November

November seems like a LONG time ago already.  So I'm thankful for the pictures that I did take to help me remember the good memories from our month!

Mason loves Molly and I often find them together!

Getting ready to explore a new area: Palisades State Park.  Mason was trying out his daddy's hiking boots.  :)

 What a fun spot!  The boys loved it and even wanted me to take their pictures while we were there!

We figured it would be one of the last warm Fall days so we took advantage of our Sunday afternoon/evening together.

Mason loves the bike trailer and one day when Daddy took him on a bike ride, they even got to stop to play at a park!

We don't have a lot of leaves to clean up on our yard but it's still amazing how many van loads of grass and leaves that we had to bring to the dump this Fall.  Thankful for little helpers!

It's become our tradition to feed the kids Jack's pizza on Sunday nights.  After they are in bed Nathan makes homemade pizza for us!  It's our weekly "date night".  The pizza is always delicious and way more than we need.  And we look forward to the down time each week!

A family movie and popcorn night!

Yeah, my Snapfish order arrived.  Time to get Christmas cards ready!  And I love how the boys' pictures look in the frames in our kitchen!

Congrats to Ashley for making it to the State Volleyball Tournaments!  It was so fun to watch a couple of her games, especially since they won 1st place!!!  So proud of her accomplishments.

Cuddle time by the warm fire!

The first big snowfall of the season!  The boys were so excited to play in it.

Sleepy baby.  How cute is that!

Molly's favorite spot!

No electricity!  We woke up early on a Saturday morning to a power outage. Our lifestyles reflect the fact that we are rarely without it, so after nearly 24 hours, we were excited that things were back to normal again!

Mason likes to help with shoveling the sidewalk!

Dorian and Levi created this huge banner at home one evening.  I was very impressed!  It shows many of the things that they are thankful for.

Dorian: Jesus, shelter, cousins, trees, food, Christian school, Levi, Mom, Dad, Mason, seasons of the year, warm bed, books, clothes, churches, Bible

Levi: Jesus, Dad, Mom, Mason, Dorian, Molly Bible, music, God, my birthday

Dorian and Levi both brought home some great Thanksgiving themed art and writing projects from school!

Dorian wrote, "I am thankful for Jesus because he died on the cross for us.  I am thankful for my mom and dad because they bring me on vacation.  I am thankful for food so we can stay alive.  I am thankful for school so we can learn, read, and learn how to write.  I am thankful for shelter because I would get too cold in the winter.  I am also thankful for my friends because I need friends to play with me.  I am thankful for the Bible because it helps you learn about Bible times."

Levi wrote a note to Mason saying that he was thankful because "you give me water".  Levi thinks it's awesome that when he asks Mason to get his water bottle at home, he does!  And Mrs. Rozenboom wrote about how Levi is kind and a hard worker!

Levi wrote, "I am thankful for my big brother Dorian and my mom and my dad and my little brother Mason because they all play with me.  My Grandma plays Whack a Mole.  She wacks her card instead of the chip in the middle."

Dorian wrote about how instead of having turkey, you might consider trying pizza instead!  :)

Levi did a report on the Wampanoags (the Native Americans who shared the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims) to share with his class!

Levi had a very special Pilgrims and Indians party at school just before Thanksgiving which he was super excited about!

For some reason, I didn't take any pictures of our Thanksgiving weekend this year.  Everyone was healthy and we had a great time eating the traditional Thanksgiving meal at mom and dad's house. Our whole family plus some extended family were there!  What a blessing!  And then on Saturday of that weekend I had a lot of fun decorating our house for Christmas!

More snow!  We're thankful to our neighbor who owns a bobcat and often clears our driveway for us before we can get to it.  Mason watched from inside the house while his brothers watched from the fort that they made.

Levi, Dorian, and Jayden warming up with hot chocolate!  I love it that they can literally spend hours building forts, sledding, digging tunnels, etc.