Thanksgiving with Grandpa and Grandma Lance
Tuesday I photographed a very sleepy newborn girl named Anna. She was one of the floppiest and sleepy babies ever. Her 2 year old brother was all-boy. He saw Evelyn’s AG Doll jeep and immediately tried to stuff himself inside, Amelia brought down the ice cream truck…he FIT inside it much to his delight. The tantrum he threw was epic once the toys were put away. I was afraid he would not settle down for photos but he was very obedient and got that part down with flying colors. Evelyn had a visit with Stephanie Lee about her dosage increase. Stephanie let Evelyn sort through 3 boxes of new fidgets she got in the mail when we arrived. Evelyn was excited to sort through it all and stock the fun treasure box. I think the increased Prozac is helping, she is not so mopey at school. Right after we returned I had another session with a 3-mth old cutie pie, Magnolia. She is Diego and Dahlia’s cousin. That session was really fun and fast. The kids worked on cleaning the loft and bedrooms. Evelyn threw a massive crying fest, she did not want to clean. She cried downstairs for an hour while everyone else cleaned up her messes. We left the doll area for her to clean. Evelyn then had the gaul to complain that no one will play with her and it seems everyone is upset with her. I turned those tables on her: how would you feel if Everett made the messes and you had to clean up after him, would you feel like being nice to him? Probably not. She eventually bucked up and helped me sort and clean the doll area. She wisely decided to get rid of the ice cream truck and school room doll sets. Justin worked with Josie and Evelyn in their room for 30 minutes or so. Amelia betrayed Fergus. She took him to get groomed, it was not the fun car ride he expected, glared at her and refused to exit the van. He was quite upset about getting his fur trimmed. He yelped several times at home and rubbed himself all over the yard. He avoided Amelia for some time after I picked him up.
Wednesday was the day to clean the girl’s room…again. The older kids rocked it! They deep cleaned the entire downstairs by themselves. They divided up the kitchen and got it all wiped down. Phillip worked on sweeping and mopping the floors and deep cleaning the bathroom. Amelia tackled the tv area, moving couches and such to clean under all those spaces. I am so PROUD of the kids for cleaning so throughly. I guess we finally got the Spring Cleaning completed in November. The little girls and I worked on their room. Evelyn organized her art area while Josie and I worked on books, clothes, and beds. I took a 30 minute break to photograph Paula’s daughter-in-laws family. She welcomed a cute new grandson last month. I was happy to help Paula. My room was the only spot skipped over, it was not toooo bad. Oh gosh, having a sparkling clean house for a few hours was the best gift ever. Dinner was another late start at 6:10 pm, we had pizza pasta. Dad and Mom arrived around 6:15 pm! The drive was torture for my dad’s legs, basically anything is torture except constant movement or staying in bed. We had a mini MCO concert using YouTube tracks! Our favorite is Riu, Riu and Joy to the World. I shared a beloved Panettone cake from Italy, Winco has the moistest Panettone ever. Mom and I worked on pre-Thanksgiving dinner prep. Everett was keen on making a pie so he pitched in making the dough. Mom made a delicious cranberry spread with garlic, oranges, and ginger, a delectable sweet and savory sauce. I prepped the cranberry salad and got the 2 turkeys in brine. I stayed up waaaaay too late editing photos.
Happy Thanksgiving! Our day was amazing. I was on my feet almost all day long baking and cooking. It takes a lot to get everything prepped and baked! I got the pies done first, a tangy apple pie and a raspberry pie using the berries Aunt Nancy gave me. I was really worried about the raspberry pie, it was a risk since I did not use a recipe. There is a really fun video on YouTube on how Panettone is made, Dad really enjoyed watching it. The owner was so joyful and exuberant about cake, at 80 he is still learning about his craft and making adjustments. We loved the idea that even making cake for 50 years can be a joyful experience.
Justin rallied the troops to get horse duver lunch organized and prepped. Dad was impressed at the army of working children! Everett made date, goat cheese, and bacon appetizers. I assembled a brie, cranberry sauce, and sour dough bread coup de gras appetizer. Justin, Amelia, and Phillip got the charcuterie finger foods assembled, cut, and decorated. We had quite the spread!
In the afternoon Mom wanted to watch The Sound of Music. That was a perfect baking companion! Got the roll dough made and set to rise then the turkey in the oven. The tag containing the turkey weight was lost so I had to guess the weight, turns out I guessed wrong. Our turkey was not finished baking until 8 pm. Mom and I had the rest of the dinner ready and waiting for the turkey so we decided to just eat it all except the turkey, well I did pull off a few strips of meat from the wings and legs. In spite of the missing turkey the meal was fantastic! Mom brought homemade grape juice, yum. We went around the table 2-3 times counting our blessings. I loved seeing my parent’s faces at the table. After dinner I was ready to sit down and rest, let everyone else clean up. I watched old family videos for fun. We finished out the feast with apple, pumpkin, raspberry, and chocolate pie with freshly whipped cream. I must say the raspberry pie tasted like a slice of sunshine. My apple pie was deliciously tart with hints of nutmeg to dazzle the tongue. Mom’s pies were devoured quickly!
Evelyn and Josie woke up Friday ready to get Christmas on. They dressed in elf clothes and pushed the rest of us into Christmas mode. The boys brought in the Christmas decor, Amelia and Evelyn gathered all the fall decor to put away. We spent the entire day decorating for Christmas. Dad said he imagined decorating for Christmas meant setting up a tree. He was continuously surprised when walls were cleared of decor, rooms rearranged, and rooms completely changed. Mom decorated my Jesus tree and set up the nativity. Amelia worked on the tree display. Everett set up the Olive Wood nativity. The kids set up and decorated their Santa tree. The boys were thick in an argument over the best way to wrap lights on a tree, we all got to see how robotics class functions. Stinkers. Amelia, Mom, and I made a trip to Walmart just to check out Black Friday deals. I am nearly finished with Christmas shopping now! Dad mostly read his nerd book on the Heartland theory. Once again my legs were throbbing from an entire day working on Christmas. It looks so fun and cheery. Now I can stay in our house another few months! Phillip enjoyed staying up late listening to Mom and Dad pontificate the Heartland Theory. He is quite intrigued to learn more! I think it would be fun to integrate some of the ideas into Come Follow Me for next year.
The Nelves made themselves known! We heard the bells around 8 pm near the heater vent upstairs. We think they might have a nest up there! Upstairs we found tiny remote control cars and spilled candy. Everett thinks Nnylatter tripped and spilled his load! That is a good guess. Those Nelves in training need practice. Maybe this year we will catch sight of a Nelf. The kids had a fun time racing their tiny cars up and down the hallway.
We had several amazing Come Follow Me devotionals this week on 1-2 Peter. Phillip latched onto the idea of weaving attributes of Christ to make patterns on our life tapestry, Christ is the warp. He is the foundation for the tapestry, once we wrap ourselves around Christ, learn and use attributes, he creates a masterpiece. Same with the Lively Rocks, building with rock around Christ the cornerstone.
Mom and Dad left around 9 am on Saturday. I was trashed, also caught the head cold Everett, Amelia, Phillip, and Evelyn all shared over the week. We finished cleaning up the decorating mess. The kids mailed Santa letters!
Amelia: Ahsoka's shuttle (Lego)
Phillip: Bagals (ie bagels) and a Lego diorama
Everett: clue box, have to solve riddles to open
Evelyn: Rainbow High Design Set
Josie: Real Elf on the Shelf and Remote control carriage
Justin, Amelia, Phillip, and I all went shopping for Christmas stuff. Wink. Everett learned his Nelf in training is Nnylatter, he is thrilled the name sounds like annilalator. Amelia had several strange dreams about Chik-fil-a this week. She NEEDED a chicky sandwich to put those strange dreams to rest. Silly goose. We went to Target and Michaels. Justin was quite cheeky, he donned an elf legs hat and carried around a creepy Santa just to be strange. We all laughed quite hard! That was hilarious. Everett and a very reluctant Phillip helped me wrap lights around the porch and front rose bushes. The last touches! Hooray. I carved out some time to finish making a blog book, got one out of 5 finished.
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