Decorating for Christmas

Delwyn had a great idea to take a Christmas tree down to Blake. It has solar lights that will either shine or blink at night, depending on which setting you choose. 

Merry Christmas Blake!! We love and miss you!

In keeping with our regular tradition, we decorated for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. We got some new decorations this year, purple and gold.

Of course there was some silliness going on. Britta and Ryan had a mini sword fight with the purple icicle decorations. I sure love these kids of mine and the fun they add to our household.



Last year Blake was being goofy and used the ornaments as earrings, so in his honor, the kids decided to do the same thing.

Blake also loved to lay under the tree and I have pictures from several years of him doing that.  I'm not sure why, maybe he thought he would make a good present? 



The tree is finished for now, I love the colors! I want to get some ribbon to wrap around it, but Michael's didn't have any that matched that I liked, so I will have to wait until I get a chance to go to Hobby Lobby.

Now for the outside decorating!! Blake loved to hang up the lights, and he has done it the past several years. He wasn't afraid of getting on the roof, even the highest part. I thought maybe we wouldn't put any up this year, but Britta and Ryan were determined to get them up. And I was glad. 

Britta was first on the ladder.

Ryan kept the lights from getting tangled.

Then they switched places and Ryan got on the ladder.

I don't like heights or getting on ladders, so I'm happy to have some kids that do!

The ladder was little unstable, so Ryan held it while Britta put the clips on.

Then they both got on the roof to attach the lights. Our house is going to look so festive! Thank you Britta and Ryan!

Thanksgiving

We took this turkey to Blake at the beginning of the month. We want to take something down for each holiday or season. We love him so much and don't want him to feel forgotten.

We went down to the cemetery this morning to wish Blake a Happy Thanksgiving. We had a little cry and then went home to celebrate the holiday and carry on with some of our traditions.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times! I love having most of my family here and I love all the yummy food. Austin and Melissa aren't here this year. Austin has used up all of his vacation (they went on a little camping trip to the Gulf Shore in Alabama in June and then the two funerals after that).  Denya is mixing up dough for the rolls.

Then she rolled it out and cut it into triangles. Having grown up kids is great in many ways--they are a big help making dinner for one!

Landon and Megan did such a great job brining the turkey last year, they were nominated to do it again this year! The results were just as yummy this time! Wade brought the pies, Kimberlea made green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. I felt like I got off easy since all I had to make were potatoes, rolls, jello, and bacon wrapped chestnuts.

Time to eat!

We are all thankful for Blake this year, for his life and the legacy he left. We're thankful to be an eternal family. Megan is thankful for her new job that she just started this week with the State of Colorado. Denya is thankful for her internship with the Welfare Department at the Church in Salt Lake. Ryan is thankful to be in the marching band, for the experiences he's had and the friends he's made. We're all thankful for a new baby in the family, Lincoln, and his happy personality.

I'm thankful for kids that help with the dishes!

Austin loves the dog show and we watched it in his honor since he wasn't here.

Britta and Ryan filled the house with wonderful music. They can play several duets together and I never get tired of listening to them.

Time for our Bingo tradition! Wade and Kimberlea bought this wheel as part of Delwyn's Christmas present. Pretty fancy!

Megan and Dagny make a great team! Look at them play three cards!

We are serious Bingo players! We all play multiple cards!

Who will win first?

Time to open prizes!

Scentsy wax is always good! Fall scents of pumpkin, spices, and cider are some of my favorites.

Yummy cookie sticks just in time for hot chocolate season.

Britta won the corn nuts this year! Doesn't she look thrilled?

Landon's prizes were all candy! Yum!

These fun toothbrushes make up for winning the corn nuts!

I may have picked this prize on purpose--one of the perks of being in charge, I know what the prizes are. I love this popcorn!

Dagny was excited about her prize--we turned off all the lights to make it glow as bright as possible.

I'm so thankful for a large family! Even with some of them missing, we still had a good sized group and we enjoyed being together today.