'Tis the Season!

We had a great Thanksgiving here in Ohio with Jake and Sarah. It was our first one together as a family since Jack's first Thanksgiving five years ago, so it was pretty special. We enjoy every moment we have together!

The kids made thankful turkeys...even the big kids adding their thankful feathers!

Jack and Sarah sat at the "kids' table" and decorated their table settings.

Joe's first Thanksgiving!

Yes, we sure are thankful for our littlest blessing!

Jake and Sarah have a Scottie dog (named George!) at their house, so when I spotted a Scottie dog outfit for Joe, I knew it would be a hit.  Who knew Sarah would have matching pajamas to go along with it?! 

On our last night together, we did something special.  We drove downtown to see lights and stopped at a park with an outdoor ice skating rink.  We were just intending to watch, but Jack was determined to try it out.  He was ecstatic as Josh put his skates on!

Georgie was happy to watch.

Sarah tried...got around the rink once and decided roller skating is more her thing!

Jake is a pretty good skater, so he took Jack around and helped him out at first.  But it didn't take long for Jack to take off on his own!  He was so eager to just go do it like the big guys out on the ice. 

We forgot mittens, so he had to stop to get his hands warmed up by Mommy once in a while!

Joe was cozy in his warm outfit and enjoyed the lights!

The boys loved the Zamboni machine!  Maybe Jack will skate and George will drive the Zamboni one day! 

Sadly, we are once again scattered as a family...the kids back in Pennsylvania and Josh back in Curacao.  Honestly, it is hard to feel very festive...but the boys and I decided to get some new Christmas decorations and a tree for Grandma's new house.  We had lots of fun listening to Christmas music and putting the tree up. 

And...per tradition...we got an oversized stocking to put the new baby in!  (He barely fit!) 

Here are the pictures of Jack and George in their stockings in 2008 and 2010:

All of these things...decorations, traditions, music, family time, etc....help make this season feel special.  But we have learned with all our moves and transitions as a family even during the Christmas season, that our home is in Christ and we can celebrate His birth and adore Him wherever we are, even without any of these extra blessings.  That is our goal as a family.  We hope you are all celebrating the greatest gift this Advent season, too!