Hello, there! Winter certainly feels like it is officially upon us at this time...of course, it's Ohio, so it may be spring by tomorrow! We have had a great few weeks here recently, just enjoying time with our babies and having a blast preparing for Christmas this year! Amelia is really starting to understand what it is about this year and is thrilled for presents, obviously, and is also understanding that we are celebrating Jesus' birthday, which is just so sweet to see! She is also VERY excited about her birthday coming up here soon.
Week 19: November 20th - 26th
Monday was a long day, so, again, double long days, which can be hard for our little boy, but we made it through! We had a good day on Tuesday, the kids were with Faith and Jonathan got to work on the house after they went to bed, which was really awesome. He has got a ton of work done where our master will be and we are quite thrilled about it! Excited to have our own space done.
Wednesday was bacon mushroom pasta day, we did some shopping and then I took the kids to Mom and Dad's to see Shem! He came in town for Thanksgiving and it was just a blast! The kids were cracking up at him and they had a fantastic time together. It was great to catch up, the only thing that would have made it better is if Karah had been feeling better!
I had a lot of laundry to finish on Thursday, I did all my tomatoes too, which was great, we got some organizing done and then we got to go to Thanksgiving! Super productive day! We had an incredible Thanksgiving. It was such an awesome time together with all the family. Amelia found out she is going to be a flower girl, which she is very excited about! It has been a long time since we got to spend time with Shem on a holiday and we enjoyed it immensely. William was not feeling well on Thanksgiving day, which was a bummer, but he just snuggled and napped a little extra, poor baby. He just can't seem to catch a break!
On Friday we had a great family with lots of family! The Gragg family was in town and they came to visit and brought a lot of the rest of the family too, then we had a final hay ride with the horses in the afternoon. Since William was off his game a little bit, Jonathan stayed home with him, but Amelia and I had a great time, she just loves being with her cousins! In the evening we had a Haas family game night at the Landis house! We had some haystacks and played a game, poor Karah did not feel great, but she still hung out with us a little bit!
Saturday morning we packed the kids up and went to Carrollton to get some shopping done! It was so much fun. We just love shopping there, I could buy one of most things in most of the stores. Just can't go wrong! We left there and went to have some Thanksgiving leftovers while we watched the OSU game with the fam. Pizza night, fantastic time, lots of different visitors, we had a great day, the kids took good naps while we were there and we got to have some good adult interaction!
Sunday morning was church, grocery shopping while the babies napped and some leftovers while we relaxed and recovered from our incredible but crazy few days! We just enjoyed every single minute of our time. Mom and Dad brought Noel and Dee over for a visit since they were in town and we had a great time showing them our house. It was fun to introduce them to my family and we enjoyed seeing what they thought about all our ideas!
Week 20: November 27th - December 3rd
We had garlic lovers chicken for supper, which was delicious, I looked through some books, let the kids do what they needed to, which apparently was not nap for William. He had a rough few days. He didn't nap on Tuesday either, making us do some readjustments. We tried skipping the morning nap on Wednesday, but that didn't really work well either. The Henmans came over for lunch, which was a lot of fun, but William still didn't do very well. He had a rough time, so we started just limiting him on his morning naps. He gets one hour only, then he can have whatever he wants in the afternoon. I lost my voice on Tuesday, couldn't talk at all on Wednesday, so I went to the doctor on Thursday. Jonathan was in Celina on Wednesday, so we had a good day together, the kids and I, and were glad that he came home! We had some delicious soup for supper...we wanted to wait for Jonathan but ended up eating just the three of us.
Thursday was an adventure, I got some medicine to feel better and took a nap, which was a big help. I had a hair appointment in the afternoon, so it was a short nap, but it was helpful! We went to get our Christmas tree - a short trip, but we got a beautiful tree! It stayed completely undecorated for a few days, but I'm glad we got to go get it before it got completely nasty.
I worked the weekend and it was a little crazy, but we made it through. Jonathan made french toast for us in the morning and we all enjoyed it! Usually Amelia doesn't love it, but she really did this time and keeps asking for it. Jonathan worked out in the barn while the babies napped and we had leftovers for dinner, then we got the tree lit! Amelia was so thrilled to see it, she just thought it was beautiful. It was super cute to see her little face light up.
Sunday they went to church while I worked, it was a good day for me, went pretty smoothly, which was a blessing. I got everything done that I needed to on Saturday, so Sunday was a lot more bearable. The kids went home with Mom and Dad from church so Jonathan could get some demolition done. Everyone had a good time and it was beneficial for all involved! Jonathan was productive and the kids were thrilled to have some special Nana and Papa time! We had our normal fun Sunday night supper and had a nice, relaxing evening.
Week 21: December 4th - 10th
Spaghetti night! Monday was a great evening, we had spaghetti, which is a fan favorite with young children, and we got some decorating done. Tree was finally clothed in decorations, as was the rest of the house. I spent some time relaxing in the evening, which was super necessary and set me up well for Tuesday since I was going to be at work again. Pam kept the kids since Faith was on vacation and we had some work done on our furnace situation. We really wanted a whole house humidifier, just trying to get it it a little healthier for our little family here.
I was thankful to be off for a few days in a row. We had pasta on Wednesday, which was delicious, had some library time, did laundry, just got caught up! Jonathan had band on Thursday, so the rest of us went over to Mom and Dad's for the evening. I hadn't seen them in quite awhile, so it was good to catch up with them! The three of us can't handle an entire day just the three of us at home, so we try to get creative and go visit!
On Friday the kids hung out with Aunt Bev for the day, which was a real treat for them! They enjoy being there, Kelsey came to play, cousin time is always a win! We had white chicken chili for supper, it was ready when I got home. Such a great day and I was proud of myself for being prepared for the day. I don't always get to get that done.
Saturday was a real treat, Jonathan and I spent the WHOLE day together doing some Christmas shopping, then went to pick up the kids at Mom and Dad's afterward and had supper with them. We did SO much shopping and enjoyed every minute of it. Lots of Christmas stuff...lots of other stuff, it was a good day and Fat Heads was delicious. It was for sure the highlight of my week!
Jonathan had a meeting after church on Sunday, he came home real quick and helped me get the babies fed, but then he was gone for a little while. I let the kids stay up and hang out for a little while, but they still went up early for nap times. Sundays are hard - William misses his morning nap and Amelia is overstimulated. We are always glad to have some good naps. I got dinner started and got some things ready for the next week so we could be ready to go. We had a fantastic evening together, got some rest, did some dancing and enjoyed each other. I got everything ready for the next two days and tried to prepare for being away from my babies.
As a win, William has been sleeping a little bit better, which has been incredible. We are super proud of him and are trying to work hard to keep him moving forward with that. He is so sweet and he wants to sleep through the night, he just is struggling to get there - we are getting there though!
Hope everyone is enjoying this fall/winterish weather we have been having. It's such a weird time of year. We are excited to see what the season has to bring us. Less time outside, more time in, trying to figure out what our balance looks like. We have been trying to get out as much as we can - but we are enjoying the ride!
Stay warm out there, we love you!
Jonathan, Allison, Amelia and William
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