Thanksgiving

Here are just a few pictures from our Thanksgiving break. For us there was not much of a break but the fast trip we had was so full and fun that it was so worth it! The top pictures are on the day after Thanksgiving decorating our Christmas tree. Not sure why it showed up first but oh well. The other ones are at Grandma's house at lunch time. I regret not getting more pictures but was so busy that I forgot most of the time. The first one is of Jerrett sitting on Uncle Don's lap. My uncle Don and Aunt Tami have been some of our biggest supporters thru the whole adoption process and love our little boy to pieces. The feeling is mutual. J tells all of his friends about how his uncle Don is a hero because he is a fire fighter and he helps people. He also plays with Jerrett and takes him exploring up at the pond and in the woods at Grandma's. The girl in the picture is Madison. She is Jerrett's cousin I think. She is actually my cousin's daughter so I guess she is technically my cousin. But anyway, Jerrett had so much fun playing with her and her little brother Nolan. Nolan is 5 and those boys are so much fun together. You cannot get them to come inside and eat. They wanted to be outside playing and getting nasty. I am so glad that Jerrett gets to have that same experience with his cousins that I had growing up. Nolan and Madison's dad was my cousin Jerrid. He is my age exactly and holidays were so fun getting together and exploring Grandma's. We used to get into all sorts of trouble. It has been about 4 years since we lost Jerrid in a horrible car accident and holidays are the worst time. We miss him so much! Anyway, the last 2 pics are of what the guys in my family do. The first is of TJ skeet shooting. It was his first time to ever shoot skeet and he did so well! I was so proud of him and he had a blast. TJ loves getting to spend time with my dad, brothers, and my uncle, learning and just getting to spend guy time with them. The last picture is of our sweet little Jerrett in his ear protection just like the big boys. He was out there with them the whole time and even tried to beg them to let him shoot. He is not quite big enough yet but will be soon and I definitely see a bb gun in his future! After shooting skeet for a while, the guys decided to sight in TJ's shotgun and just mess around at the shooting range that is set up on part of the property. J and Nolan were distracted by that time and decided to play on the big dirt pile and get totally nasty before lunch. While the boys were out playing, the little ones and the big ones, us women, were in the house cooking. I love getting to spend the time with the women in my family in the kitchen. For as long as I can remember it has been a gathering place to learn not just how to cook but also life lessons and how to be a lady. I love the time spent learning and loving with them. Once the guys came in and got cleaned up we had lunch and then the guys all rested and the women cleaned up. About 3 or so we headed down to Granny's house.

By this time we had a pretty cranky little boy on our hands but thankfully he slept the whole way to Granny's house so by the time we got there he was good to go. Jerrett is the youngest at Granny's house too. But this time by about 10 years so he is spoiled rotten by all of my cousins and uncles who love to play with him. They wore that little boy out! He was so tired that he could barely eat his dinner. While we were there though I learned some great news! Mom, Dad, Uncle Kent and my Aunt Ginger have decided to build my granny a new house!! I am so excited for her and also a little sad. The house that she lives in now was built by my grandad for her and him as a wedding gift on the ranch that they own. It is just a small little farm house that is so full of love and memories not just of my childhood but also the childhood of my mom and her 3 brothers. But the house is close to 50 years old and since Grandad passed away, and the lovely OK weather, the house is falling into irrepair and is not a great place for my granny to be as she gets older. They are going to salvage as much as the stuff in the house now to put in the new house, including the cabinets that my grandad built in the kitchen. And all of the woodwork that he handcrafted. But I am so happy that she is going to be getting a new place that is safe and modern with central heat and air and a dish washer! The plan is to build the new house behind the current one. So hopefully next year we get to have Thanksgiving in Granny's brand new house! I am so happy and excited for her. I know that she is sad to leave the house that she has been in for so many years but this is what Grandad would have wanted.

Next blog I will tell you all about our Christmas decorating and my birthday but right now I need to get a certain cranky pants down for his nap!