Second Set of Thanksgiving Week Photos (added two extra Mercies)

I've tried to think about what to write here with this second set of Thanksgiving trip photographs, but alas, my mind is short on sleep, and it's like a bomb went off in our house when we moved back in after a week away...like every suitcase and tub and box and bag just exploded! Ha! I've got my work cut out for me.

So, for now, I hope you'll enjoy some more pictures, and Lord willing, I can return soon with actual thoughts. Have a great weekend!

Our parting shot: six kids, five adults. It was cozy, it was crazy!

Tiny berries that the girls sighted. They're about the size of a pencil eraser.

CA, who loves to dress herself. She has on a long-sleeved shirt, with an inside-out sweater over it. Then, there's the overalls, which you can see are all twisted in the back. Finally, she's got her untied shoes. Not sure if she's wearing socks or not. I asked if she'd like help with the shoes, when I noticed they were untied. She called out something like, nah! I'm good!

We saw some of the most interesting frost and ice formations the last couple of days! This frost seems to be mirroring the moss underneath it.

Thanksgiving dinner. CA napped through the first half, then awakened and came to sit in her daddy's lap.

Thigh documentation. My dad's loving hand.

BB and the three oldest (MB, EG, and MK) took a hike to the Chimneys, and saw a lot of ice along the way! Ice in nature in any form is amazing to us Deep Southerners/Texans.

BB with MK, EG, MB. The hike is a bit treacherous in places, especially with ice in the mix, so he only took the older ones. Those two rounded peaks to the right of MB are "The Chimneys." They did most of the 4+ mile round trip hike - troopers, all!

Check out this bizarre tree trunk!

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Neverending mercy, poured out in so many ways...

522 five REAL pieces of mail when we got home from our trip...

523 ...including letters from our boys in Rwanda for the first time (our "adopted sons," through Compassion International)!!!!

524 how well all five of our girls traveled - they are amazing!

525 travel safety! 

526 visiting face to face with my college girlfriend in a Gatlinburg tearoom...we'd not seen each other in eight years, we think. The tearoom hostess very sweetly kicked us out after we'd been talking for at least 3 hours (the restaurant was closing for a private event). We then walked in the cold drizzle for another 45 minutes at least, talking even more.

527 laughing out loud with the big girls while we watched our very chubby baby try to roll over -she's lying on her back, raises her legs, and slowly rolllllllls to one side, but no further...yet.

528 the things that it was harder to give thanks for on our trip: dad's pain due to a dry socket post-oral surgery, a neotoma magister, CJ's crazy-early wake up calls, CA's sour moods, a missed rare opportunity to visit another college friend due to sickness in her family. God has His good purposes

529 icicles! frost! (in the mountains, not here)

530 prayed for: better Advent readings/devotionals - God provided!

531 the way CA says hoteh and Roteh (that's hotel and Rotel), and her big girl words: sanitizah, and Mommy, speak normawee! (that's normally. love her proper grammar!)

532 samples and treats handed out at Costco...it really does make the shopping more pleasant when my five ducks are with me!

533 that the kids ate baby limas and black eyed peas last night. willingly!

534 that we have baby limas and black eyed peas to eat

535 the power of parable, of story

536 audio-drama that points to Christ every time, challenging us as believers in Jesus, and giving our kids a straight understanding of the Walk

(the above two resources are only a few of many excellent ones made available by this publisher...while they are a bit pricey, it's absolutely worth the investment...check often for sales and look in their "clearance" department!)
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Lastly, here's something cute and fun - BB's mom's post on her blog about EG and MK's Thanksgiving poem/performance.

No, wait, this is last: a link to the recipe that inspired my roasted Thanksgiving chickens. Christian at Modobject At Home had a link to it.

I didn't use oil, simply because I decided to play around with making a glaze from balsamic vinegar. In the end the glaze looked and acted well, but I'd like to try it on roasting chickens sans skin so that more flavor soaks in. Also I added onions to the mix, so that it was apples and onions, and I gave them a quickish saute in some balsamic before the roasting began.