{iPhone Rewind} :: November

Aiden lost another tooth! He was so relieved because he actually swallowed this one {on accident}, but he didn't have to worry about it anymore!

Maddie studies our family calendar all the time. She has progressed to the point of pulling up a chair and taking notes haha.

Playing soccer on a beautiful fall day!

Bedtime reading of The Wingfeather Saga

Maddie asked to take a photo of the beautiful sunset :)

It's comfy weather!

Eli got to pick a prize in Sunday School, and he picked a Butterfinger for Papa. He asked if we could put it in "Papa's stash for when he comes to visit." Sweet boy :)

Science experiments are fun- yay! {except when they don't work- boo!}

We had a game night with some friends from church and the kids were introduced to Carcassonne.

Reading silly stories from Granny :)

We found a praying mantis in our neighbor's yard!

When the Christmas blow-ups reach the rafters, and the Grinch dances and sings...the errands Mom makes you run aren't quite as bad ;)

Diving into the world of The Wingfeather Saga

We celebrated Mike's birthday with fun cards and presents. We ordered pizza for dinner, since we were prepping for Thanksgiving, but you would have thought it was Aiden's birthday ha!

Ready for Christmas

The day after Thanksgiving, the kids were excited to get the Christmas decorations up. We spent the day decorating the tree, putting up the stockings, and putting up the outdoor lights. We listened to Christmas music, Eli put together some Christmas LEGOs, and we made some Christmas garland.

Silly girl :)

We made Leftover Turkey Wild Rice Soup for dinner {so yummy!}, and we enjoyed our Christmas-decorated home. We're ready for the season!

Thanksgiving 2025

For Thanksgiving this year, we had a couple of church members over for lunch, so we needed all hands on deck to help prep our Thanksgiving feast! We had a full menu, so we started a couple of days ahead of time to be sure to get it all done. But I had great helpers! 

We went back to our Pioneer Woman turkey brine and roasted turkey recipes from a couple of year's ago. I started cooking at 325, then raised the temp to 350, and I didn't have to worry about it being undercooked this time. Much better results :)

We made Mike's family recipes: his grandma's cornbread dressing and rolls. It's fun to pass down family recipes to the kids, and I love that they look forward to helping with these recipes. 

We also had mashed potatoes, honey roasted carrots, green bean casserole, corn, cranberry sauce, gravy, and (of course) pumpkin pie. 

The rest of the day was relaxing and enjoying our turkey coma :)  And of course, we couldn't finish the day without watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we are so thankful for the memories together as a family. We missed being with our extended family, but we are thankful for the time we had with members of our church family. We praise God for all the blessings that He has granted throughout this year.

LEGOs and Chipmunks!

For Eli and Maddie's 9th birthday, we celebrated with LEGOs and chipmunks!

Their birthday fell on a Sunday, so while they got to wake up to their usual birthday excitement and decor, we had to push some of their celebration off until after church. But we tried to still make it special by celebrating with their friends in Sunday School. They got to hand out cupcakes and their friends sang Happy Birthday, as well as prayed a special birthday blessing over them. 

Amen. 

After church, we got to celebrate at home. Eli and Maddie opened presents, and there were lots of LEGOs for Eli, and chipmunks and Calico Critters for Maddie. 

They made cards for each other...

...and read them to each other :)

The afternoon was spent playing and creating and imagining, but they did also get to play outside in the beautiful weather. And of course, there were cupcakes and birthday singing!

We got to zoom with Granny and Grumpz, and there were messages from so many people that love Eli and Maddie. It was a fun and special day, and I pray that they always know how much they are loved and cared for. 

Happy 9th Birthday, Eli and Maddie!