The most memorable part of Thanksgiving was the practical joke my dad played on everyone. I knew ahead of time because I sent him an email of a joke someone else played on their family. My dad found a small game hen at the store and cooked it inside of the turkey. When everyone was prepared to eat, he started to carve the turkey and pulled out the hen with a look of surprise on his face. My mom and the kids had a reaction I wish I had caught on camera. My mom was stunned that she purchased a pregnant turkey, her mouth was open and her eyes were wide. The kids were asking questions, they were very curious. Eventually, Jared asked the obvious question..... "Where's the egg and why doesn't it have a head?" Smart boy. My moms eyes narrowed and you could almost see it on her face, the realization that it was all a joke. Everyone was laughing, we had a good time.
December was a blur, between Christmas shopping and last minute photo shoots, it went by too quickly. There was a week when I had 3 angel sessions (NILMDTS.org) and that wounded my Christmas spirit. I always look forward to the feeling of Christmas, the cold weather and warm coats, the smell of pine, the Christmas lights... all of it. But this year was difficult, my spirit was broken and I was picking up the pieces. This experience brought me to my knees, but with the help of my friends and family, I was able to get back up again. During the 12 days of Christmas, someone delivered gifts to our doorstep and a few other people here and there delivered things anonymously. We were overwhelmed with gratitude, it lifted my spirit and we felt loved. I took a picture of our first gift of Christmas....
I'm also sharing one image of each of my angels hands/feet with the permission of the families (as always). Thank heavens for my friend, Nia and my mom. Without their help during my sessions, it would have been much more difficult. These first two angels were done on the same day, back to back.
I think that the kids will tell anyone that the highlight of December was meeting Santa. I met Santa Charlie at the mall and was able to trade family pictures for an appearance in his Santa costume. He is the best Santa! He knows all of the reindeer, the stories, and every answer a kid could come up with. And the boys put him to the test, they had all sorts of questions. They were so excited, I was afraid they'd wet their pants. And to top it all off, they "caught" Santa delivering presents again.
The boys had a nice Christmas, probably their best yet. They got something they've wanted for 3 years. It's wonderful because I can get them to do anything (homework, reading, cleaning) and they'll do it just to earn more minutes playing their games. Here are some random pictures....
David enjoying his remote controlled helicopter
Jared peaking to see if anyone was awake (this was on the front page of the Sunday Extra in our local newspaper)
1 comment:
I hope you write a book someday. You made me cry and laugh. Thank you for sharing your adorable family with the rest of us. You are fabulously talented and caring. We are so blessed to have you as a friend.
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