And this is why!
The Mom and other two kiddos are behind her
and just getting off the elevator!
This sweet one embraces life
and has so much positive energy!
What a blessing this Thanksgiving has been!
Mostly, because these lil' munchkins
have been with us for the last week!
What a joy, they are!
They helped Papa celebrate his 49th birthday
by taking him(us) out for coffee!
And by helping him open his gifts,
which they loved doing!
They were a little sad that Papa
didn't get toys for his birthday....
But Papa wasn't sad...
He loved his gifts of shirts, shoes and wine glasses!
We enjoyed red velvet cake for snack time!
(Just so happens to be the Burgess family favorite!)
Our oldest son Matt,
shares a birthday with his Dad!
It was a blessed day(and a huge surprise),
when our baby boy
was born on Daddy's birthday!
(9 days early)
He lives in Colorado now
and wasn't able to join us to celebrate.
But, we still sent lots of fun texts and talked on the phone!
He celebrated with his wife and two daughters!
Mark, Kelly and Billy came over to celebrate in the evening!
Warms my heart to have some of our big girls together!
They loved seeing their nephew
and nieces!
Going to Frozen 2 was on the schedule!
Ali had her "Elsa braid" in her hair
and her Elsa dress on!
(Which I think she wore for the full 10 days - LOL!)
She loves FROZEN and everything princess!
It was a great movie and enjoyed by ALL!
Thank you HopeKIDS!
We played outside and
made the most of - the end of autumn!
With a bonfire and cookout!
Telling scary stories, that weren't really scary!
Sharing knock knock jokes and laughing together!
Next up,
was bowling!
Definitely a win for homeschooling!
We ate a pizza lunch (while everyone else was at school)
and then bowled!
Thank you Park Tavern!
Ali was absolutely precious!
(Yes, the Elsa dress!)
Bennett was beyond adorable
and he got a strike!
Emily was getting the hang of it!
Next up was "Cinderella" at the Children's Theatre!
Love this!
She wanted her picture taken in front of
Cinderella's carriage!
And then a selfie with Mom!
Once again...
the Elsa dress!
It was an incredible play!
So funny and so well done!
Papa and some Aunties stayed home to babysit Bennett!
Feeling sooo....
And then it snowed!
And we had to go outside and play!
Because snow doesn't stick around in Virginia!
The grands continued to play
while their photographer Mom took pics!
THANK YOU
The other kids waited inside until it was their turn!
Here is a sneak peak at
this years Christmas card!
This is my quick photo
but thankfully,
it was done professionally by
They are adorable in their ugly sweaters!
I am so so THANKFUL
that my hubby loves to cook dinner!
One of the three tables that were ready for
the turkey FEAST!
I do very little decorating for the holidays
but
I do love setting the table
for the celebration!
The chess players in the family
had a tournament on Thanksgiving day!
First bracket,
Sam vs Dad!
Second bracket,
Sam vs Ben
And for the championship
Ben vs Andrew!
Andrew had proved himself a winner
throughout the week
BUT...
When it came to the tournament...
BEN was the family champion!
Way to go, Ben!
(Sorry the pic is blurry.)
He was so excited to WIN!
Johnny lives in Chicago now,
but we were so thankful that they (Abby and Johnny)
were able to come home for Thanksgiving!
He was so happy to see his nieces!
and by the looks of the mayhem the followed...
they were so happy
to see him!
Very thankful Auntie Barbie could join us!
And thank you Auntie Barbie for taking a pic of us!
And now, it is her turn to be surrounded by
LOVE!
Gathering to pray...
except we always have to wait for one person...
who is in the bathroom!
tick... tock...
We're still waiting!
Finally, Johnny joined us and
we can all pray over our dinner and
thank God for his many blessing!
This year we thanked God for the hard
that we have experienced
because it has brought us closer to HIM!
And then, as the evening continued on,
this lovely couple joined us!
Thank you for coming, Billy and Kelly!
Wait!
There's more!
The next night everyone came over for a casual gathering!
And to see the Burgess family before they traveled back to Virginia!
Instead of chess it was cribbage!
(First time Sam beat Kelly!)
If you look to your far right...
you will see some
shenanigans going on!
It seems that Bennett and Max
were having a bit of fun!
It didn't take long for all of
Bennett's food to be thrown overboard!
Which made Max extremely happy!
They are now, BFF's!
This is my favorite time!
After the meal,
when everyone else trickles in to visit!
We tell funny stories and the kids share their jokes!
And the bigs play with the littlest!
So thankful for all of these big kids!
It was a special treat to have so many over to our house,
at the same time!
Us with our bigs!
Miss you Matt and Caitlin
(and your two sweet baby girls).
The girls are admiring Kelly's i-watch!
Comfortable conversations
and catching up!
We feel so blessed to have these young ladies in our lives!
And these young men!
This pretty much,
sums it up,
here at our house!
THANKFUL,
GRATEFUL,
BLESSED!
(FYI- Ali was wearing the Elsa dress
as she flew home! Pretty sure it was on her
6 to 7 of 10 days!)
