oh wait! thanksgiving!

before i go on to record Christmas 2014, i don't want to forget about our amazing thanksgiving. we had one of our FAVORITE aunt & uncle pair come in to town from d.c. and cousins from indy & rhode island. it was so fun having them here. my cousin joan, an amazing artist, helped me set the table. everyone brought something to the feast and the weather was so nice we were able to sit outside & eat.

L made an apple pie & a chocolate mississippi mud pie all by herself.

the kids had so much fun having their cousin here. they played and played and played all day. R was especially glad to have another boy around.

 baby J was all tuckered out after his big turkey din din.

Christmas rush

i must be getting old. i can totally say that i have been stressed, over-indulged (on everything), experienced heartburn, insomnia, shopped, baked, been irritated, addressed what seemed like a million Christmas cards, waited in line at the post office for the perfect stamps, oversaw 3 advent calendars, looked up advent wreath readings, listened to Christmas music, searched relentlessly for a must have/not necessary gift, hosted parties, attended parties, & participated in the holiday madness during this Christmas season so far. whew. most of it has been fun, except for the heartburn.

my goal is to be mindful and present and enjoy each moment. but even in moments when i am just experiencing/watching, i worry about making sure i remember. i can't get out of my head sometimes. it's ok though, i'm not freaking out too much. in the busy-ness of it all, i want to keep in mind the reason for the season & just enjoy the overall peace that can/comes with this time of year.

i'll hopefully collect some pics from over the season, but for now i will end with the series of welter kid pics from this year, in which we had 20 minutes & baby J cried in every single one.

except for this one. praise the Lord.