black Friday shopping at crazy hours. I have to admit, I did kind of miss it. I did as much online Black Friday shopping as I could but it just wasn't the same. So, to make up for it, I loaded the boys up and took them out "looking" on Friday mid-morning. We just went to Target and Toys R' Us. Oh man did they ever LOVE being in Toys R' Us and seeing all those toys. I am trying to remember ever taking them to Toys R' Us and I just can't recall a time that we have done that. So I'm guessing it was their very first trip to the toy store! I had a buggy full of wide-eyed boys while everyone else had a buggy full of toys to purchase. I am certain I had way more fun than any of them!
And now, as promised, a couple of sledding videos for you to enjoy...
We received our very first set of matching family wear.
We all four have Life Church hoodies with our names on them thanks to C.G.
Ryne and Kyle are posing here but Kade and I also nice blue hoodies, too.
We love them! Thanks, C.G.
Remember how I told you Kade was loving to draw?
Well he has started asking me to take pictures of his artwork before he erases it so that his Daddy can see it.
This was the first time I had to take a picture of this particular drawing pad.
Nice train, huh?
For the first time I decided to let the boys help me sort the dirty laundry for the wash.
Before the actual sorting began it was apparently just a big mountain of fun.
And I couldn't help but share this picture of Ryne that no doubt will embarrass him one day.
I'm telling you this boy makes me laugh so hard sometimes. There is no doubt that he often serves as the comic relief in our house.
Our next family first was one I wasn't quite sure we were prepared for.
A trip through the toy department at WalMart "just to look."
We had to go get dog food and on on the way in we saw traffic on the interstate headed home was at a dead standstill. Therefore, we needed to kill some time in Wally World to let it clear up. So we gave it a shot. I have to say, the boys did great. Seemed to completely understand that we were only looking and not buying.
Ryne tried on this cool Iron Man mask.
Kade found this way cool game to play. In fact it took us a while to get him to leave the game. Guess it's a good thing he liked it since this game is coming his way in January as a birthday present.
Okay, moving on to our next first....
the first snow of the season!
It came early this year. Our weather forecasters have been warning us for a couple of months now that we will most likely be having a pretty crazy winter. I think they just might be right. It is quite unusual to get snow in November where we live.
When Kade saw the snow falling he said, "It's Christmas!!"
Well, actually, Kade, it was only almost Thanksgiving.
Look at these cute snowmen someone built in town.
We didn't build a snowman but we did enjoy the snow with another first.
Our first family sledding adventure...
By the time we got to the sledding hill that afternoon the snow was kind of starting to wear thin. But our boys didn't care. I think they are natural born sledders.
Ryne would zip down the hill smiling the entire time. I thought it might kind of scare him because he would go so fast but apparently he likes fast. Yikes, that scares me when I start thinking about the future and bicycles and cars. Okay, better stop thinking about that.
Kade tried sledding every way he could. Sitting up, laying down, on his back, on his front, holding on, not holding on. He was Mr. Adventure on that sled.
Sweet Ryne even tried his best to pull the sled back up the hill so he could go again.
All bundled up to stay warm.
Ryne was nice enough to let Kyle hitch a ride with him down the hill.
Before we knew it, it was getting dark and starting to snow again. We had to head home.
The only thing that made going home okay with the boys was the promise of a package waiting there for them.
Now, you know packages are nothing new in their world.
However, this package was a first of its kind
It was loaded up with costumes from Monk Monk!
You see Elmo there.
Here is Batman...you can see Thomas on the chair behind Ryne.
A Transformer.
And Pirate wear.
But that wasn't all. There was also a zoo keeper costume, a dog, a pumpkin, some clown hair and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
More snow fell that night and the next day so what did we do?
Went sledding again, of course!
The snow was much better on day 2.
They had a blast. Because there was so much more snow Ryne wasn't nearly as interested in sledding as he was just playing in the white cold fluffiness.
There are a couple of videos at the end of this post if you'd like to see them in action.
And here is the snow in action. When Kade woke up to this on the second day guess what he said. "See, I told you it was Christmas!"
But still it was only Thanksgiving.
A Thanksgiving full of firsts!
For me it was my very first white Thanksgiving. I've had very few years that there was a white Christmas, never even dreamed of having a white Thanksgiving. Kyle said he thinks he remembers a white Thanksgiving at his Grandparents' as a kid. But definitely a first for me and the boys.
Another Thanksgiving first...
Smoking a turkey!
Isn't it beautiful?
Oh and it was delicious!!
I think Kyle gets the title "master smoker" after this yummy bird was done.
The next Thanksgiving first is rather sad. It was the very first Thanksgiving that we have not spent with either of our families. So to make up for the sadness we just invited everyone else that we knew couldn't be with their families to join us for a Thanksgiving Extravaganza at our place. And it was quite a fun-filled day. We had 28 people at our house for Thanksgiving!!!
Eddie was the first guest to arrive and his timing was perfect because he entertained Kade while we finished getting everything ready.
Kyle carved up the turkeys. Yes, we had two turkeys. How else do you think we could feed 28 people?
Everyone brought yummy food to share. Just look at this spread.
And then there was the dessert table. Oh my!
The line to the food was long...but oh so worth the wait.
We had a kid table sat up in the living room. Their own special place to celebrate with each other. And a nice break for the grown ups to get to eat together and enjoy each other's company.
I think the kids had a Thanksgiving to remember...
Jace played Batman.
Ryne came down the stairs dressed as a zoo keeper and cracked us all up.
Then the little zoo keeper kept sneaking into the dessert table to sample anything he could reach.
After we were stuffed it was time to hang out and do some football watching.
Arin, Kristy, Mollie, Mr. Ray, Eddie, Alesha, Lucy, Jacob's little head and the back of Kyle.
More of the football watching crew.
Kyle, Greg, Russell, Karla and Kayla.
It was such a blessing to have all of the Surround the Sound church planting crew with us. Well, we were missing Derek and Alissa but they decided to do the fun "life before kids" thing and take a trip to Portland for the holiday. Can't say that I blame them at all for that. I know they had a blast but we missed them.
Brian and Jacob hanging out. Brian, Alesha and Jacob are a military family as well is Eddie. We are so thankful for their service to our country and very happy that they joined us for Thanksgiving.
What you are going to see next is the greatest idea ever.
Our friend, Mrs. Esther, asked if she could bring crafts for the children. Well, of course we told her yes. So she did and it was a huge hit!
Mrs. Esther helping Kadence with her pig.
Just look at that craft table full of busy kiddos.
See I told you it was the best idea ever! We were so glad that our friends Mrs. Esther and Mr. Ray came over. And not just because she brought crafts. Mrs. Esther was Kade's Vacation Bible School teacher last summer so he thought it was super special that she came. We enjoyed getting to spend some time with them.
Kade showing off the lion that he made.
Avery with her pig all jeweled up.
Of course Ryne had to jump right in the middle of it all. Mrs. Belinda was so sweet to help him with his craft.
Ainsley was happy just to play with the cow. She is always a happy girl.
You remember our friend Mollie? Well she joined us for her first Thanksgiving away from home with her friend Aaron who flew up for a visit this past week. It was so much fun to have them with us.
Okay I think this is my favorite picture of the day...
This is Lucy and Kade.
She was so kind as to hang out with Kade while we worked on cleaning things up.
Why do I love this picture?
Well, I heard Kade say to Lucy, "Let's go to the ball and dance."
So he took her to the dining room and spun all around talking about how much fun it was to be at the King's ball with her. Isn't that the cutest? And it gave me another first. My first time to be a photographer at the King's Ball!!
We just love Lucy and it was a blessing to have her with us for Thanksgiving, too.
We had a fabulous day! We have so much for which to be thankful!
What comes after Thanksgiving? Black Friday, of course!
Are we crazy middle of the night shoppers out to get the deals???
Yes we are! Well, except for this year. Yet, another first for me. This was the first year that I can remember in many years that we have not gone Black Friday shopping at crazy hours. I have to admit, I did kind of miss it. I did as much online Black Friday shopping as I could but it just wasn't the same. So, to make up for it, I loaded the boys up and took them out "looking" on Friday mid-morning. We just went to Target and Toys R' Us. Oh man did they ever LOVE being in Toys R' Us and seeing all those toys. I am trying to remember ever taking them to Toys R' Us and I just can't recall a time that we have done that. So I'm guessing it was their very first trip to the toy store! I had a buggy full of wide-eyed boys while everyone else had a buggy full of toys to purchase. I am certain I had way more fun than any of them!
And now, as promised, a couple of sledding videos for you to enjoy...
3 comments:
I'm so jealous of your snow!! And your little bundled Eskimoes are so cute!
Love the box of costumes from Aunt Monk! I bet she is the greatest aunt!
So I'm not quite sure if the fact that I'm pregnant is why I'm now crying after watching the videos or if it's just that it was amazing to hear your voices!! Kade's growing up so fast and so is Ryne! Congrats on snow for Thanksgiving! We got rain! hehe! Love and Miss y'all!!
After reminding Grandaddy just what plethora meant, we so much enjoyed sharing in your Thanksgiving through the Blog instead of in person this year! You are such a blessing to us for sharing with us in such detail the part of your life that we miss each and every day. We enjoyed each and every picture and found so many little details to talk about while looking at them. We love and miss you guys so very much. CG and Grandaddy
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