Thanksgiving Day

It was just like I thought, good times, good food, so much to be thankful for. We had a full house with lots of talking and laughing and not a lot of time for pictures. I'm sorry I didn't manage to get everyone but here are some of the sweet faces that I was surrounded by throughout the day....

 

~Michael & Andi~

~Kelly & Madelyn~

~Collin~

~Gordy & Kara~ (+1 on the way...yeah!!!)

~The girls~

We'll be back together on Christmas Eve, until then...

Good Night! =)

Thanksgiving Eve

Today I am thankful that I had the day off so the pre-holiday duties didn't seem so overwhelming and tiresome. Gary and I went together to the Huron Turkey Farm to pick up the turkey and to Calder's Dairy for a few products that add a special touch to our thanksgiving meal. I am very grateful for a husband who willingly cleans the house so I can cook, and I mean cleans! Those thoughts were running through my mind while I was in the basement and he was on the second floor cleaning the bath tub. I heard a loud moaning and groaning so I quickly ran the two flights of stairs to see what happened. He took a fall with one leg inside the tub and the other outside, cutting his finger, scraping his shoulder and banging his (good) knee! He's okay and thinks the shock of falling was the worst part. Also, the shower enclosure bar took a hit and probably needs to be replaced. We're not sure what or how that happened but when you're over 6 feet tall and you go down, other things are bound to go down with you. Thankfully, he is fine...

The pumpkin pies just came out of the oven and the house smells, well, like Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to having our family gather in our home and hope they all know what a pleasure it is for us to have them come. The sounds of chatter, laughter, cheers or jeers during the football game, will echo throughout this place. There is no place I'd rather be than at the very center of it all, surrounded by the people I love the most, and thinking of the ones who can't be here that we love very much too. Speaking of which, I will be thinking of Gran tomorrow. November 25th was her birthday and it's already been 14 years... When I think of her, I smile. She was a hard-working woman with a toughness that we loved because that was just Gran. Her love for us was never questioned. I understand that love now that I have grandchildren of my own. 

The next post will include pictures of the ones I've spoken about today and the ones that will make my day worth even the very least task that was accomplished to make the day special.

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name;  

make known among the nations what he has done."  I Chronicles 16:8

Village People

We are village people in that each year, the Friday before Thanksgiving, we put up the Dickens Village that Gary started collecting over 20 years ago. It is a fun tradition and for him the novelty has not yet worn off. Last year we had a little helper and this year there were two. Collin spread the snow over the village last year. Madelyn was just a crawler so she didn't have a clue until this year what it was all about. This year Collin put some of the accessories in place and we did the snow together as we did last year. We hope they will both enjoy our village tradition as much as we have.

Peeking thru the bay window, she was so excited to see Papa :)

Collin placing the special sleigh for Papa.

 TRYing to get a picture of them by the village...

 They had fun making it difficult for me...

...but I got the biggest kick out of her mimicking him!

 She liked the horsies.

 and was mesmerized by the ghosts of Christmas past.

 Ooooohhhhh

 Wouldn't you love to know what she's thinking.

Another year, another Dickens Village up. We will put the finishing touches on it tomorrow and be good to go from Thanksgiving through New Years. I do love the holidays!

Dear Diary...

... or I guess I should say Dear Blog: 
I just have some thoughts running through my head and thought I should pencil them in. Do you ever wonder if God is really working in your life and then something happens, little or big, to remind you that He is? He always is! I have been tested lately in the area of patience, one big situation, and one little. Honestly, I failed the first one miserably. In fact, I was not only impatient, I cannot remember having such strong (bad) feelings like that in a long time, if ever! I didn't handle it very well at all. I did acknowledge I was wrong and made it right. In the end, God used it and continues to work patience in me and the need to be compassionate toward the needs of others. The little incident involved impatience on my part but I kept it inside (you know that thing called attitude!) It doesn't make it right, it just shows you your heart. Then this week in my morning devotions I was reading an article called "A Walk Through the Wild Side With Love: The Disciple's Path by David Jeremiah. It talked about how wild things seem to be in the world these days and how the world is craving genuine biblical love. It goes on to say "Our wide and wild world can be reached only as we're vessels of His love." It gave a few pointers on how we can walk with love. The first one was, you guessed it, "Be patient with others." It said when someone irritates you, train yourself to find something good about them. When they get on your nerves, try not to let it show. Smile. The article also said it's okay to tell the Lord in private how aggravated you are, (he already knows!) but keep a patient demeanor in public. Finally, it says to make up your mind that people are going to say about you, "(S)He certainly handled that situation well." Ugh, that would not have been said about me recently! However, I am encouraged because I know God is working with me to make me the person He wants me to be and He is certainly not finished! I humbly acknowledge that anything good about me is because of Him and my heart's desire is not to disappoint Him with bad behavior of any kind.
It's kind of nice talking to a blog because it can't tell you that what you did wasn't so bad or you had a reason to feel or act that way. It leaves you only with what you know to be true and the rest is up to me as to what I do with it.

"He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30

HaPpY BiRtHdAy Ryan!

Today is our son-in-law, Ryan's, birthday. Being we only have one daughter, we only had one shot at a son-in-law. We are so happy that God picked Ryan to be that special someone. Ryan is a great husband and a terrific father. He has miles of patience. He goes about his business with quiet confidence. He is a hard worker and good provider. He is handy and can fix and figure out just about anything. We laugh at this because it was all new for Megan coming from a home where men smarts run high but handy is not high on that list. That's okay, we all have something different to offer and Ryan certainly brings his share to the table. He is good for our daughter and that is good for us. Ryan is what we prayed for in a husband for her and we are thankful God so specifically answered our prayers in him.
We celebrated Ryan tonight at their home. It's always a fun time when the family gets together!

Happy Birthday to Ryan!

Birthday ((hugs)) from Collin

The greatest gifts EVER!

Future side-kick? He actually took some good shots!

Making sure she's picture perfect!

Maybe now she sees why we all adore her so.

WHOA - 34 big ones Daddy, here's to many more!!!

BOO!

Just had to get this little happening written down somewhere because I thought it was so cute!!! I got to hang out with my sweets last week while their mommy and papa went to evening parent-teacher conferences and daddy needed a break to run a couple errands. The three of us enjoyed a quiet evening together and I loved it! Madelyn loves her papa and always wants to know where he is. If he's not around, she goes looking for him. She pounded on the bedroom door while he was getting dressed and, yes, he let her in. He kissed the kids good-bye before he left but kisses from papa are nothing new for Madelyn. A while later she went looking for him. Up the basement stairs, up the stairs to the second floor... she walked into the dark bedroom, no fear of anything for this little one. "Papa, Papa." I told her Papa isn't here, he had to leave. Still she called for Papa, then in the dark bedroom she shouted "BOO" figuring he's in there playing hide & seek with her - how cute is that! Also, quite a reasonable thought process for a 19 month old! I know, she's very smart :)
Here are a few pix of both my sweets from our evening together.

I see you!

Mads and her ever-present big grin :)

Carpet fuzz in your nose & mouth is yucky!

Collin glued to Scoobie Doo

I love that he is so comfy here...

Freedom from hair bows & dresses when Daddy's in charge :)

She finally decided to rest for a bit too.

SO thankful for the special times we get to spend with these precious two. They have brought unspeakable joy to our lives and we thank God for them regularly!

"Children's children are a crown to the aged, 

and parents are the pride of their children." Prov. 17:6