November - Thanksmas

The first Sunday of November, a neighbor stood up at our church (we are still watching a broadcast of it remotely from home) and shared her experience with only thanking the Lord for all of the blessings in her life during the month of November and not asking for anything. I followed that challenge and was quickly humbled how often I rely on help from God in my prayers. It was a really wonderful experience for me and a great way to spend the month with Thanksgiving.  

I'll admit, with the long year of Covid, we needed a little extra cheer and created a Thanksmas vibe in our home. We pulled down our tree fairly early to enjoy the lights but just left it undecorated until after we celebrated Thanksgiving. Here's how Nic hauled in the tree ... haha!

The loved having the tree up just as much as we did!

When we finally decorated it, they both wanted a turn putting on the star. ;)

Magnet blocks have become a huge hit in our house. Our little builders are incredibly creative with them. On this particular night, they made a rocket ship together and were flying to the moon. ;) They got 3 more sets of magnet blocks for Christmas so now they can really build giant towers and castles!

Nic and I haven't been ice skating together in years but I signed us up to do it for a date one afternoon at the Village. It felt so magical to skate outside and be surrounded by a giant Christmas tree and shoppers everywhere. I imagine we felt a small fraction of what it must be like to ice skate at the Rockefeller Center in New York City during this time of year! It is on our bucket list to go there during the holiday season one day. We did wear our masks but just took them off for a quick picture.

I absolutely adore every Anthropologie display they have ever had! They are so intricate, unique, and get my creative side so happy. Their holiday display had this cute puppy this year and I had to take a picture to show Ya Ya!

This was right after Liam's final football game for the season. They held hands on the drive home. <3

Lyla always amazes me with her level of bravery. I took her for a dental checkup and she let them do a full teeth cleaning while we were there. She held perfectly still and didn't make a sound. She was overly quiet and shy than she usually is but such an angel!

Looking so tiny and cute in that giant dentist chair! The hygienist had to prop up 3 pillows under her bum to get her at the right height. haha

At the end of last Christmas season, we donated all of our plastic ball Christmas ornaments. We got them when we first got married and they were covered in glitter and always made the biggest mess. I swapped them out for homemade ones this year ... I bought clear plastic ornaments from Hobby Lobby and filled them with paint colors that match our Christmas stockings. I love how they turned out!

Thanksgiving finally came and we celebrated with my mom this year. I found these cute thankful placemats for the kids to color before dinner ...

Then my mom saw this cute idea from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine where you cut a tree branch from your yard and hang thankful leaves on it! We all had plenty of things to be thankful for, even during this challenging year with Covid. Lyla said she was thankful for herself. ;) haha

My sweet step-mom gave me that "Just be You" piece of art so I had Nic hang it in our entryway where our kids gather their backpacks and coats for school every morning. I love the message it reminds us all of. 

Last but not least, Ya Ya is officially potty trained!!! Second time was the charm! Even at night. Proud of this big girl!