Bechtold's take on Thanksgiving.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday.  Ours was, as usual, hectic and crazy.  I wonder what it would be like to stay home on Thanksgiving, watching tv, eating, napping...sigh...

We went back to Plainview on Tuesday and arrived in time for supper.  My wonderful mother had made a delicious stew and my sister and her husband came over to enjoy it with us.  Wednesday we stayed in the house and that afternoon my sister came over and we put up my parent's Christmas Tree.  Kelly also helped Zoe write her letter to Santa and together, they made a gluten-free pumpkin pie.

 Doodle Bears are at the top of the list this year.

Because one cup isn't enough...

Thanksgiving day Zach went over to his parents to help his dad cook, just like he does every year.  I stayed and helped Mom cook.  We had a small group at her house and the food was delicious.

The kids play outside before lunch.

Later that afternoon we went across town to Zach's parent's house for the rest of the evening.  About 9:30 that night Mom, Zach and I headed out to Wal-mart.  It was insanity but we knew what we wanted, zoomed through the store and was checked out by 10:30.  I got a Leapfrog Tag Reader for Zach's mother to give to Zoe for Christmas.  It was a bargain.

Mom had gotten the day after Thanksgiving off from work for the first time in years so we decided to venture out on our first Black Friday shopping endeavor with my sister, a veteran Black Friday shopper.  We got up and left town at 6:00 and made it to Amarillo and hit Lowe's at 7:30.  I was shocked at how calm everything was.  I was expecting chaos and didn't see any sign of it any place we went.  We hit all the big places: Home Depot, JC Penneys, Target, etc., but didn't encounter any major lines or crowds.  Penney's was crowded, but it felt more like any Saturday.  I was able to mark some things off my list and we were back in Plainview by 3:30.

We headed back to LC on Saturday morning, driving in a huge wind storm.  At some points visibility didn't extend past the hood of the car.  We even hit a wall of tumbleweeds that completely blocked the road and was taller than our car.  It was not an enjoyable drive.

There's a road there somewhere...

Now, Christmas.  I am not in the spirit yet this year, more stressed than anything.  Hopefully that will change in the coming weeks.  

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week.  Blessings to you!

Traditions and such

I love family traditions.  My mother loves them too, I guess that's where I get it.  Christmas was always an important time for our family because of all the traditions we had.  It was important to me, when Zach and I started our own family, to incorporate traditions into our holidays.  One thing that I always enjoyed doing, and still do for that matter, is decorating the Christmas tree.  I know so many who see this activity as a chore instead of a treat and that makes me sad for them.  I am so thankful that I married a man who can find the joy in performing this task.

Since we are traveling over the Thanksgiving holidays we have begun putting our tree up before we leave to visit family.  We put on Christmas music and enjoy looking at all the ornaments we have collected over the years.  Zoe loved pulling out an ornament from the box and asking who's it is. Noah kept pointing to the tree and saying "Wow."  Even Zach got into the spirit, singing along and putting his ornaments up.

Zoe helps to string the lights.

Putting up the star.

Noah helps put ornaments on the tree.

This year we instituted another tradition by having a Harry Potter themed family night.  Zoe and I made and decorated cookies and Zach inflated the air mattress in front of the t.v.  After supper we put on a Harry Potter movie and enjoyed homemade Butterbeer and our cookies.  It was, admittedly, a lot of sugar to ingest before bedtime, but it was a good night.

Yummy Butterbeer!

We look forward to repeating this experience next year and seeing how it evolves as the kids get older.

Would love to hear some of your favorite traditions!

Road Trip!

Last weekend the kids and I loaded in the car and hit the road.  We traveled back to Plainview for my grandmother's 90th birthday party.  It's not a trip we could of made had we still been living in New Boston, but since we are closer, those six hours don't seem so bad.  I always worry when we get to see family if Noah will remember them.  In the past it has always taken him about a day to warm up to everyone again.  This trip, however, he went running to my mom with open arms.  Relief!

Usually our trips home are stressful and frantic.  We prefer to only go home when we have plenty of time to stay, just so we can have the time to fit everyone in.  I didn't feel stressed this trip.  Perhaps it was because Zach didn't go with me, I don't know.  I didn't do much.  Mom and I worked on jigsaw puzzles in the evenings, enjoying visiting together.  Thursday we celebrated my sister's birthday with a great meal (gluten free of course).

Saturday was the day of the party.  We weren't sure how many people would brave the wind (West Texas wind, I do no miss you) to come celebrate with us, but I thought we had a great turnout.  I may have consumed a slice or two of delicious cake.  I really enjoyed being able to sit and visit with family that I don't get to see very often.  Zoe remarked to me that she didn't want Grammy to die.  When I asked her why she thought she was going to die, Zoe answered, "Because she's old and Dada was old and he died."  I had a difficult time convincing her that Grammy was planning on being around a while.

Saturday night, after stuffing the kids with sugar, they went to spend the night with Zach's parents.  Then my parents and I went to eat with more family sans kids!  That doesn't happen much and it was so nice.

As I crawled into bed that night, I felt overwhelmingly blessed.  I have such a wonderful family, immediate and extended.  I just cant praise them enough.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

 Grammy gets some help opening presents.

 My mom, grandmother, and aunt.

Dad watches the kids play outside.

We are heading back there in a week for Thanksgiving.  The kids and I are getting to be such travelers!

Happy day to you!

School Daze...

Hey, did you guys know that it's November?? Crazy, isn't it!  This momma better get on her Christmas shopping!

In other news, today was Noah's first day of "school."  He is going every Friday morning (it's the only morning they had available).  There are roughly 8 kids in his class and I'm excited to see how much he learns.   School starts a 9:00 and Zach had agreed to take him this morning.  At 8:25 I was having to wake both of them up so they could get ready.  Noah got dressed in a daze, not really knowing what was going on.  I'm pretty sure he would have slept till nearly 10:00 if left alone. (Zach too, for that matter)  Here's a picture of my little man getting ready to leave the house:

 

"Why am I awake?"

I got his bag packed and tried to put it on him but the weight took him straight to the ground.  For some reason, he didn't appreciate that.

Can you tell Zach just woke up? 

 My big boy walking to school. (With his high water pants, poor kid)

Daddy tried to get a picture by the sign but Noah wasn't feeling it.

Noah and Daddy! 

"What am I supposed to do here?" 

So unsure...

When Zach left Noah was enjoying his breakfast and looking forward to a morning of play with other kids his age.  Sadly, that's not something he has really experienced before.  What a blessing we are able to at least give him one day a week at school.

We are going to be leaving soon to pick him up but before that we will swing by Hobby Lobby.  I have a new craft to do so be looking for that on my other blog!

Blessings to you!