Thanksgiving and Christmas 2016!!

Oh my goodness! Thanksgiving was so, so sweet! We hosted it here in our home, for the first time ever, and it was everything I hoped and prayed it would be. It was such a sweet time of eating and fellowship and love and laughter and kiddos running around and heart to hearts. It was totally presh! We ended up having our immediate fam of 4, my parents, my brother Cade, the Kellers, the Wilkersons, Ruth's parents, and Israa and Assad and their precious kiddos. We had tons of food, enough to feed the whole neighborhood, and we greatly enjoyed eating the left overs for days afterward. It all, from start to finish, was such a joy.

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Brody is at such a precious stage these days! We're really enjoying him a lot! One of our favorite little antics of his is that he always says "thank you" (aka "mink oo") after anything you say to him that's even remotely upbeat. For exampls:

The other day, I was roasting brussel sprouts in the oven, and Brody asked what he was smelling. I replied that it was brussel sprouts. He goes, "Oh, I WUV bwussel spwouts!" and I said, "me too!" and he said, "Mink oo!!!"

And the other morning, I opened up the blinds in the house and remarked on what a beautiful morning it was, and brody said, "Mink oo!"

He has such an upbeat, joyful, spunky, thankful little heart. And we're oh so thankful for him!

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Jasper, also, is at such a precious stage in life. He's gotten older. Not in the logical sense, per se, but in maturity and knowledge. He's such a little man. He thinks deeply, asks very thoughtful questions, and ponders the answers.

For example, this afternoon, after church, we were driving to Subway for lunch, and he asked me why he can see the exhaust coming out of cars on cold days but he can't see the exhaust on warm days. He asked why the temperature made a difference on being able to see exhaust or not. And, my classic answer, was to try to make an educated guess, and then I ended with my favorite go-to answer when J stumps me with his questions, "but let's ask daddy when he gets home!"

He loves and he's tender. He's kind and generally patient. He's a good helper and a kind brother and a loyal friend. He's getting a bit quieter, I've found, than he used to be a year or so ago, but I think it's because he's so busy thinking about things. Which is just perfect. He's such a joy and we love him so much!

Christmas!!!