I'm grateful for....

Thanksgiving!!!! WHAT A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY! This year was especially great because it was our first on our own! Lots of firsts with this dinner! My first turkey, Meagan's first apple pie, Luke's first turkey day and the weather was beautiful to boot! We invited our friends the Smiths and Jean (a lady I visit teach) the missionaries and of course Meagan to join our family gathering. Meagan and I had been cooking for two day's (having a total blast in the kitchen) and everything turned out AMAZING! The turkey was perfect, the table was beautiful. The House smelled divine! I'm going to take this moment to give a good back-pat to everyone who made this night wonderful! (Thanks Sarah for yummy rolls!) Here is a photo representation of our unforgettable evening.


lemon zest, too pretty to go unnoticed.


the bird


The hungry crew


the best part of the night


our garland of gratitude. everyone wrote their name and what they were grateful for to keep a record of all our thanksgivings through the years




an excellent post-turkey activity

So cute pics of the kids!!

Lots of new things...

We have much to report! First off, Ammon has his very own, brand spankin new bed made by Jim!!!! Isn't it lovely???

We'll be painting it as soon as the weather turns more favoriable. Which brings me to our next exciting new thing around here...WE HAVE SNOW!!!! Our first real snow has been a total blast! Ammon and I enjoyed playing in it this morning and checkin out our awesome icicles. I love it! We are thrilled with this new development. It was funny, growing up in Washington, I was trying not to let my hopes get up, telling myself "oh, it will probably melt by lunch" "oh it will be gone in the morning, it's probably just slush anywhy" But Ohio has come through for us! Real powder snow, that hasn't gone away or turned into slushiness, it's just lovely!!!

BROTHERS!

I'm not sure why it has been so exciting for me, but who cares! The boys are now sharing their bedroom. Luke was sleeping in our guest room till last night when he was moved into Ammon's room. They both went to bed together, slept great, and woke up at the same time! It's not like it's a major milestone or anything, but it has left me all warm and fuzzy. I think it's because I'm already seeing them form a bond between them. Ammon loves to talk to Luke and make him smile (which is easy enough with Luke) and Luke loves to watch Ammon's every move, he even giggles with Ammon is being silly. This is just great! They will be sharing rooms for many many years to come. I know there will be plenty of pillow fights, nights when they just won't stop giggling and long talks before sleep. It just makes me happy! I love that they have each other! What a wonderful gift to get! A brother for the rest of your life!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

So excited about going trick or treating. We were practicing on the couch.


Brother Snuggle


Definitely the cutest turtle I've ever seen


Ammon getting ready for the fun


Ready to go! It was a beautiful 65 degrees today, you couldn't hope for better trick or treating weather!


After meeting all of our neighbors and walking the length of our street Ammon was pooped so we headed home to hand out candy on our porch. Ammon was so sweet, he always said "hello" and then "thank you" quickly followed by "bye bye, see ya later" at every house. He never said "trick or treat" but he still got the idea. We had such a blast and found out we have some really nice neighbors. Ammon kept his shell on the whole time and Luke slept. It was great to see the streets crawling with kids and parents alike all being "neighborly" All in all it was a fantastic Halloween, we're already looking forward and planning for next year!

Behold the awesomeness...

Aren't pumpkins great?

Nothin but Cuteness

This little tank is already 17 pounds and 25 inches long (yep, that 95% for both) and not even three months old yet!


the littlest homie, just chillin


Ammon reading his "scwiptures"


Ammon Dude man, you so totally rock squirt!


Sweet pea

Our Fall Walk

For FHE this week we decided to appriciate nature as we walked to a near-by green space park. These are a few pictures of the fun and our spoils!!










Luke slept through most of it!




Checkin out the goods


Ammon's favorite leaf


Ammon's favorite pine cone


They made beautiful decoration for our mantle


And just for good measure, here's a cute one of Luke!

Luke's Blessing

We blessed Luke this last Sunday because of conference next week. It was a very sweet blessing and he looked adorable in his outfit! We love you all, and we're sorry you had to miss it! Here are some pics of the big day!!!

The coolest idea

So one of my really good friends is a genius. She was tired of trying to come up with dinner ideas (I think there are a few of us in the same boat) so she asked her blog readers to submit recipe ideas. She has since made a new blog filled with awesome recipes! I love it!!! My favorite part is they have been submitted mostly by young families so the meals are inexpensive and easy to make.

To get to my point, I'd like to do something similar only I'll hand the recipes you send me to her and they will be posted on her recipe blog to be shared with even more people! So please, either send them to me via email at hollyctr@gmail.com or leave them as a comment on my blog. I know all us moms out there can use a hand when it comes to dinner, why not help each other? Thanks in advance for you family's favorite recipes!!!

To check out her blog click here

Happy Cooking!!!

P.S. For those who don't know how to leave a comment...just look below this line, see the word 'comments' just click there and a window will open where you can type something that will be attached to this post. Good luck!

More fun pics from the funny farm...

I thought a few of my readers (you know who you are) might appriciate this awesome spectical! Chip off the Ol Block wouldn't you say?


So I've made another apron. This one is for Ammon's little pal from chruch. I learned a few things making Ammon's so this one turned out much better! Just out of curiosity....how much would YOU pay for one of these????


It has been so great to be creative again. This has been the first time in MONTHS!!!

And, how could I resist....just a few of our littlest dude!


This little guy is so strong it just kills me everytime we put him on the floor. Such a sweet personality too! We just can't get enough of him!


He just gets cuter everyday! I love that smile!