Thanksgiving 2012

I had two precious turkeys and a really hard time getting pictures of them.  Our church has a Gratitude lunch every year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Spencer and Evelyn loved it because we let them eat a ridiculous amount of desserts so that they would just sit for more than ten seconds at a time.  It didn't work, and Evelyn did not hesitate to walk by herself to the dessert table and back multiple times.   I'm so proud, ha!

These two have a lot to be thankful for, as does our whole family.  They are loved on, adored (and extravagantly clothed) by family, friends, teachers, and therapists.  Ok, so far the teachers and therapists aren't clothing them, but I say just give it time.  But in all seriousness, this year has been nothing if not a huge example of God's providential care for Jonathan, Spencer, Evelyn, and me.

God has always provided for me, and this year it was so overt and obvious that there is no way I could attribute our blessings to anything other than His work through His people.  It's nice when He just lays it out there for ya.  I'm usually pretty quick to dismiss a lot of His provision as coming from other sources, or even more ridiculously, from myself.

Evelyn has been chatting away the last month and a half, another huge "upper" for which I'm very, very grateful.

After the gratitude lunch at church, I attempted to take some pictures of the kids in the backyard.  It was a gorgeous day.  The leaves were beautiful, the children were all sugared up; and I could not get them within ten feet of each other.   I did, however,  get these two pictures where they appear to be running away with almost identical form.  It just struck me as funny.

While Evelyn obsessed over getting onto the tricycle, I convinced Spencer to join us.  I told him to stand next to her on the tricycle, thinking one of them sitting on something might actually work in my favor.

Instead I looked up and saw this.  I just laughed.  Evelyn just went about her business as Spencer went about his.  I'm hoping to work these two shots into each of their rehearsal dinners someday.  Or maybe their senior yearbook (will they even have yearbooks at that point?).

Evelyn looks so much like my niece that it really is strange.  Beautiful runs in the family.

Below is one of my culinary contributions to our family Thanksgiving celebration.  Kids and adults alike were pleased.  I also brought a fruit tray arranged so that it looked like a turkey and green beans cooked in tons of bacon grease, you know, because fruit and vegetables in any form somehow cancel out the refined sugar.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at Gigi and Papa's.  All in-town family came, and so did Nana and G-Dad (my in-laws).  Which is another thing I'm very thankful for:  in-laws who get along with my family and are glad to come to our crazy get togethers.  It really makes Thanksgiving nice and as stress free as possible.  We see everyone at one time, in one place.  As far as holidays go, I've been very spoiled.  That's pretty much how we did the holidays when I was growing up too, so it's one life-adjustment I'm not having to make right now.  I'll take it.

A tradition I started on Spencer's first Thanksgiving was putting the "baby" in the turkey costume.  It has a built in tummy, and it's just the cutest thing.  Spencer tolerated it very poorly when he wore it as an almost-on-year-old, but Evelyn rocked it.  I think she would have worn it all day.

Spencer got to play soccer with my cousin and his friend.  He loved it.  

And, I know he's mine, and I'm biased, but that looks like pretty good form for a not-yet-four-year-old.

Meanwhile, Evelyn gobbled around the backyard.  I couldn't stop looking at her in that costume.  I don't know why it makes my heart so happy, but it does.

My cousin who kicked the ball around with Spencer was diagnosed with CAS around two.  So, it's fun for me to watch them together for a myriad of reasons.  Spencer adores Alex, and he is in seventh heaven when someone will do something active and entertaining with him.

One of Alex's friends joined us Thanksgiving day, and he wasted no time jumping in to help entertain my kids--another thing for which I was thankful.

Here is my Mimi holding her third great grandchild.  She was thoroughly enjoying herself.  Ruby seemed to be enjoying herself too.

This was the first Thanksgiving at which Spencer ate turkey--such progress!  After we ate, Evelyn got to play with her Nana's necklace and bracelet for quite awhile.  Evelyn always has time to try to take someone's jewelry.  It wasn't long before Spencer decided if there was a demand for the jewelry, it must be worth having.  He'll be thankful someday that I don't have that part of the story in pictures.

My sister and brother-in-law made the drive home from Nashville (and we were all so glad!).  Spencer and Evelyn both loved seeing them, but not as much as they loved playing with their chocolate lab Dakota.  Well, Evelyn still has some ambivalence concerning Dakota, but Spencer and Dakota go way back.  She was our backyard guest this summer, and before that Spencer consistently ruined every visit to Hillary's house because of his hysterical fits to play with Dakota the entire time.  Over the weekend, Spencer got to play with "Kotie" every day, and I don't think there was anything else on earth he'd rather have done.  I loved it for him.  

My camera died early on during the day, and that was a little disappointing; but we went on to have much eating, chasing of children, and general fun. All of the food was delicious, and Spencer had helped Gigi make the cornbread for the dressing earlier in the week, so that was special.  A couple of days before Thanksgiving, Spencer told his SLP that he and Gigi made the cornbread and that I was making the turkey, and it was funny because it was so very not true--another thing for which I was truly grateful.