Looking at yourself in the mirror isn't always fun!

I absolutely love the Christmas season. Every year as long as I can remember, I couldn't wait til the day after Thanksgiving to start putting up the Christmas decorations. My mother handed the job over to me when I was fairly young because I loved it soo much and she, not so much. :) This year, I saw that excitement in Maddie. Ella was excited too, but I think it was just because she wants to do EVERYTHING her older sister is doing. I let go a little and even let them help decorate the "big" tree. Ella of course only got to hang the non-breakable ornaments. Jenny, you would be so proud. I only moved a couple, ok maybe a few of them. :) Eric's mother gave me a table runner, which I put on the coffee table. I put the tray on top of it , kind of angled. I walked out of the room and came back later to find the tray lined up with the runner. I angled it again, only to come back later and find it straight. Now, I will be the first to admit I am a little on the forgetful side - that is normal with 3 kids, right?? But, I know that is not how I had it. Well, this happened a couple more times when I caught Maddie in the act of straightening it. I asked her why she was doing that. She simply said, "Mom, it looks better this way." As you can see by the picture, I am not willing to give up all control yet! Don't you just love how God uses our children as a mirror for us to see ourselves!

Maddie and Ella's "princess" tree

Ethan's "car" tree

Visiting Family

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We always travel back home to visit all of our family. It is always great to see everyone and catch up on how they are doing. Here we are at my Aunt Marilyn's house. It is a smaller group than past years, but everyone is spread out these days.

This is my dad and his brother, Carol, and two of his sisters, Joan and Marilyn. His other sister, Janet is in Colorado, and his other brother Rock couldn't make it. We missed you Janet and Rock!

Maddie and Ella were playing in the "pouting" chair while we were washing dishes. Ethan was off playing with the bell that Marilyn gave him.

We stayed with Eric's parents. They always make us a wonderful breakfast. This time Paw Paw let the kids help make the waffles. They were very tasty! We were also able to spend time with Eric's brother and his family on Thursday. We also spent time with our friends the Murrows and had dinner with my mom's family on Friday. I think we have had enough turkey to last til Christmas at least!

A Treefull of Thankfulness

In school today, we made a "thankful" tree. Maddie and Ella cut out "leaves" and wrote things that they were thankful for on each one. Maddie, our little teacher, got the whole family involved. Here is a picture of the girls instructing Pop.

May you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

A Good Start

OK, my good friend Jodi insisted that I enter the world of blogging, so here goes. I have been holding on to my 35mm camera, which I still like better! But, our family is spread all over the place, so maybe if I come into the digital age, we can keep in touch. If not, Jodi at least you can keep up with us. :)

This past weekend we went camping down on what is left of Lake Alatoona in McKinney Campground. Yes, it was cold, but we "rough it" smoothly. We have a camper with heat and so do my parents. The kids absolutely love going camping! This weekend was especially fun, because besides us and my parents, four other couples went. We took up a whole section of the campground! Ethan's birthday is the day after Thanksgiving, so we had a "camping" party. Our friends Brad and Shana came down to spend Saturday with us and let their son Bryce spend the night. The boys had a blast riding their bicycles down all the hills. I took more pictures, but they were with my 35mm - I told you, I'm still holding out! I'll try to do better next time.

Maddie and Bryce hanging out on Bobby's grill. You should have seen all the food that was inside!