Thanksgiving 2017

Our Thanksgiving week started off with a Preschool Thanksgiving program on Monday night. My little boy and his preschool peers performed several songs and recited some poems on stage for their families. It was most adorable and seeing my son enjoy singing on stage made me a very proud mommy. 

Ready to perform:

Praying:

Here is a little compilation of Elliot's first performance at preschool:

Since the performance started right at bed time, 20 minutes in to it, Elliot got really tired. But he pulled thru to the end like a pro. Great job, Elliot! 

Elliot and his teacher, Ms. Williams

This Thanksgiving was a bit different for us as we were invited to Derrick's co-worker, Nancy, for dinner (she celebrated last Thanksgiving with us). The children were happy to see Sassy and PowderPuff again and it seemed like, the animals were equally excited. 

It felt a bit weird not to have to cook but we made some homemade cookies in the morning and relaxed before heading over to Nancy's house. And there was so much delicious food, we filled our bellies real' good. 

The only thing to do after eating a lot, is to rest afterwards:

Nancy loves my children and spoils them when we see her. She got them both some birthday/ Christmas gifts, which included these adorable stuffed animals: 

The weather was beautiful and we all dressed up; thus, a family picture had to be taken:

 Me and my Love:

On our way home from Nancy's, we decided to stop by at my friend Emily's house for dessert. Even though it was later than expected, the timing was just perfect and we enjoyed spending a couple of hours with our friends. The kids played and the adults chatted and then we ate more pie. The perfect ending to a perfect day.

We often take for granted the things that are most important in our life. And Thanksgiving provides us a great opportunity to recount our blessings and be thankful for what we got. I'm so thankful for my family and friends and the way our Lord provides for us. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays as we can be together with our family/ friends, relax and eat till we drop. 

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving as well.

Beginning of the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

On Friday, we welcomed the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year. After an early supper, the whole family went to a nearby Plaza for their tree lightning ceremony. Before the tree was lit up, we had the chance to meet 3 very popular princesses. Amelia was delighted to hug Anna, Elsa and Cinderella. 

Elliot wasn't really interested in the princesses but got a good seat so he can see what came next.

And then the big jolly old fella walked by and the countdown for the tree lightning ceremony was on

...3,2.1:

The kids weren't in the mood for pretty Christmas tree pictures but me and my love took a cute one:

In December we not only celebrate Jesus' birthday but also another little man's special day. Because he is helping Daddy fix things around the house a lot, uncle Lenni bought him a toolbox for his birthday. As this was a rainy Saturday and Derrick had a long list of things that needed to be fixed, we decided to surprise Elliot with another early birthday gift. And this one was a HIT! He has not put it down since and it is the first thing he talks about after waking up. 

Thank you, uncle Lenni!

While the boys were busy at home, we girls got our nails all prettied up and then went to a dance and meet and greet with Rapunzel at Barnes & Nobles. 

It was quite full but Rapunzel took her time with each child and even had a twirl with Amelia:

So blessed to call this little girl mine and spending quality time together is the best, for both of us. 

Today it was a chilly day and for tonight freezing temps are forecasted. But that didn't bother us as we bundled up and went on a family walk to the park. We took some peanuts to feed the many squirrels and they seemed happy about their special treat:

While Amelia helped me in the kitchen with making fruit salad and cooking homemade chicken noodle soup (she is great at peeling carrots and apples and cutting celery stalks), the boys worked a bit on the deck outside.

This soup was so good and just what we needed to warm up. And to stay warm, this afternoon I served hot cocoa with marshmallows and German Christmas cookies to my crew while we all watched a family favorite: The Grinch.

Best time of the year....family, food, cold weather and special celebrations. 

Ice, Ice...Cold

Since we only had two more days to spent with uncle Lenni before he flew back home, we wanted to make sure to show him another local attraction. The Gaylord Opryland Resort opened their ICE! exhibition and Christmas village this week, so on Sunday we went there.  

This walk-through holiday attraction is kept at an icy 9F (-12C) and consist of more than two million pounds of colorful ice sculptures. This year's story is entitled "A Charlie Brown Christmas".

These fancy blue parkas kept us warm but only if you moved. 

 

If you asked the children, the best part about the exhibit were the ice slides. Yes, slides made from ice. And if you didn't sit properly on your parkas, your bum got mighty cold. Somehow, both of my children had issues sliding down but that didn't bother them. They slid down at least 15 times. 

The last part of ICE! is always a full nativity scene carved in crystal clear ice...beautiful!

We were inside the ICE! exhibit for 40 minutes, which is longer than most people last, and by the time we got out we were happy to warm up with some hot cocoa around the fire pit. After that, we went inside the Hotel to look at some Christmas decorations and say hi to Santa (we will go see him again soon at Bass Pro Shop when we are dressed properly). 

The next afternoon, we had to say goodbye to uncle Lenni. We were sad that he had to fly back to Germany but he promised to come visit us again next year. And we will hold him to it! We all had a great time together and will miss him.