Thanksgiving weekend

Our Thanksgiving weekend started off with a trip to Whole Foods for their delicious pizza by the slice and some cake, then to the park for some exercise. It's always a challenge for me to get out for more than an hour or two with all four kids, but this time was actually quite nice. Naomi took a nice nap outside in the cold winter air, and I got to hit pause on all the things that were waiting for me at home. It's kind of nice to just leave it all behind and spend some time outside. Ben, Mila, and Olivia climbed up the hill all by themselves for the first time since I had to be with the stroller at the bottom, and they kind of freaked me out. My protective mama instincts kicked in, and I didn't take my eyes off them, expecting someone to start tumbling down the sandy hill at the steep parts.It all ended well, however, and they had a lot of fun. They took the long way down, using trails instead of the steep sandy path. Those dots on the second picture are them.

The next day we had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house, which looked delicious, but I can't be sure since I didn't eat it. Okay, I can be sure. My mom loves to put a big spread in front of us, it just makes her happy and all her food is delicious. I cheated and ate a few Brussels sprouts since they were right in front of my seat at the table and were staring at me all of dinner, but otherwise I just had to sit and watch. My contributions were salad and cake, and another cake for the in-laws' house. We headed there next and finished off a wonderful day full of family and food.

I had no desire to run out with all the crazy people to go shopping, so I stayed home and had a nice morning in. The excitement never ends over here, however, because Ben's throat was causing him a lot of pain for several days by then, so we went in to test for strep, and it came back positive. So that was basically our day--urgent care and the pharmacy.

This year, not rushing around eating and focusing on the food so much during Thanksgiving dinner, I actually got to enjoy Thanksgiving more than other years and really sit still and reflect on the holiday. These kids that test my patience and give me headaches every day are my biggest blessings, along with their dad. They made me a mother, and I'd do anything for them. God has been good to me, and I am so thankful.

xoxo,
Tanya

PS I messed up when editing these photos and made the quality really bad, but I'm out of time to fix them all over again so they'll stay this way for now.