Favorite time of the year!

The last few weeks have been fun and the next few weeks to come are going to be fun too! It is my favorite time of the year, too!!
Remember the turkey in the previous post that Jacqueline had to disguise, well, we all worked together and dressed up the turkey. He looks funny and cute and Jacqueline was/is so proud of it.

She really had a blast decorating him!

 In one week Jacqueline lost her top 2 front teeth!! 

Both kids are doing really well in school.  And loving it!! Jacqueline went to her first birthday party (without me or Nathaniel)! It was one of her friends at school, one that she talks about a lot! Dropping her off was a little hard, I was almost in tears! I stayed in the car with Nathaniel (he cried when Jacqueline got out of the car) and she walked around the front of the car, saw another classmate and they linked arms and walked over the ice up to the house! She is growing up!! I am so glad that she has found friends!! She had a blast at the party, she painted a little wooden trinket box and made a bracelet with her name on it!

We got our last deer on the last day of hunting season! Kevin did have a challenge this time, it was really windy! It was gusting about 40 mph. He tried for one about 100 yards away and missed, the wind carried the bullet away. He came home for coffee and something to eat and then he went back out and tried again.  He called me an hour or so later saying that he got one! 

This one is bigger then the first one we got!

Jacqueline wanted to be in the picture and hold the deer!

 On Thanksgiving we had a day of games and fun! I found Rummikub earlier that week at the thrift store and we taught the kids to play! Well, it was more like us playing two boards a piece but it was fun and the kids loved it!

My board and I haven't even gone out yet! (all the tiles were from Kevin, Jacqueline and Nathaniel)

Nathaniel's board, that's all he had left and I still wasn't able to lay down! (I think it was Kevin's turn, he looks like he is thinking)

Nathaniel did win that round! Both games we played with the kids, the kids each won one!

We went to the annual 'Wake Up Santa' parade and tree lighting.  There were a few fireworks and they played Christmas music over the speakers in the square where the tree was! It was a great night for the parade, it was 'warm' for it being cold and there was no wind!! 

Frosty giving Nathaniel a hug! It was fast and missed getting Jacqueline's picture with Frosty!

I told the kids to watch for Rudolph (first one holding the sign) and when they, did I told them that it was Tante K as Rudolph! They thought it was so cool that Anneke was in the parade!

This and the tractor were Nathaniel's favorite during the parade!!

On the way home, Jacqueline told me that she wants to be in a parade just like Tante K!!

Thanksgiving dinner was at Mom and Dad's and it was a blast! We all worked together and got the food done and it was YUMMY!! Besides food and enjoying each others company, I think the highlight of the night was Brooklyn! It still cracks me up! Anneke's cat, Sebastian, was under a stool that Brooklyn sat on to eat and Brooklyn was standing about in the middle of the living room. She saw Sebastian reach for the corn that she dropped (he was in mid-motion of putting it in his mouth) and Brooklyn, as fast as she could move was there in less then a second and hit him picked up the corn put it in her mouth and tipped over the stool and made him leave.  It was so funny! I know I did not describe it all that well, but it was funny!!

I have to say, that I am so proud of Kevin and how far he has come! The Church that we have been going to is putting on a New Years Eve family fun event. Sunday, the pastor was talking about it and saying that they need more volunteers to help and as soon as he said that, Kevin leans over to me and says "I'm going to tell him to put us down wherever they need our help!" I was cheering on the inside!  We are going to help, we are either going to help set up or help clean up!  Kevin has also been in contact with the pastor for us to be put in a group for the adult Bible study (they are trying something new starting in January, will know more in the weeks to come)! I did some more cheering on the inside!!

I have to say that I am really looking forward to the next few weeks! Jacqueline is having her first school concert next Wednesday!! I hope that I can video it and share it here for you to see!! Then Christmas, the New Years Eve thing with Church and then the start of the Bible study groups!! I'm excited!!!  

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!