And Then They Left

As eventually happens with all guests...Grandpa, Grandma and the Uncles had to leave for their own homes and real lives. We were very sad to see them go. As Uncle Brettskis had an early flight out of Boise on Sunday morning, they all packed up and headed out Saturday evening.
Oh yes, a picture of the finished Thanksgiving study. There are a few blank spots to show the unfinished projects and charts we never got around to. What can I say, pie baking and snack making got in the way : )

The gingerbread house the kids and I made with lots of help from Grandma. I had plans of making the gingerbread myself. Then reality gave me a good look in the eye and I called Tadd and asked him to add "gingerbread house kit" to his last minute Costco list. They really do go together much easier this way. Another added bonus--I didn't have to buy 12 different bags of candy which I promptly would have finished off. I think the kit ends up being cheaper along with easier. Last time I made the gingerbread, I couldn't make the icing stiff enough to hold it together and Tadd and Alan had to kick in their engineering skills and use some skewers to hold the houses together. We didn't want a repeat of that event.
Before the Tractors left we met some good friends at a Mexican food joint in town. These friends just so happen to be the Missing Uncle's in-laws. They had been out of town all week and so this dinner was their only opportunity to say hi to the Tractors.
Caroline (literally) squeezing in some last moments with her boys.
And Ezra managed to fit in between two of his favorite friends.
Eventually we had to say our good byes.
No one was overly happy about it.
Caroline took one look at the suit cases waiting to be loaded and packed up her own.

She even went so far as to load them onto the back of the pick up. She really thought she was going home with them. So did Ezra. Grandma reminded him that his mommy wouldn't be there at bed time and then whose hair would he play with while he fell asleep? That was enough to convince him. Not Caroline. She didn't so much care whether I would be there or not. But the stop for dinner made her forget and she came home in the van with her own mommy and daddy without too many complaints.
Thank you for driving all this way Grandpa and Grandma and Brett and Jeff! We sure had fun with you here.

A Thanksgiving Wedding

The Saturday morning after Thanksgiving we all got gussied up and headed to Luci and Lanny's wedding. It was a lovely wedding joining two families together. They served a delicious lunch following the ceremony...including hot soup--your choice of clam chowder or cream of tomato. I thought that was a great idea!


Sorry that these pictures are so hard to see. I needed my longer zoom.
Luci's son Luke walked her down the aisle and was the best man. Lanny's son was his groomsman and his two daughters were the bridesmaids.

The little benches and all the Christmas trees set up were perfect for taking pictures of the kids after the meal.




If only Ezra would have cooperated. I'm afraid that this fake smile has moved in for good.
And, of course, his favorite kind of pose--being silly!
I don't think these two cousins look particularly alike, but their expressions do match.

And Caroline might not look much like me--but as you can see we both do the space cadet look quite nicely.
The sibling shot.
And Caroline's new friend and cousin--2nd once removed or some such relation. They were born only a week apart. Thanks for hosting a fun wedding, Luci and Lanny--and congratulations!

They Came!

We prepared beds and food and activities and....
They came!
Bearing gifts.

A UW sweatshirt for Ezra...

Bracelets for Caroline...
Ah, I don't call them "Mom and Dad" for nothing--they know how to make me smile! Guess who these gifts were for? Well, they are for Tadd too...but he never got the memo : ) Who came bearing these gifts? Grandpa and Grandma Tractor and the Uncles--Brettskis and Heffay. They arrived the day before Thanksgiving and the festivities began.

Thanksgiving day we relaxed and cooked. Grandma and Mommy stayed home to work on the meal while Grandpa, Daddy, the Uncles and the kids drove down on the beach to throw rocks into the reservoir. They didn't stay away long, because it was quite cold. Then the kids went down for naps and the adults enjoyed "the feast" in peace and quiet. I did feel a little guilty about this because after our 3 week Thanksgiving study, Ezra was quite looking forward to "the feast". We left the food out for the kids to enjoy when they woke up. And I needn't have worried. Ezra said with great feeling "Thank you for making this good food mommy, I really like this feast!" And he ate several helpings of the corn he had specifically requested.
A little sustenance to tide us over between breakfast and the feast.


The turkey carver in his dressed-up holiday look.

I still love my china and use any opportunity to bring it out.



Little Miss took the second half of her nap on Grandpa's shoulder.
And then we sat moaning and groaning while the turkey sang and danced the afternoon away in our big fat bellies.
That evening we took this cranberry-pecan pie (the reviews were favorable)...
and this pathetic turkey pinata
over to Uncle Alan and Aunt Heather's house for dessert and games.
The kids were a little disappointed to find that the pinata contained not one piece of candy...but they were happy with the stickers and toys.
And my favorite newborn nephew was alert the whole evening long. I even got to hold him for the better part of an hour. I feel like I know him now.

After all that eating the kids felt the need for a bowl of cheerios.
Whilst the adults nursed indigestion over a game of hearts.
And the Uncles graciously played "Guess Who" with the kids.



Thank you Lord first and foremost for the gift of salvation given freely. Once accepted it leaves us free to enjoy these many blessings You have bestowed upon us. Blessings too many to count. Blessings in the form of the family--born and unborn and friends who surrounded us this Thanksgiving day.

Today during our Thanksgiving Study time we made our Thankful Lists for this year. I asked the kids first of all what things they thought the pilgrims had thanked the Lord for those many years ago and we brainstormed for a bit. Then I got out paper and asked them what they say "Thank you" to the Lord for. These lists were written just as they spouted them off. Ezra's list is in the order he gave me without any prompts.

Ezra's 2009 Thankful List
1. Toys
2. Mommy & Daddy
3. Furniture
4. Warm house
5. Tool shed
6. That we're having a Baby
7. Cute flowers
8. I love the Lord Jesus
9. Food to eat
10. Fruit growing in trees
11. Playing with my sister
12. Playing with my Baby
13. Apples, food, fruit

Caroline's list was mostly her own and in the order she dictated it. A couple items she had to be coaxed/led/prompted into adding.

Caroline's 2009 Thankful List
1. God
2. Baby
3. Horsies
4. Food
5. Pancakes
6. Bread (suggested by Ezra)
7. Daddy & Mommy (a little coaxing by mommy)
8. healthy stuff
9. Ezra (prompted by mommy)

These are so easy and fun to do with the kids. I have a thankful list done by Ezra every year for the past three Thanksgivings. They will be fun to add to his scrapbooks and look back on as the years pass. And here are a couple fall pictures of the thankful little munchkins themselves.