Thanksgiving etc

Willow's flock of admirers..

Two sweet girls!

and now the obligatory turkey hat pictures...hope I didn't forget anyone...

two more sweet girls

turkey in a turkey hat...har har har

Aaron said he'd only wear it if he could look like he wasn't posing...

such a good sport my father in law is

and then this guy....always so fun to see what face he will make. this is one of my favorites. goof ball

and my mother in law is also a good sport. and made a delicious Thanksgiving meal! 

the original 3 stooges.

Bro in law Nick participated before walking out the door.

and a sleepy turkey

she has inherited, by no fault of her own, Ethan's ability to make some seriously goof-a-riffic facial expressions.

Anna is adorable, even in a gobbler hat. 

Sweet little Jay

So we had the king read some Advent stories to us. It was very majestic, I must say! Take a good look at Jack's JOY tree. 

The table I decorated for the Centerpiece of Christmas event at Southland. 

Just a smattering of our glorious server men! (I be loving my man in a bow tie)

Beautiful Molly at her Mulan cast party on 12/4/15

Just sitting here, watching some Netflix before bed...

Lots of stuff is breaking through currently, though I am not at liberty to speak...in time...in time.

Is anyone else struggling to choose JOY and embrace this upcoming holiday? I'm not struggling with the celebration of JESUS aspect of these days...it's the social expectations I'm struggling with...I want to do stuff for my kids and make this Christmas morning special but I refuse to ...
1.) buy them, specifically the younger kids, a bunch of crap just so they have stuff to open...when they can barely keep their stuff in order as it is. And also, they rarely play with the stuff anyways (except for Legos)
2.) give in to the idea that I'm not a good mom if I don't buy them a gob of toys and stuff.

I'd like to give them the four gifts idea...something they want, something they need, something they wear, something they read. I started getting them a children's book just last year, to build a library for their own kids and we always do the Christmas Eve jammies etc. Keep it simple.

and that is what I hope to do. And I have 9 days in which to do this....no pressure.

I've got this.

I've put my deep thoughts on hold from the ol' blog...I just can't blog like I used to...It seems like life is so much heavier than it used to be. Hard not to let fear sneak in and grab hold...

The one thing I know is true....God came to earth, put on flesh and dwelt among us...because of this, I can face tomorrow. That's ALL I know.

that's it.

good night...enjoy the goofy but joy-filled pix above. hope this finds you enjoying the beautiful sights, sounds and joy of this beautiful season...