Thanksgiving Feast

And the diet is back on! :)  Before we get to that though, here are a couple of pictures from last Saturday.  One of our dear friends ran in a half marathon in downtown Louisville so we went to see her finish....then we got some free pizza and some time to jump in the bouncy castles.  I had to get in with Jo because she isn't always very sure about them.

Hadley on the other hand loves them.

Then our first Christmasy outing.  The tree I told you about that my friend Kelly and I decorated was on display so we went to see it.  There were TONS of trees and only one other Western one....it was fun to see what everyone came up with.

You can't see it really well but it was darling!

They had a balloon animal maker there too.  Hadley got a puppy she could "walk" and Jo got a giraffe.  Needless to say, neither made it to the car.

Some rainy day fun....I attempted to build a fort out of chairs in the living room.  It was a huge hit for about 5 minutes but they kept falling....plus my children are climbers and wanted to be on top instead of underneath....what can you do?

So for Thanksgiving we went to Indianapolis to see Jon, Heather, and Nolan.  The kids played so well and we were sad to leave!  It was such an encouraging and fun time as usual and we love having them so close so we can do this as often as we like!  I made my famous turkey cookies for the everyone and Hadley wanted to help.

She actually did a pretty good job putting hers together.

The kids looking out the window...they were so good all day....they played hide-and-seek, watched the Macy's Parade, ate a good meal, and enjoyed all the attention that three cute kids can get.

Our sweet families!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Playing on the floor with everyone....

The feast.....yams, Jon's grandma's special noodles (so so good), lima beans, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, gravy, and rolls.....

turkey, jello/pretzel salad, jalapeño corn, and for dessert: 3 kinds of pie, a cake, and cookies.

And of course, Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without an afternoon nap (Jon's grandma was in heaven with all the sweet sleeping babies).

Naps and games.....it was the perfect day!

Since Andy starts finals this week (another semester down....yahoo!!!) we couldn't stay much longer at the Hughes' :(  We did make it the park for a bit and and played at the house some too, but our visits always seem shorter than we would like!

The last thing we did before driving home was see the town of Noblesville (where Jon and Heather live) light up their big town Christmas tree.  They had a little concert before hand and while the kids didn't want to sit and listen the whole time, it was fun to hear Christmas songs and see people in the Christmas spirit.     

Going for a little walk during the concert.  Heather and Jon are expecting their second the beginning of February and we are so excited for them!  Nolan is going to be a great big brother!

Merry Christmas!  My favorite time of year is here!

Hope you had a Thanksgiving filled with THANKS!  We are looking forward to all the Christmas parties to attend, the Christmas cookies to eat, and the time we get each year to think about our God who came to  earth as a sweet little baby to live and die for us.  We are headed to San Antonio again in a few weeks (this time with Andy too) to celebrate with Nana and Papa.  More December fun to come!  Love to you all!

The Rest of Halloween......

Here are the pumpkin carving pictures!  It was quick thing (after church before nap) but we did it and the girls had fun.

 EEEEEEYYOUUU (said in squeaky little Joni voice)

Eating lunch while Dad did the carving.  Hadley wanted a butterfly and a giraffe.  So we gave her the butterfly and Joni got a giraffe (which she loves). 

So my new favorite time waster is Pinterest (if you don't have extra time to spare don't go there)!  Anyways, I love it and I found these cupcakes I wanted to try for Halloween.  You cut the middle out and put in different colored frosting so when you cut it or bite into it you see a candy corn.  They turned out ok (tasted really good) but looked much better on Pinterest (which, for those of you who don't know, is a virtual pin-board online.  There are recipes, organization ideas, picture taking ideas, and on and on)!  Again, beware if you dare check it out how awesome it is.

I made the cupcakes for our church get together.  We ate delicious GUMBO (YUMMMMM) and then gathered together to learn how Halloween came about and why we should try to be the Light of the World at such a "dark" time.

Then the we sang some worship songs and the kids danced and played.

Our finished pumpkins.....Raise the Praise is my new saying.....to remind myself and others to give God all the Glory because He is the only one that deserves it.

I don't know if you noticed but after staring at the pumpkins sitting on our coffee table for a week it finally hit me that the butterfly is upside-down.  It was a good thing it was time to throw them out because after I realized my mistake, it was rather bothersome to me.  :)

Our good friend Kelly Logan and I decorated a tree for the children's hospital in town.  You pick one up, decorate it however you want and then they sell all the trees.  The girls had fun playing.....

then we got down to business.  We went with the Western theme and it turned out stinkin' cute!

Take a walk down by the river.....more pictures of our Christmas photo shoot to come!

Love to you all!!!