A New Thanksgiving Tradition

We spent Thanksgiving at home in Wahoo. We haven't spent a Thanksgiving with our family in Minnesota since the year before Jonah was born. And, it is likely that Thanksgivings with our extended family will be very few. So, this year we started a new Thanksgiving tradition for our family - a Thanksgiving tablecloth. I got a neutral colored tablecloth and a fabric pen. We each took turns writing what we were thankful for this year on the tablecloth. I look forward to 5, 10, or even 20 years from now when we will be able to pull out the tablecloth and look back on what we have been thankful for in the years past.

 I wrote Psalm 106:1 in the center of the tablecloth

 Jonah thinking about what he is thankful for

 If I remember right, I think he said God, food, and TV...in that order

 Helping Silas think of something to be thankful for. He didn't give an answer. I spoke for him and wrote Mommy & Daddy and food.

A Few Days in Mountain Lake

In the middle of November, the boys and I took a few days and traveled to Minnesota to see Grandma and Grandpa. Mike stayed home so he could have some time to get caught up on church work and house projects. We had a great time in Minnesota! Jonah got a haircut, we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa, and we went to Mankato for the day with Grandma and got to play at the River Hills Mall and visit our friends the Baty's. Also, my mom and I took in some of the Christmas happenings in Mountain Lake - a holiday bazaar and a tour of homes. We were planning to come back home on that Saturday, but the weather got icky. So, we stayed an extra night and went to church with Grandma and Grandpa in the morning before heading back to Wahoo. Since we were in Mountain Lake at the right time, the boys got to visit Santa in the city park. It was VERY cold that night (windchill was 5 or 6 degrees!) and I had no winter clothing with for the boys as we weren't expecting to have such weather. They got soooo cold waiting in line, but I think they had fun anyway!

Jonah Turned 3

On November 7, we celebrated 3 years of life with our Jonah. It was a special day focused around him. His birthday was so fun this year as he was able to anticipate it, give suggestions for foods, and even input on his cake.

 Jonah chose smoothies and muffins for breakfast

 Jonah's first ever game of Candyland. He is a master Candyland player by now.

 Jonah requested pizza for supper.

And, he insisted on having a Dairy Queen cake. He first got to see a DQ cake when we had been there with some friends the week prior to his birthday. I guess it looked tasty to him because when I mentioned a cake he immediately asked for a DQ cake. 

It was such a blessing to celebrate Jonah's birthday with him. He is growing so quickly and his little mind amazes us. He is taking in everything we say and do, which is both humbling and convicting. We thank God daily for giving Jonah to us!

Our Firefighters

Still in October...
The boys both dressed up as firefighters for Halloween. Jonah and Mike went trick-or-treating just up and down the street we live on. Silas stayed home with me to hand out candy.

 Trying to sneak candy from our bucket of candy to hand out

 Silas had no intentions on getting his picture taken as a fireman. This was the best we got.

Fireman Jonah ready to go. He had black pants to wear with his costume. I really am not sure why he didn't wear them. Guess that's why I shouldn't wait so long to blog, huh?!

Calvary Church's Trunk or Treat

Still in October....
Our church hosted a Trunk or Treat party on the night before Halloween. It was the first time that most of our church had even heard of such an event. But, that didn't stop them from coming up with some pretty creative ideas! We had a WONDERFUL evening of games, food, and trunk-or-treating.

Me decorating our birthday party themed trunk

Jonah and his friend Tayler

Mike and the boys with our finished trunk

Sy did a GREAT job of sitting by me while I handed out candy - of course, an M&M was needed every now and then.

Jonah spent most of the evening in the bounce house. Thankfully, we had some great youth who kept an eye on the little ones in the bounce to make sure they didn't get trampled.

Silas' friend Javier stopped by. Isn't Javier's costume SO cute? We didn't get any pictures with both of them looking at the camera...Sy kept looking at Lion Javier and Javier kept looking around at all the people!

Jonah at 3 years

Ok...here we go. I am going to back up to the end of October and put up some pictures. Hoping it won't take me too long to get to January.

These were Jonah's 3 year pictures that I took at a park here in town. Can't believe how much he has grown even since these were taken!

New Years Goals

Every Christmastime since we had Jonah, Mike and I have gone on a date while in Minnesota and have taken time to talk about our family and set some goals. This year, we changed our approach a bit. Both of us feel as if our home and family have been more surviving and less thriving mostly because of our lack of self-discipline. We wanted our goals for the year to adequately reflect that as well as other areas we are struggling with as well as having goals that reflected our strengths.

So, while trying out the new little coffee shop in my hometown, we talked through the strengths and areas of growth needed for each of our family members. Then, we set our goals for each person and as a family. In past years, we have made our goals measurable. This year, we felt that making some of the goals measurable would restrict them, make them more legalistic, or take away from the heart behind them. Measurable goals are easier to reach, but we aren't necessarily looking to meet goals just to meet them. We are setting goals so our hearts are fixed on the right things.

I won't share all of our goals, but here are a few of them.

Jonah - Increase in understanding of the chief end of man - to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. (primarily a goal for us as he will need us teaching and modeling this to him)

Silas - Memorize 3 Bible verses (this one is measurable, but a goal we once set for Jonah and he blew us away at his ability to memorize Scripture from a young age. I'm sure Silas will be great at it, too!)

Me (Julie) - Up at 5:30 am everyday - So far, so good and I am actually feeling a little more rested. I think it is because I am going to bed earlier.
- To read 5 books this year - Reading has always been one of my favorite past times, but I have really struggled with time to do it since moving to Wahoo. So, this year it is a goal. I just started reading Elyse Fitzpatrick's Give Them Grace and have 2 more lined up.

Family - Consistently have our home open to friends and church family. We love to have people over for a meal and enjoyed the open house we hosted for our church family this Christmas. We look forward to another year of loving on and ministering to those around us!