Noe News is Good News

Giving Thanks

I loved Thanksgiving this year... it made for a lovely transition into Christmas!! And for the first time EVER I contributed to the feast! This is big... considering I've been known as the non-domestic one in my family. I fixed pumpkin pies, google berry pies, a pear/apple/pomegranate salad topped with sugar crusted pecans (complete with home made honey-lime-cilantro dressing) and "dump" salad, which is basically a fruit salad. Nothing too fancy, but gosh was it fun! And everything turned out amazingly great! I could SO get used to having more fun in the kitchen!

We enjoyed Thanksgiving feast at the Noe's this year and as always it was lots of fun. My kids must have been super excited because Landen woke up at 4am that morning and climbed into bed with us... and tried to get us to play with him and get him a snack.... that woke Joselyn up who was already in bed with us sleeping, so then they both wanted to get up and play. Around 5:30 I finally succumbed and turned on the TV and laid next to them as they watched. None of us were happy campers for most of the morning... but around 11:30am Joselyn laid down on the couch and fell asleep. This is unusual for her, but considering the circumstances I knew she wasn't sick.



She looked to peaceful and sweet! It wasn't surprising either that Landen ALSO fell asleep in an unexpected place- on his aunt Nora, who ticked his arms softly for quite some time! He was enjoying his time sitting between her and her boyfriend Doug, who his one of his new heros. (his hair is getting awful long again- he SO needs a hair cut!!)



We visited my parents later that day for a little moment, and saw them put the finishing touches on their newly remodeled KITCHEN!! I've had a lot of fun helping my mom with some renovations around the house and I must say- I am quite in love with everything. I'll post some pictures up soon when everything is complete. There is still a rug and a sofa coming as well as a fix to their new cabinetry. But let me tell you the transformation has been amazing! I have loved playing part as interior design consultant for sure, although I definitely can't take credit for all of it- I more so helped my mom make decisions she was wishy washy on, ha ha!

Since it really was no one's turn to spend time on Thanksgiving at my parents this year, we decided to have a Black Friday feast at her house instead. I really liked that tradition on the off-years! Two Thanksgiving meals :) It was also fun to see Seth, Holly and Rockwell now that they are off in Cincinnati and we hardly ever see them! Gosh Rockwell is so cute and LOVES Joselyn. He pretty much threw himself at her and hugged her for a good long minute.

I loved spending time with my families this year. I have the best without a doubt and there is always fun!

Preschool Thanksgiving Program

It won't be long until our thoughts of Thanksgiving have turned into thoughts of Christmas... in fact, it may have already taken place. But it wouldn't be right to not express my gratitude for all that I have- because I have SO MUCH. I can't help but be grateful that my Father in Heaven really thinks I deserve so many blessings. Too many to name really, and I'm not even going to try. But this season I am especially grateful for my sweet little family. First and foremost, I'm thankful for my incredible extremely hot and harder worker of a husband. He puts up with so much yet shows me unconditional love. He's always seeking to improve- not only for himself but for me. And although at times in my frustration I might just tell him I think he's being selfish over something, I know in my heart that he is one of the most self-LESS people I know. And he has given me some beautiful amazing children. Yes they drive me up the wall most of the time and I wish I could be a more patient mother... but they are so forgiving of my faults and show me so much love! Then there is the little one in my belly who loves to kick me and remind me of how sweet it will be to hold a new baby in my arms :) I seriously can't wait!

We kicked off our thanksgiving month of November with a Gratitude wreath- much like our tree last year, but this time we wrote all of our thank yous on leaves and tucked them into a heart shaped vine wreath. It is good practice to write down all that you are thankful for- it makes your trials seem less difficult.

Joselyn's preschool Thanksgiving program was precious :) She walked out holding her little teepee and was so proud of herself... she walked right up on to the stage all by herself (she was supposed to sit down first) and smiled really big for the audience... she got a good chuckle out of everyone :)



She finally was ushered off the stage and sat down by her class- right in front of us :) I was really stricken with how much she had matured over the course of the year. Last year was kind of a disaster when she started crying really hard on the stage. It was her bedtime and she wasn't really into it, so I really don't blame her. This year was the complete opposite though and she was so happy.



I did her hair in Tiger Lily braids. She was excited about that :)

Gratitude Tree

I totally stole this idea from a friend... but I was so in love with hers I had to copy ;) I had the kids finger paint with fall colors on construction paper, let it dry then cut them into leaves. We then added a few things we were grateful for on the leaves and hung them on branches we had collected and placed in a vase. We will continue to add to it every day until Thanksgiving- and will then read all of the things we are grateful for- which is a LOT!





We all got really messy- even me. And boy was it fun! Gotta love washable paint!













I definitely think this will be a yearly tradition in one way or another! I LOVE it! And it was so so easy!