Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Kentucky instead of going up to Michigan with our family.  We are incredibly Blessed to have made some life long friends down here.  We are not only close to them, but also their extended family which made being away from our family during this Holiday bearable!
We had dinner at my friend Erica's parent's house along with her sister and her family.  It was fun and so yummy!  Being that we had 13 children there with just our 3 families, and also 10 adults, I didm;t quite get as many photos as I would have liked.  Just keeping up with serving the children was a task in itself :)

Abby and Finn.  This is as close as they would get to each other

John made a smoked turkey breast for the first time. It was delicious!

Andrew and Eliza! 

I handed off Baby Nathan to Jack so I could take some pictures and he fell right to sleep.  Eliza snuck in the chair next to Jack just as soon as Andrew.  She is too adorable!

My dear, sweet friend Erica, whipping up some mashed potatoes!

We were a little crowded with all the people we had in Erica's Mom's house, so it was hard to let Everleigh run around.  I snapped this photo while she was in Ryleigh's arms!  Don't ya just love the pig tails?

My Hunter who insisted on wearing this hat to Thanksgiving.  Some battles just aren't worth fighting!

Andrew and Hunter playing Minecraft while dinner was being plated.

Hunter...this is what we usually find him doing.

Andrew, Jackson, and Nathan

Rick was busy finishing up desserts! So yummy!

Two of my beautiful girls! I can't believe there is nearly 15 years between these two!

Nothing like a good movie while the adults cook! Thank you Disney for making the most amazing flicks!

To all our friends and family all over the country, we hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We are so thankful for every single one of you and what you bring to our lives!

New Year!

New Year's Eve seems like a good place to start! But first a very brief recap 2012...
We spent our first complete year in Kentucky!  It was a very rough transition, but I think it is safe to say we have all found our footing and are happy with the decision we made to stay.  We welcomed baby #6 to our family. Sweet Everleigh has made our family complete and we are so blessed.

Everleigh's First New Year Required a Photo Shoot

Finn also Required a Photo Shoot, same pose and everything!

For New Year's Eve this year we decided to just all stay home and hang out as a family (we are so super fun!) We played games (Just Dance 4, then later some Uno and Phase 10,) ate some yummy snacks, took some photos (it was Everleigh's first New Year's Eve,) and attempted to stay up late enough to watch "the ball" drop.  Everyone made it through except for Finn and Eve. We tend to keep their sleep schedules no matter what is going on.  We definitely missed spending the holiday with our family in Michigan, but I think the 8 of us are doing a great job creating some new traditions.

Just Dance 4

I so love these photos and these memories! John is not a fan of having his picture taken (not a great thing when you are married to someone who always has a camera either in hand or very nearby,) so I love that Madasyn "photobombed" his picture! 

Ryleigh laughing, probably out of embarrassment, as John & I also played Just Dance. 

Hunter & his one tooth grin. Jackson enjoying some snacks! He may be small, but boy does he LOVE junk food :)

      

Is it just me or is it a bit strange to watch the ball drop without Dick Clark? 

So now on to 2013 and all that may be in store for us! I am looking forward to sharing more on this blog, starting more family traditions, project life!, maybe finding a part time job or going back to school,   a friend's wedding in May, visiting family & friends, serving in my church calling, and just enjoying life! I think maybe my One Little Word for this year should be relax :)