The Week in Pictures

We spent Thanksgiving week in Texas with Mike's family...but before we left, we put together our fake tree, so it would be ready to decorate when we got home!


I took Jessica on a date on Wednesday, as suggested in Secret Keeper Girl. We went to "Tea for Two Tearoom" and had blackberry tea and a huge piece of chocolate cake. They brought the tea in individual tea pots with cups and saucers, which was very special. I was surprised when I tasted it and it was ICED tea! Funny. We also went to Build a Bear so that "Holly" could get stitches, and looked around the mall a bit while we were there. It was a nice time together. I forgot to have the waitress take our picture at the tearoom, so we took one of ourselves in the van.

We got home just in time for Mike's "bonding time" with the girls...a Polar Bear Run! Okay, since it was 70 degrees outside it may not qualify as a true Polar Bear run, but the water was only 50 degrees, so I still think they were CRAZY!






Yes, he even put my baby in!



That evening Andrea gave each girl a lovely polka-dot manicure and rainbow pedicure. They loved it!

Rebecca spent a lot of time on her Mamaw's lap. She wasn't feeling real well, and needed the cuddles, and Mike's mom ate it up!

And after a lovely Thanksgiving and fun Black Friday shopping in The Woodlands, it was time to say good-bye.


It isn't as obvious in this picture as in real life, but Jessica is now taller than her 17-year-old cousin!

Andrea calls Mikayla her "mini-me."

When we got home, there was our tree, ready to decorate!

How can you tell when a 4-year-old is helping decorate the tree?

Holiday Greetings from Mikayla and the Sandusky family

Thanksgiving Ruminating

Meredith got me thinking about Thanksgivings past and present. I am almost compulsively traditional. Growing up in the Navy, my parents made sure we had traditions at home that were the same wherever we lived--something we could count on. Thanksgiving traditions mostly revolved around food. ;) I never liked dressing, but smelling onions and celery boiling and cornbread baking made it Thanksgiving. I added a tradition after I got married. Mike and I neither one like the green bean casserole with those brown onion thingies on top, so I got to looking for a substitute recipe and landed on "Dill Green Beans." Now I have to smell them for the holiday to arrive!

We also usually had guests, even if they weren't blood-related, a tradition Mike and I continued when we lived in Idaho. And I always watched the Charlie Brown special, even as a grown-up before I had kids. I just love watching Snoopy pass out the plates and napkins.

My favorite Thanksgiving memory is our first one spent in Arkansas after my dad retired from the Navy. I was in the 8th grade, and had never spent Thanksgiving with relatives. We were so excited to be able to have my Mom's whole family come. Back in the day, we didn't get the whole week off, so I was at school on Wednesday when it started to snow!!! Big, huge, beautiful flakes. I sat behind Kevin Poole, the new boy from Arizone, in just about every class, and we both were thrilled to see actual snow falling outside the window. The teacher let us all crowd around the window until they dismissed us early and sent us home. Mom swore her brothers and sister to secrecy about the snow, so her Dad and Mom would still come, and it worked! They all came. I can still see Papa's face as he got out of his car. We ended up with about 6" of snow, at least. The power went off for a while, and Mom and Aunt Melody were worried about the turkey getting cooked, so they wrapped it in foil and stuck it in the wood-burning stove!!! I loved it--it was Little House on the Prarie all over again. Matt went walking in the woods with a bunch of them and tried to shake a branch to make snow fall on everyone...guess who it fell on? Yep, himself! Classic. That was a great Thanksgiving.

This year we're in Texas with Mike's family. Mike's sister Jeannie and her family are going to visit her husband's family tomorrow, so we're fixing turkey and dill green beans and chicken & dumplin's (a Sandusky family tradition) and all the rest for Mike's mom. It'll just be the 5 of us and Mamaw, so not a big crowd, but we'll have a big feast and hearts full of big thanks. God has blessed us way more than we deserve.

"Thank the Lord because He is good. His love continues forever." Psalm 107:1

4 feasts down, 1 to go! (gobble, gobble)

Phew! I am SO glad Thanksgiving vacation is here and I can spend all day at home in my sweats, catching up on housework and blogs. :)
We had such a busy week last week. (I sound like a broken record.) I had FOURTEEN Cubbies Wednesday night, which was crazy but good.
On Thursday we had homeschool day at the library, where the girls made thankful turkeys out of paper plates (cute) and that night we had the freshmen and their Bible Study leaders over for gumbo and cornbread, with pies for dessert. We had a good group show up, and it was fun. We played "4 on the couch" and CatchPhrase, once we figured out teams. Which was more difficult than it should have been!

Here's Heath trying to communicate...
Rebecca is always in someone's lap--usually Lauren :)
Mikayla kept score--
I was trying to get a picture of Lacy's blue tongue (she had a Fun Dip).


Friday was Feast #3, at Rebecca's preschool.


Aren't they sweet listening to Mrs. Rita (whom Rebecca calls Mrs. A-Rita).

That night we went to Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus in Shreveport. We had front row seats, which were just feet from the performers. It was so much fun!!! We went an hour early so we could get in the ring...they helped the girls on the trapeze, tightrope, hula hoops, jump rope, juggled around them, and let them try on costumes and get autographs. My friend Rebecca took pictures and when she sends them to me I'll show you. Since I forgot my camera.
On Saturday Mike and the girls worked outside in the C-O-L-D while I went grocery shopping and did laundry, etc. Anything to keep from helping them! jk





That night we went to a pounding for some former students who are getting married, and didn't get home until late.
Sunday night was feast #4, at our church. The kids' choir sang, and did a skit, and we heard our mission team share about Slovenia. (Can you find Slovenia on a map/globe?) We finished with the Lord's Supper, and it was very nice.



Today we've been putting all our fall decorations away to make room for Christmas! We're leaving tomorrow for Houston, to spend Thanksgiving with Mike's family. When we come back it'll be time to decorate the trees and put out all the pretties and wrap presents and bake goodies! I'm getting excited.
Now, if there's anyone still reading all this, here are some make-up pictures:

This is from when we were at my Mom's last weekend.
These are from Rebecca's preschool field trip to the fire station.


You'll notice she's almost always with Abby and Claudia!


Our librarian sent me these, from the library Halloween party.

Now Mike's bringing in Christmas boxes, so I'm gonna go help! Hee hee!