Our Thanksgiving

As I mentioned in my last post, my poor Brenna has been sick. After we got back from Disney she kept her fever, sore throat, and cough. I took her to the doctor Wednesday and the doctor said there's nothing to do, expcept what we're doing, and to know that she is very contagious.

Our original plan was to go to my Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving with all of my sisters and their families, my Grandma, friends from church, cousins and their families...well, since Brenna was still sick we decided we should stay at Denise's along with the people we had already exposed :o( So, on the way home from the doctor I made a quick stop at the grocery store, bought a turkey and some side items and decided we were going to make it a wonderful Thanksgiving anyway.

Denise, Estelle, and I worked at preparing the meal together. It was a fun time in the kitchen! Isn't there a saying about too many cooks in the kitchen? :o) Denise made her famous Pumpkin Pie. She makes the best!

Joshua worked at printing out Bible verses, then raided his Grammy's china cabinet for all of her Thanksgiving stuff.

Elisabeth worked on some more pretty things for the table. And poured the soda, too.

Patrick carved the Turkey. I have always used Emilie Barnes recipe for an overnight Turkey and we love how it turns out. So moist! Just not exactly picture perfect!

Brenna stayed in bed and slept through most of the morning.

The day before Estelle was telling about a dish her Mom likes to make for New Years Day. We just so happened to have all of the ingredients, so I asked her to make it. It was delicious!

A Beautiful Table

The food table. Not bad for last minute!

Patrick had us read verses from the Bible about Thanksgiving before we ate. Then, we shared our blessings. I sure do love my family!

Patrick "helped" Silas read his verses. :o)

Time to Eat!

Callie Grace's first Thanksgiving.

I do have to admit, when I came home from the doctor and told Patrick we didn't need to go to my parents for Thanksgiving dinner, I cried. I was so excited to spend Thanksgiving, with all of my family and Patrick's too! It's disappointing when plans are changed. But, I am so thankful, that even though our plans changed, it was a very nice Thanksgiving. As Patrick put it, there are people celebrating their first Thanksgiving without a loved one, their first holiday fighting cancer, or their first holiday with a loved one at war overseas. God's been good, and I'm thankful for the time he gave me with my family!

A Day at Disney

A few years ago, and after some saving, our family planned a trip to Disney World! When we arrived at the gates they were running a huge special for Florida residents to get 3 days for cheap! yay! We had saved the extra money and decided to go for it and save day #3 to use right before we left for the field. Well, before we left for Canada we decided November 2010 would be the best time! Do you know it's November 2010? YAY! We arrived in Orlando on Monday and went to check in at our hotel. The day before Brenna had started running a fever. We all took so many vitamins trying to heal her quick and help the rest of us not to get it! Then, my Mom, Patrick's Mom and brother Marc, and our friend Estelle visiting from Quebec joined us that evening in Orlando.

We decided it was best for Brenna to stay at the hotel with Patrick and rest up for the big following day. I took everyone else to Downtown Disney.

It was so beautifully decorated for Christmas and we had a great time looking in all of the gift shops.

It was a difficult night. Poor Brenna coughed and coughed. Then, her fever spiked to 103.7. She didn't feel well at all. We had to get 2 hotel rooms to fit everyone, so the next morning I met Patrick and we tried to figure out what to do. Not exactly the greatest circumstances for a huge trip to Disney!

We decided we would head to Disney with plans for frequent stops for our Brenna. Her fever was down to 100 and she wanted to go so badly. So, we left right after breakfast to go see Mickey!

I added some flair to Callie's jean jumper to make her look ready to meet Mickey. She looked cute, but after the first 15 mins being in the park, I switched her to more appropriate Florida winter wear! Riding the Jungle Cruise

Poor Silas, he was so wiped out by lunch time!

One of our many waits in line.

Silas "escaped" from us a few times in line. He is so quick! But, he did so good, too!

Can you tell she's not feeling well? My Brenna was a real trooper throughout the whole day. Of course, it was Disney World, so she did enjoy it, but she started running a fever again in the afternoon. I can always tell in my kiddos eyes when they aren't feeling well.

I love experiencing Disney with my Mom. She's just like a kid again and wants to ride everything and fit everything in to our day. It's so fun!

My poor Callie Grace was pretty wiped out.

Silas loved the play area outside of Winnie the Pooh. I think it was one of his favorite things.

And the slide, too. It was a definite favorite!

I love Disney at night. Cinderella's Castle is so gorgeous lit up.

This is the 3rd time Patrick and I have been to Magic Kingdom together. This is our traditional picture we have had taken every year in front of the castle. I love my man!

We bought Silas and Callie Mickey ears with their name on it, just like we did for Josh, Beth, and Brenna's first visit to "Mickey's House"

Still smiley after a long day.

I love to take the boat back to the parking lot after a long day at Disney. It's so relaxing and a great end to a wonderful day. I'm so glad we got to go! We're already looking forward to our next trip to Mickey's house!

Ministry Update

It's been a while since I've posted some news on the deputation/trying to leave for the field front. We've been busy with meetings here and there and the Lord has been blessing. Sunday we were at Bible Baptist Church in Crystal River Florida. It was a great church! Before services started, everyone was talking and laughing and having such good fellowship together. Patrick preached an excellent message, I sure do love my preachin' husband! Then, at the end of the service the Pastor got up and said he hasn't done this in a long time, but he would really like to take us on for support. They voted there on the spot and it was a unanimous yes! yay! Praise the Lord! We've heard so many messages on faith lately (including some by my dear man). We really feel like the Lord is telling us it's time to take that step of faith and head for the field soon. Our support still isn't complete. I'm not sure the exact percent we're at, I believe it's somewhere in the 70-80%. But, we're ready to go and begin this next step in the ministry the Lord has called us to. Our plan is for Patrick to leave at the end of January to find a place for us to live. Then, he'll return, we'll pack the container, and leave for St. Barths sometime in February. Please pray for us to have wisdom of what the Lord would have us to do and when. Pray for Patrick as he goes to find housing for us. This will be a challenge. Right now, small 2 bedrooms are running $2500-3000 a month. Yikes! We told the kids last week that it's going to be a very exciting time watching God perform miracles for our family. He did before we left for Canada, and we're excited to see what he has in store for us before we move to the French West Indies!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

My sweet parents celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary last week. Since it was such a milestone, they also decided to renew their vows also. It was such a nice ceremony and I'm so proud of my family.

Elisabeth and Brenna made the "Grooms Cake" for my Mom and Dad. Of course, it was a car cake. I wonder why? :o) Nice shoes, Mom! I'm so glad I pointed out to you the two colors of shoes! You could have walked down the aisle like that! :o)

Patrick helping my brother-in-law, William, tie his tie. He is just too funny, but we love him!

Here's my Silas, right before the ceremony, rolling on the ground! Boys will be boys!

Brenna wasted some time before it started and played on the piano while she could. She is getting very good! And doing very well reading music!

I know this picture is blurry, I'm hoping to get another one blown up for me, but it's very special. My whole family is together. All my parents 4 girls, their husbands, and all of their grandchildren. It was so nice to be all together. I sure do love my family and we had so much fun planning this day together. The ceremony was so sweet. My Mom was so giddy and excited and my Dad smiled proudly. I loved it!

Thank you, Lord for my parents. They love each other genuinely. They are an excellent example of faithfullness and devotion to one another. I'm so thankful I could be there to share this special day with them!

I love you, Mom and Dad!