So Much to be Thankful For....

I need to recap all the wonderful things that have happened in the last two months.

1. We had a beautiful Thanksgiving filled with family and friends. I got to have my wonderful niece here with us in Buffalo for four days. On Thanksgiving Day I didn't have to cook! (Thank heaven! Most days the thought of cooking makes we want to throw up)! We went to my in-laws and all I had to do was make a salad! Coming home to a clean kitchen was marvelous! We also celebrated Uncle Jamie and Uncle Joe's birthday!

2. On our way to Rochester for Thanksgiving we hit a deer with Jason's brand new car. The young buck looked me right in the eye and charged our car anyway. He lost. But he dented the side doors a bit, took out the passenger mirror, and his tiny antler busted through the back passenger window. (the little triangular shaped one all the way in the back). We were amazed at how much glass was shattered all over the car. Particularly how much glass and hair was all over Lily, her car seat and what was left of the window frame. We pulled over, got her and her car seat out and brushed them off. A nice gentleman stopped to see if we were okay...and made sure to tell the girls that the deer was okay and ran off into the woods. ~such a lie! We've been able to drive the car and no one was hurt. But this is the second time my children have been in a car that got attacked by a deer this winter. Now...every time we get in the car they wonder if we'll have another encounter with Bambi or one of his affiliates.

We went back to Rochester to celebrate the holiday with my family and had great fun letting the girls bounce their hearts out on a borrowed bounce house from our neighbor. Thanks David!

3. We found out that Tranquill baby #3 is on its way. The girls kiss my belly every day and talk about possible names. Lily wants to name it Conclue after her favorite blue elephant. She refers to the baby as a he, but insists she wants a baby sister. Chloe would prefer Angelina Ballerina. We're hoping for a baby boy to balance out the estrogen level in our home. Even our dog is female...poor Jay is so outnumbered!

Nine weeks

4. Jason graduated from his program and will start working at a hospital in Syracuse very soon! We can't wait to make some real money and not be students anymore! He will commute to work for a few months and then ship out to Alabama for Officer Training. We will then move to Las Vegas in April. Looking forward to some sunshine! This picture was taken during their class celebration at a typical Buffalo bar. We ate lots of pizza and wings and watched everyone slowly get trashed. Carolyn, Kalisa, and I left early because we were cold and not excited about watching people get waisted. We had no real interest in watching the football game either! We also thought that we should go find the rest of Anna's shirt for her! In all fairness, we really needed to relieve our babysitters!

5. Since Jason graduated that means many of our good friends did as well, and are therefore leaving the Buffalo area much sooner than we are. We had a mourning party for our friend Kalisa who just flew back West today. Her husband Derek was one of Jason's favorite people to hang with...we'll miss them and there kids a lot! But Chloe and Lily know where they are on the map and feel better about moving to Nevada because Idaho looks close to Nevada!

6. Carolyn and I went to an ornament exchange party and had a great time! Chloe and Lily helped me make the ornaments. It turns out Lily loves to Modge-Podge and Chloe loves glitter!

A sample of what we made....

The assortment of what I came home with!

7. Chloe and Lily got to be angels at our Ward Christmas party. They missed rehearsal due to ballet class...but had no problem winging it!

8. We went to Stokoe Farms today to cut down Nana Davis' and Aunt Jennie's trees. This is a tradition for us. We always go there in the fall for pumpkins and in December for Christmas trees. We eat hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch, play on the slide, climb the hay mountain, see the chicken show, feed the animals, cut down a tree or two, check out baby Jesus in the manger scene, pose with Santa Clause, and then have hot cocoa and donuts before our fingers fall off!

So, like I said before....we have so much to be thankful for!