Thanksgiving and Sea World

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love being with family. I love food. I love naps. I love relaxing. That is exactly what this year's Thanksgiving was for me. James and I went down to my Aunt Jean and Uncle Dave's in El Cajon with other family from my mom's side and we had a really great time together. There is so much to be thankful for this year especially. I am always so thankful for my parents and their amazing generosity in allowing James and I and our ever growing family to live with them. I am so thankful for my amazing husband who never ceases to amaze me at what he is capable of doing. I am very thankful for this new baby that could be arriving very soon. James and I have wanted a second for so long and are so grateful that the Lord has allowed us to have a second in His timing. I am so thankful for all my nieces and nephews who always make me smile. I am so thankful that James and I both have jobs. I am just thankful. Here are a few pics of our wonderful thanksgiving.

Liana making pecan pie with Papa.
Liana reading There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Pie to Aunt Jean

Boys and Football

Jean had it decorated so beautifully for us.

Yummy Desserts

Yummy Lunch

It wouldn't be a Lindley gathering with games that required you to put napkins on your head. We are laughing at Grandpa who just tried to describe Barney as a place where you put your cows and horses.

The next morning, we enjoyed coffee and scones out by the pool in the great San Diego weather.

Enjoying the Sun and some Cereal

James and Liana at Sea World. Thank God I could opt out of that ride.

Can you find Liana?

Amazing how it was only the day after Thanksgiving, but they were already all decorated for Christmas at Sea World. Here we are with our Shamu Santa Hats.

Waiting in Line for the 4-D Polar Express movie. James looks cute, don't you think?

James and the gang on Atlantis

Here is our friend Angel's Daughter Allyson. Liana was making her laugh and it was too cute not to include. This was our last trip to Sea World with our passes seeing as they run out at the end of December. It was a fun day, but I was ready to get home and relax.

Stone Soup

At my preschool, every year, our way to celebrate Thanksgiving with the kids is to make Stone Soup. It has a really cute story that goes along with it about a traveler who comes into a town very hungry, but everyone tells him they have no food to share. He tells them if someone gives him a pot with water he will teach them how to make soup out of a stone and share it with them. He gets the stone and tells them it smells good, but would be even better if it had a carrot. One townsman says he thinks he ones carrot left at home. I think you see where the story is going. All the villagers end up contributing to the soup and they all share it together vowing never to let anyone leave their town hungry again. So we have all the kids sign up to bring a vegetable and we make stone soup with them. It can be pretty crazy giving two year olds knives and all, but they did really well this year. Here are a few pictures of the fun we had.

We even set the table really nice for them for lunch. It was a fun way to celebrate with them.

Dave and Laura's Wedding

Saturday, we got to go attend a wedding for a couple in our Church. They are great friends of ours and it was a really special night.

Liana looked so beautiful
Laura's sister Natalie and Dave's daughter Simone looked beautiful.

It was a short ceremony so it was standing room only.

The flower girls

The beautiful Bride

The Davenports.

Dave, Laura, James and I.

If you look closely, Liana is third from the back in the Conga Line

Liana dancing with the Bride

Liana dancing with her dad.

Liana dancing with Heather. So Liana loved dancing the night away as you can see.

Ladybug Birthday Party

Liana was invited to a birthday party for one of the kids in her class this Saturday. It was a ladybug theme and very cute. In their basement, they had all kinds of ladybug coloring pages for the girls.

This is Liana with the birthday girl Kaitlyn. All the girls were to dress in black and they made ladybug wings for all of them.
Here are all the Ladybugs. Notice above the mantle. The goody bags were Eric Carle's the grouchy ladybug with ladybug stickers and a lollypop. Very cute.

Lunch time

Getting ready for the cake.

Trip To Hollister To Visit the Puffers

Last weekend, James, Liana, and I made a trip up to see Jason and Rachel of course the cutest little Sophie. It is very important to us that even though they don't live 20 minutes away anymore, that we get together as much as we can. The drive is extremely boring, but not as bad as I was expecting and we had a really good, but too short of time with them. We all know Jason is not a city boy at all and as soon as we saw him, he radiates how happy he is up there. He loves his job, being home for dinner and getting weekends off. It was so good to see them in such a good place.

James hanging with the girls
Liana loved giving Sophie her bottle everynight. I think she is going to be a great big sister.

We went on a great picnic, but it was freezing and i let Rachel talk me out of bringing my sweater. We got a great view from the top, though.

Rachel and I were laughing at this picture. James and Jason are so involved in the conversation, that they do not realize that Liana is jumping off the side of the cliff.

The Domingo Family

Rachel put us to work and Liana was more then happy to help the apple cake dessert which was to die for.

Sophie felt a bit left out with everyone getting dinner ready so we put her high chair by the window so she could watch the boys BBQing.

Some good 'ole rough housing with Jason.

Jason's brother and family came over for dinner and some Settlers. Jason won.

The Girls

The Puffers. We can't wait to make the next trip with one more kid in tow.

Happy Halloween

Our Halloween weekend ended up being a bit more crowded then was originally thought. My poor sister in law was admitted to the hospital on Thursday with viral meningitis. That meant we got the three kids for the weekend. Knowing it was Halloween and they had lots of fun stuff planned, my mom and I wanted to still make it special for all of them. Friday night we got the three younger ones in the mood by printing Halloween coloring pages off the internet. Caleb was not even slightly intrested in coloring. I was so impressed how long they all sat there keeping busy. Even Lincoln lasted a good 15 minutes with the girls.

Halloween morning, I woke up and made a big breakfast for everyone which included some very yummy pumpkin pancakes.

I woke up at 7:45 with Liana already dressed in her costume. Her generous Aunt B. got it for her and I wouldn't let her wear it until Halloween for fear of ruining it.

So here is my little Peacock. She was beautiful if I do say so myself.

These two just adore eachother. Lincoln loved his pumpkin costume.

Caleb only got in the mood when we headed over to Church for Falloween. Poor Lindley started to run a fever herself and had to stay home with Papa.

Here we are at our church Falloween Festival. Liana and Lincoln getting a hay ride.

James and I. He got hit after this picture for calling me Big Tummy Mama.

My sister Molly showed up with her sweetie Vienna. She borrowed Liana's first Halloween costume. It was a toss-up who was a cuter lobster.

I know. Big Belly Mama. Only 7 weeks to go.

Lincoln, Liana, James, and I also did some trick-or-treatings as well and the evening turned out a lot of fun. I feel bad that Lindley missed out, but she was feeling so bad that I don't think she even minded herself that much.