Thankgiving with Noni

(top row: Tina, Diane holding granddaughter Zy'Maria (sp), Wendy, Brenda, Andy, Jeanine, Noni

bottom row: Me, Mike, Sully, Anna, Maya, Ella and John Paul)

We got to Noni's house Saturday after dinner and just relaxed! We were so tired! Somehow Sullivan just kept right on going....and going.... He is a little trooper! Sunday we had Thanksgiving dinner with Noni and all of Mike's brothers and sisters and some of the kids! We missed Kurt, it was just not the same without him, but we are so thankful to have had Tina there. This was the first holiday without Kurt and another reminder of how we need to hold the ones we love tight. We just never know. At Noni's request we did not have a normal Thanksgiving prayer, but let the kids say "God is Great". Anna said it and Sullivan ended it with a loud, excited "AMEN!" It was so so cute! Definitely the kind of atmosphere Noni and Tina needed! We ate a wonderful Turkey and lots of other goodies and were once again stuffed! The cousins played together like they play together all the time. This was only the second time John Paul's girls and Sullivan have ever seen each other. Anna was a wonderful babysitter and was such a blessing to have around! She really seemed to entertain them well and seemed to really enjoy it. It was so good to be with everyone again. Mike's family has been kind of distant over the past years and with Kurt's passing everyone is coming together again. It is such a wonderful thing to see. Kurt always did do great things! We are yet again reminded of all the things we have to be thankful for. For us, grandparents are something we are extremely thankful for! Life would not be the same without them! Noni, G.G. and Pop all make such an impact on our kids and that means the world to us!

Sunday evening we headed to the Georger family household and ended up eating left over Thanksgiving with them. The kids played like they always had! It was so good to see them, even if for only a couple of hours! We sure do miss being down the street from them! Life was good. On Monday we went to see Tina's new house and then hit the road. Sullivan didn't do so well in the car the first part of the trip. We made lots of stops and then finally he fell asleep and slept until we had about 4 hours left! It ended up being about a 10 hours trip! We made it home with a sleeping baby at 1:00 am and were sooo tired!

We picked up Blue and Bella the next morning from the kennel. They were so so happy to see us! What a wonderful trip we had, so much food, family, friends and fun but...we are now home sweet home.