Thanksgiving..and almost a baby!

 Thanksgiving has come and gone. I can't believe it! We had the Thanksgiving meal with the Beutler side of the family and it was our turn to host. I had spent the week before making pumpkin butter for each family to take home. It turned out so yummy! I also did the place settings and decorations. I made finger turkey puppets for all the kids (It helped make the kid table look festive, but also kept them entertained before and after the meal). It's a good thing I started a week in advance, because we ended up volunteering to take Liz and Scott's kids for a few days before Thanksgiving. We had 10 kids in the house on those busy days prior! 

As we do each year, our family did hand turkeys for an FHE night. I loved Jackson's boy and girl turkeys with a heart over their heads...so cute! I was grateful for nice weather, notice the short sleeves! Only 2 weeks left of pregnancy, I can't believe the weather has been so mild considering it is the end of November!

The day began with football and last minute Turkey-day prep. Danny volunteered to make his first turkey ever...he brined it and deep fried it and it turned out really good (it's not burned, as it may look in the photo, the skin was really really good)! I was impressed for a first-timer! Brian and I were in charge of the pies and sweet potatoes. He did the pies and they turned out beautiful and delicious as always. Sweet potatoes are becoming a new favorite of mine...they could almost rival traditional potatoes on Thanksgiving in my book. We had tons of good food and tons of company! Fourteen cousins and eleven adults made for a crowded house. With three babies under a year old, several under 5, and nearly half of us sick with some cold virus or another, it was a bit hectic. The weather was nice enough that after the meal kids could play outside on bikes and in the yard. It was an excellent day.

After guests had all gone home and the house was picked up, my poor body was exhausted and spent! My feet were so swollen I felt as if I were walking on gel packs of fluid. With hosting comes the responsibility of helping people find things: whether it's medicine for a sick child, or a bed to sleep in, or where to put the dishes, or whatever this or that that comes up. I rarely sat that day. With only 2 weeks left of pregnancy, and having had some extremely busy days with tending cousins and hosting Thanksgiving, there wasn't a part of my body that didn't ache! I was so excited for bed that night! Just as I was beginning to fall asleep, I started contracting. ugh! I blew them off as braxton hicks and tried to sleep, but they continued to get stronger and became a minute and a half apart! I was suddenly scared I was going into labor! Since my last Doctor visit, I knew I had already been dilating and it was possible, although much earlier than expected! Unfortunately I was so not ready for labor (contradictory to what I've been saying the last 2 weeks)! It couldn't have been the worst timing possible.

As it happens when lots of people get together, someone is bound to be sick-- and Brian and I and two of our kids had all come down with colds and coughs this weekend. I was not prepared to bring home a baby into a sick family, nor be sick (and exhausted) while trying to labor on my own! Brian had taken medicine so he could sleep that night, and my mom was out of town for Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, and I began to wonder how I was going to get to the hospital and who was going to take care of the kids!! For an hour and a half I contracted and they were painful enough I had to breath through it. I finally decided to call Liz and see if she could come over if we headed to the hospital. It was 12:30am. Of course she said yes, but then within minutes my contractions subsided and were over! I felt bad for getting all worked up over it, but was relieved it had ended there. I hate false labor but I was too sick and tired to deal with the real thing! YET. Give me a few days to feel better and rest up...and then I am all for it! I hope it comes quickly!!

So...I spent the next day taking down Thanksgiving and putting up Christmas. The halls are decorated. We are set and ready to go. We'll keep you posted! Countdown to baby is 12 days!

We have a birthday-- shout Hurray!

 Zoey is 5 today! I'm so glad to have her in our family. If we are blessed to only have one girl, I'm glad she's it. I love soaking up her age right now of playing with dolls, dress-up, and imagination. Once that's gone and she's grown out of it, it will be gone! I'm kinda sad to see her grow up!

She loves to have her nails painted but her hair undone. She loves to wash dishes. She loves daddy-daughter dates and loves, loves picnics. The only thing she asked for for her birthday was a picnic blanket. I started in September and spent every Friday morning at my mom's to sew one together for her. It was my first and I learned a lot along the way!

The back is a patchwork of old denim and outdoor quality paisley swirl print. The interior batting is a waterproof sheeting.  The front is a patchwork of fun printed and colored flannels. Very soft and fun and girlie. I had an industrial machine stitch added with hearts and swirls as a final touch. She was so excited!

Her cake is a mountain picnic scene with her dad, sitting on her very own picnic blanket! We'll see if she eats any of it tonight, she is sick with pink eye and a viral form of strep. She's even requested soup as her birthday meal. I feel so bad for her! Although, today is better than yesterday when she was running a fever of 101 most of the day and completely miserable!  

 I had made her a matching apron to go with her blanket. It's reversible, the other side is pink with turquoise and flowered ruffles. She also received an apron from Aunt Carissa that matches one she gave me for my birthday. She was pretty excited about us having matching aprons! (She is wearing it in the top picture). Now she has one to share when friends come to play!

We love her and are so glad she's our Zoey!