Thanksgiving Week

This year, Brooks had a Perry No Travel Policy for the holidays.  He feels very strongly that we have just spent the past 3 years traveling across country to be with family and it was a lot of work on us and frankly, he's just tired, so instead of us traveling.... we invited our families to come and see us for the holidays!  For Thanksgiving, Brooks' dad and his wife Juli, along with Brandon and Kate came to spend the week with us!  I was glad to have all our guests in our new home and loved hosting and cooking meals especially since it meant we didn't have to pack, take a road trip, organize entertainment for the kids, and spend hours on the road!  Juli's daughter, McKayla and two friends from college joined us for the week as well so we had a full house!  Uncle Bran and Aunt Kate made it to our house first and so the kids gave them lots of undivided attention!  It was the first time in 2 years our kids were with Bran and he was feeling good!  What a HUGE difference it made for him not being on chemo or meds and feeling like himself!  We actually teared up a few times realizing just how different things were and how he wasn't tired after playing swords with the kids or chasing them around the house.  Thank you Jesus for your healing hand!  

The next day Brooks and Brandon took the kids to Amarillo-- they needed to take care of some shopping, so Kate and I spent that time cooking in the kitchen!  I wanted to get as many Thanksgiving meal dishes prepped to help with the meal the next day.  This was my first Thanksgiving to host and my first time to cook an entire Thanksgiving meal so I was determined to get everything done in the least stressful way!!  After afternoon naps, dinner, and some more hanging out we took the kids to the movies and saw Frozen.  We didn't know it was opening night, so the theater was packed, but we were so glad we went.  That was a precious movie and the singing held our kids attention!  Brooklyn took turns sitting on everyones laps and eating suckers and popcorn.   Gavin was really into the movie and even teared up at the end!  It was sweet. 

Once we got home, Brooks' dad, his wife Juli, her daughter McKayla, and two of her friends from college arrived to celebrate Thanksgiving and spend the weekend with us.  We stayed up late visiting and just hanging out.  The next day was Thanksgiving and once breakfast was over, I started prepping our Thanksgiving meal! Thankfully, there was enough people around to entertain the kids while I cooked and cooked and cooked.  Brooks was a HUGE help in the kitchen, too and by the grace of God we pulled off our first Thanksgiving meal perfectly AND on time!  5 side dishes, a turkey, a ham, and a few pies (thanks to my mother in law for bringing), lunch was delicious!  

On a side note: I appliqued a shirt for Brooklyn for Thanksgiving using my Silhouette.  It wasn't perfect, but it sure beat paying $25 off of Etsy.  I found the shirt at Target for a dollar and used scrap fabrics I had on hand.  It took me about 20 minutes to sew and voila!

While we were with family, we decided to celebrate Christmas, since we weren't going to be with our Colorado family in December.  So, the day after Thanksgiving we woke up and had Christmas!  The kids were excited to see presents and had a blast playing with their toys.

Our little girl got a baby doll and knew exactly what to do with her!  She rocked her, fed her, nurtured her, and pushed her around in her new stroller.

Miles got a new basketball goal (our old one got left in Saudi) and he was so excited to get to play.

Gavin got a new game for Christmas and it was so funny to watch him play.  He kept sticking his tongue out as he maneuvered his robot and wouldn't play without keeping his mouth closed.  I think he thought his tongue moving was helping him to win!

Daddy got some new waiters for duck hunting!

Mr. Geary and Juli brought Indian food from one of Brooks' and Brandon's favorite Indian restaurants in Denver for all of us, which meant I got a night off in the kitchen!!  The food was delicious!

After dinner, I was surprised with a birthday cake and gifts from the family, since my b-day was 5 days later.  It was so thoughtful of everyone to think of celebrating my day during our busy holiday weekend!

We spent the rest of our weekend playing cards, hanging out, and having fun!  We're so grateful for everyone coming to Borger and having Thanksgiving/Christmas with us!  What a fun weekend!!