November is the month of Thanksgiving. Our family has a lot to be thankful for! We have tons of friends and family that love us and have gotten to spend time with most all our family sometime this month. The older I get the more I realize there is no thing in this world that can make us happy it is people, the love between family and friends that make life worth living. Thank you for all our family and friends that add value, entertainment, and joy to our lives.

Daddy had to go work Monday before we headed to Gatlinburg so the girls got to got to their Thanksgiving performance at school (daddy left work early to come too). Mimi, Daddy, and Mommu were so proud of them; they did great!

We neglected to take pictures our first night when we arrived since we were tired but the girls enjoyed going to aunt Joy and uncle John’s and seeing their cousins they have not saw in a year. Leia made me laugh when she asked to go to our vacation home since “the boys are crazy and I need some quiet” – she is so her daddy’s daughter! Not long afterwards mommy made Ivy go who wanted to stay and party even though she had not napped hardly any so she would be sweet and fun the next day.

Tuesday, we leisurely got up and ready – I love vacations where relaxing is the name of the game! It was a rainy cold day so most activity needed to be inside. Grandpa, Deedee, Leia, Ivy, daddy and mommy all headed to the outlets and lunch. We did not shop too long but the girls both got a treat at the Disney store since they were helpful when mommy was shopping. After Grandpa and Deedee treated us to a yummy lunch we headed back to the chalet for rest and invited cousin Isla over for a little bit before everyone converged at aunt Terri’s house for drinks. A highlight was the dance party the Batson ladies have … Leia and Ivy liked being tossed in the air the best. Thank you Terri for a delicious dinner and fun time.

 

Isla and Leia had fun crafting and dancing before we went to aunt Terri’s  

The kids art table at Terri and Winnie’s

Ivy was a little shy at first and wanting to be held but when she got down she was a party girl and entertained everyone
  

Two very sweet ladies!

What a fun lady! Great to meet you Mrs Diane

Leia ate enough to have energy to play and make sure she could get a yummy treat Deedee made

Fun with aunt Joy/Mimi Joy

Leia loved taking pictures! Unfortunately most of them had her finger covering up the lens but she captured a good one of Ricky

Dawn and Grandpa got their arm workouts
 

Sweet Leia needed a little escape time so acted like she was asleep

Dance party at aunt Terri’s

Always fun to play drums on daddy’s head but the kiss makes sure he’s not hurt
 

Leia and Ivy loved playing in our chalet with Grandpa and Deedee! 

Wednesday when we woke up there was a beautiful dust of snow on the ground!

 

Grandpa brought in snow to touch while the girls ate since mommy and daddy said they needed to eat before we got out in it.
  

Ready to get out and play in the snow
 

Leia’s first snow ball she threw. She liked throwing them!
 

Ivy preferred to be on daddy or mommy’s hip!
 

Love my girls!

Daddy’s girls love him! This was taken right before Deedee’s great aim 😉

How fun

After the snow daddy, mommy, and Ivy went to visit the Huckestien house
Rinha and Ivy had fun together
  

Deedee and Leia were busy getting ready for the tea party the girls’ hosted

Fun at the tea party
               

Leia gave our Deedee a turkey sticker for helping host

After the tea party daddy got to come up stairs and Leia decorated him

Wednesday night was a quiet night at Terri and Winnie’s with Gigi, Taylor, Deedee, Grandpa and us; Aunt Joy, uncle John, Diane, and Kathy came by a little bit too 🙂

  

   

Terri taught Ivy how to throw stuff in the fire

Leia enjoyed taking pictures again
  

But they were fabulous when we wanted pictures of them too
 

Family picture 🙂

A four generation picture

Happy Thanksgiving! Thursday, we headed to the top of the mountain. Thankfully Grandpa and uncle Winnie  went and got us snow tubing tickets first thing that morning while we leisurely had breakfast and relaxed a little bit. The girls got to ride the carousal a few times before it was our time to go tubing. Of course the carousal was a favorite. Leia went down the hill twice. She laughed and acted like she was enjoying it on the way down but when she got to the bottom she quickly said she did not want to do it again. However, she was proud she did it this year and was talking about it later. Mommy and daddy thought it was so fun! The girls went down for a later nap than normal so we were a little late getting to Thanksgiving dinner but there were still plenty of appetizers left and dinner was still in the oven when we arrived but best of all we got to visit with family we don’t get to see that often.

Two cool chicks heading to the top of the mountain
 

Carousal fun!

Snow tubing!
 

  

  

Attempt to put a video in of group sledding, hope it works since I have not had much luck lately with videos 🙂
[pro-player type=’video’]file://localhost/Users/lisa/Pictures/2013/November/GOPR0043.MP4[/pro-player]

At Thanksgiving Dinner

      

Gigi’s great grand-children, Thanksgiving 2013
 

After dinner we headed home to get ready for our next trip … the girls were wound up when we left though and stayed awake for awhile. Leia was the first to pass out but party girl Ivy was trying to still entertain us most the way home however sleep won out in the end
   

 Top 5 things I am grateful for this year:

1. Knowing Jesus Christ is my Savior and one day get to spend eternity with Him which allows me the gift to get to see my daddy again too in paradise
2. The family God has given me. Chris, he is a wonderful husband who I respect more than he probably even knows. Thank you Chris for sharing your life with me and being a man who I love more everyday! We get to share our life with two precious little girls that fill our days the day with joy, laughter, and keep things interesting; I can’t imagine life without them!
3. The best family a girl could ask for!!! My momma is such a inspiration to me. I always have known I was blessed but watching her handle situations and heart break with the grace, faith, strength, and humility she has makes me want to be more like her.  Knowing that I have a sister that is there for me anytime I need or want her is such a blessing. All my in-loves! Mark, God knew what he was doing when he brought you into Stacy’s life and our family, so blessed to call you my brother. Gene and Darrel a are the best second parents I could have asked for; they love me like I am one of their own and their grandchildren adore them. Kelly and Diego, I love you both! Thankful I have a second sister and get to watch you two together, you are a perfect match for each other.
4. Friends, there is nothing better than laughing with friends and loved ones. It makes rough days easier and gloomy times brighter. Thank you God, for the friends you have brought into our life weather it is for a short season or good ole lifetime friend.
5. The ability to work part-time. As a child I always said I wanted to be a mommy. Working full-time made me feel like I was not giving my children everything I could and left me stressed out. Having a little more time at home gives me the ability to spend more time with girls, take care of things at home, and a more peaceful spirit  – which in turn helps everyone in the house be in a better mood, two sayings I think are true: 1. if momma ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy and 2. happy wife, happy life 😉 just kidding, kind of