Thankful, Grateful, Blessed and In Over Our Heads

Howdy, everyone.  Happy fall, happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.   Oh, happy almost winter, too.  

As usual, we have been hard at it here in our neck of the woods.  We always manage to fill our time with something (that we think is productive) and stay busy.  

The past month has been very eventful for us.  In addition to prepping for winter, Tristan's birthday AND Christmas, we celebrated Thanksgiving, Eric's birthday and battled the worst sickness I think our family has ever had.  Maybe.  As I sit here and type, I am sick ONCE AGAIN.  I was only "well" for about a week.  It's the RSV/Influenza combo and it is painful and lasting.  It is awful.  The twins have a lot of sickness in their classroom and their teachers even missed the two days prior to Thanksgiving break (as did the twins).  Thankfully, we were well enough for Thanksgiving and had an extraordinary day.  I'll share more on that in a bit.  

We also started our business.  It's legit.  It's very overwhelming and we are so in over our heads.  At least it feels that way most days.  Notice the link to the upper right --}  Anyway, I know nothing about creating a logo, let alone a website from scratch but I decided to dive in so we didn't have to pay anyone to do it for us.  I guess you could say I am a "mistake-learner".  In other words, I get super into what I am doing, think I am creating something amazing, work very diligently for hours, only to discover that I either did it wrong or poorly.  Therefore, the trauma from that experience then teaches me what not to do and what to do better and differently in the future.  LOL.  So, all that to say that I managed to build a basic website for Eric (and myself), a logo and get it up and running in one day.  THE WHOLE DAY, until 11:36pm to be exact.  My legs were numb (as was my mind) from sitting in front of the computer for so long.  It's nothing fancy and only a small portion of the things he is building/has built are listed but it's a start.  Now, I have to go in and fix photo sizing, add products and figure all of that out but I think I can manage.  Just the basic though.   We also have another idea for his logo but that's all I was capable of creating for now.  Check it out when you get a chance.  To be honest, the desktop view is better than the mobile view but, as Eric pointed out, most people will look from their mobile phones.  Eric is the proud owner of RipSaw Custom Woodworks.  www.ripsawcustomwoodworks.com  

You guys...  The drama around here last month...  Between animal tragedies, family sickness, starting the business, dealing with an ongoing trust/will issue with my late grandmothers estate and kid injuries, we have had our fill FOR SURE.  

Overall though, things are incredible and we feel that we get to live the best life and love it all.  We get lonely for family & friends from time to time but we do have Sierra and Scott and the girls here now (they're celebrating one year here this coming week) and it helps to alleviate some of the loneliness.  

Ok, so lets jump in...  

We needed to do our annual family PJ photo and Scott graciously offered to take it for us.  Normally, Eric does it with his nice camera.  He sets the timer then runs back, sets himself up and we snap a photo.  He more than hates to do it that way so he was super relieved that Scott offered to relieve that burden.  I do not like when others take the pictures because I get super awkward and uncomfortable but this time was great.  Scott did a fantastic job.  We took advantage of the situation and had him snap some regular family photos as well.  I ended up liking them best.  Scott used his iPhone and his nice camera and did better than we have ever done ourselves.  Here they are.  

It wouldn't be a Tilford family holiday photo without Harlan crying.  Lol. 

Here we have a double whammy...  Nolan is pouting and Harlan is crying.  Lol. 

Not even kidding, Missy posed herself this way.  

This is my favorite.  I framed it for the hallway.  
This was last weekend.  Thank GOD we did them then; it has been raining ever since, non-stop. 

She also added herself here.  She is more clingy than ever to me so keeping her locked in the house wasn't an option.  

You can't see her here but she's actually behind me and Nico in this picture.  

Sassy-pants. 

Later that night.  This boy 💙

We watched movies the remainder of the afternoon that day while I started the blog post and wrote approximately seven words.  

We received the most special gift from Aunt Leslie and Uncle Brian.  They know us so well.  Leslie does stained-glass and is really very good at it.  She had made me an angel many years ago that was in my kitchen window at our old house.  It fell from the window one day and shattered in several spots on her dress.  I saved it all this time until a few weeks ago (I finally threw it away while decorating for Christmas).  While Leslie and Brian were here in October, Nolan showed her the angel and told her he could fix it with tape.  Also, he had found a little nightlight that used to have a stained-glass turtle on it and asked her to take it home and make a new one.  She did and included it and a new angel in the box.  They also got us olive oil and vinegar, sees candy, coffee and a family ornament!  That was so special and sweet and a tear-jerker to open.  Thank you both so very much.  We love you beyond measure.  

One day while Eric was in the shop, he came toting a Costco box inside to me thinking I ordered something.  I told him I hadn't so he opened it and it was an awesome Hillshire Farm gift basket sent from Uncle Don and Aunt Katherine.  We have been loving snacking on all of the goodies and even did a mini charcuterie with a lot of it for lunch a couple of times.  That was so sweet and thoughtful and we really enjoyed it.  Thank you so very much!  We love you!! 

Ok, so here I will show random photos of things we have been making, things that went on the website and some other crafting things.  Also, my work bench has expanded and I am encroaching on more and more of Eric's shop space.  Lol.  I warned him not to invite me in there.  I take things that I feel I need more than he does, I spread out for comfort and ease and I paint a LOT of things.  Oh, it also brings the kids in a TON more because they always want something from me.  Lol.  I have been painting, cutting, lasering, making and creating almost daily for the past couple of months (and messing things up and making mistakes- remember, that's how I learn best).  

I had some scrap wood and wanted to try out some different settings so I made these large snowflakes (they're like 6 inches).  I wanted to put one on a shelf behind this pretty porcelain lady I have as one of my Christmas decorations but the colors didn't look good together.  So I hung them on the walls in some small spaces I had to fill 

I found this design for some plain wood ornaments and made a sheet of them for family, friends and the twins' teachers.  Ours is tied with a rope bow, that is why it looks different.  I ran out of the festive ribbon.  

I have patterns for family penguin ornaments from two up to 10 people!  I printed these without painting for now for practice.  The fox was a design I found to be adorable but not easy with the fine lines (that break easily if you paint too think on cardboard and have to peel them off.  Just saying).  

I should have rotated this picture prior to uploading to the blog.  These are a favorite of mine and pretty much everyone who I have shown them to.  After learning how to attach the font to the face frame, I am unstoppable!  These are the ornaments I am putting on the kids' gifts this year.  

These are actually background options for the family penguin ornaments but I printed them (also for practice) and stained them as their own simple design.  I definitely have learned to edit what I don't like (from purchased designs).  

For the twins' teacher.  This is actually prior to gluing it all together.  

Every year I hang our Christmas cards from mini clothes pins on a line of jute to display them for the season.  This year, I un-decorated more of the house to decorate more festively for Christmas and I had this huge open space.  So, I asked Eric to make me this large framed-in chicken wire to hang our cards from.  It's right by our front door.  This one is very large; 36"x48".  We have several more cards added now.  Send us a card, it'll look good displayed on here!  Lol.

This is a double-layered Amazing Grace hymn sign that I made.

This is a double-layered Silent Night hymn sign that I made.

I had "accidentally" cut an extra large "Welcome" for a sign I was working on as a gift so I saved it and added it to this 15" circle along with some snowflakes I made.  It's on my front door. 

Always the faithful companion.  We grabbed a bunch of moving blankets and put them on the two dog beds we have in the shop.  Both Callie and Missy are regulars in there with us.  Especially when it is storming.  

A few weeks ago, I watched this little video of a lady decoupaging a jar to make a vase.  Well, I didn't think much of it because it wasn't my style nor in my creativity wheelhouse.  I needed two long items cut for these two spots above my kitchen windows so I decided to cut some candy canes.  Well, I cut them out of MDF so they're ugly left plain.  I went downstairs to my gift wrapping and found some tissue paper I had left over from my Aunt Lindy from probably like 15 years ago.  I used it and mod podge and here they are.  I need to work a little harder to smooth out wrinkles in the future but they look great above the windows and these are just for us anyway.    

When I undecorated to prep for Christmas decorating, I had a bunch of small places where I had nails in the walls from these little pictures and plates and things.  So, I went out and made these trees with sentiments/greetings/sayings scored into them.  I had cut a bunch of stars like six weeks ago for a wreath I am making so I grabbed some and glued them over the hanger.  I roughed them up with sandpaper to make them a little more rustic.  The photos don't really do them justice; they're easier to read in person.  

I still have four more places to add things above the windows. I am using existing nails only, not adding any.  So, I have to make it work as it is laid out currently.  

The snowman was a cookie jar lid that my grandma had made and painted when I was just a little kid.  She was so talented.  Anyway, we had one for every season.  I have the snowman but no jar to fit it so I put a hook on the back and added it to the wall.  

Okie, dokie. Here is where Eric's creativity comes into this...  He has been making these cedar Christmas Tree collars.  They are sooooo incredible.  I personalize them for people by engraving on either the front or back or both the front and back or he will stencil them with one of a few Christmas stencils we have.  These things are too cool.  They have hinges inside and two are sliding hinges so they literally lift apart and fold for storage.  The one pictured here is an angled trapezoid and is a little larger than the box style.  My preference is the box style because it looks more farmhouse style to me.  But we have a lady ordering one now without the farmhouse "X" on the side.  

This is one side of there Casner's tree collar.

This is the other side.  

This is one side of our tree collar.  Our name is on the other.  Again, we just did the stencil for practice.  We always make ourself something first and practice on it.  

Nico came into the shop one day and asked to make something.  He couldn't think of what to make for the longest time.  We looked up orcas, sharks, dragons, dinosaurs and some other things but we finally settled on the octopus.  I have a whole box full of keychain making supplies so we made this guy into a keychain.  Nico painted him.  He promptly lost him about two hours after I handed it to him the following day.  About a week later, we found it.  

Workspace #2

See, I am slowly moving farther and farther over.  Lol.  

Workspace #1 and the beast.  

Here she is.  The beast that makes the magic happen.  Lol. 

In action.  Cutting ornaments I am sending out in our annual year-end letter.  

When we had our yard sale in September, we met a guy who mills his own lumber from downed trees on his vast property nearby.  Eric ordered a load from him to make a new workbench. 

Gramps decided to get in on the crafting fun and build his own table for his place.  The kids eat breakfast with him probably about once-a-week so he needed a little more room.  He had Eric prep the lumber with his planer and he did the rest.  He even built benches to go with AND sealed the whole thing with finish.  

He went and bought thick foam for the seats and I found a huge bolt of fabric (again from my Aunt Lindy) and it was enough to cover both benches.  He did a phenomenal job covering the benches and had perfect corners and seams.  I bought him a plastic table cover to preserve the table since I know how kids eat and spill.  

OH, we also had Halloween in there since I posted last!  We did a couple of fun things for Halloween this year.  We went to our town fall festival a few days prior to Halloween and then on the holiday itself, we headed over to the Garcia home for our annual trick-or-treat extravaganza.  They made us a delicious supper of chili and snacks and spoiled us rotten.  It was a great day.  Lily was a sugar-skull skeleton thing, Nolan was Batman, Harlan was Spiderman, Nico was a Navy Seal and Tristan wouldn't dress up (Eric also didn't want him to and he seemed fine with it).  

Ivy, Nolan, Nico and Harlan joined a costume contest at the fall festival.  Of course, the judges were blind as none of our kids won in any category.  Lol.  

There was a (free) rock-climbing wall at the festival and both Nico and Tristan made it to the top with no issues.  

Harlan, Ivy and some random kid in the bounce-house at the festival.  

Random kid stuff.  Our kids are always doing something.  They're rarely idle.  We also strongly encourage outside time for as much of the day as humanly possible.  Also, only a portion can be spent lazing about.  They are pretty creative and as you saw in the previous post, they are always coming up with something new (like the twins pulling the older kids on skateboards while pedaling their trikes).  Here are some pics of a few days in their world.  

Tristan pulled out his chess-set and both he and Nico have been obsessed.  Even the twins are learning to play.  Tristan is working on his patience with teaching the twins and is mostly great with them (unless it's a video game). 

This is Lily's version of teaching the twins to make rubber-band bracelets.  Lol.  

There have been lots and lots of daddy snuggles lately.  I think it's because it's been cold and he's big and warm.  Lol. 

Nolan was mad about something so he hid under the placemat.  

Getting ready to ride....  

See... Creativity in action.  Lol. 

The twins got it in their heads that they wanted to have a sleep-over in the TV room one night so we said, sure.  Harlan lasted about 1/2 way through the night and came up to our room screaming.  He was so confused and disoriented and it is so dark down there.  It really freaked him out.  Nolan was a champ and lasted the whole night.  These sleeping bags were at my grandparents house when I was a little kid and we would camp out in their den in them.  Now I have them! 

Bear didn't last either.   He followed me up the stairs.  

Watching a show together.  

I found Nolan like this shortly before 7pm one evening.  He had just gotten over being sick and was back in school and was worn out.  

School!  It's a daily thing! 

I let Nico have a PJ day (neither Tristan or Lily wanted to). 

Proud of his puzzle.  He can't find the missing piece but that doesn't matter.  

We bought these little mini appliances on a holiday deal any Walmart.  It was $15 for four MyMini appliances.  Included are a waffle maker, an omelette maker, a griddle and a mini-donut maker.  Anyway, Nolan is beyond obsessed.  We made waffles this morning, Eric helped him last weekend and during the week, they made omelettes.  I am most excited for the donut maker, if I am being honest but I haven't had the nerve to fire that bad boy up.  

Ok, so the kid injury.  Eric and I were working in the shop one day and the kids were playing in the playground.  It was nice enough that we had the roll-up door open and the playground is about 15 feet from the shop (maybe).  All of the sudden, Lily and Tristan brought a screaming Nolan into the shop to me covered in blood.  It was just draining from his face.  I couldn't see where it was coming from and couldn't figure out exactly what had happened.  After hearing a take from five different children (Lily wasn't even around but managed to tell me how it all went down, lol), I managed to piece together that Nolan dropped a massive rock onto his face.  I got Nolan seated and tried calming him down and grabbed some shop towels I had handy (don't worry, they were clean off the roll).  I took a look and saw the blood was draining from his mouth and lips so I started dabbing it up as best as I could.  When he calmed down a bit, I was able to lift his lip and see the damage and it was bad.  Three of his teeth were knocked loose and his gums were ripped up and bleeding like crazy.  I know mouth and head wounds bleed the worst so I was reminding myself of that as I assessed.  His lip was split wide open and the skin was lifted but not ripped off.  We gave him a soft icepack and he iced it for a few minutes.  I made smoothies and he ate popsicles.  We were going to keep him home the following day but we got him dressed and loaded up just in case we couldn't get him into the dentist.  They were able to get him in early in the day so Eric just brought him back home.  The dentist took x-rays and evaluated and thankfully, saw no real damage.  It's all superficial.  He did say that as long as Nolan doesn't mess with the loose teeth, they should reset and they did.  A little differently than before, but they're firm in his gums again.  He didn't break any roots or crack any teeth.  He has a follow up next week to make sure that no teeth are dying but I think they look great again.  He's already almost healed and brushing again with no issues.  It was so awful, all the blood.  It made me sick to my stomach and scared me to death too.  He's okay though and it's like it never happened.  

This is day two. 

One thing we really miss about public school is school photos!  I'm sure all of my teacher friends are groaning right now because of what a pain picture day is but we loved getting nice photos of the kids each year.  I also always volunteered when I could so I got them free or discounted.  Anyway, we bought a photography set up to take the kids' photos ourselves because we realized it had been nearly three years since they had school photos done.  Also, we bought it to help photograph products for our business.  It was a great deal and we are very happy.  The bulbs all came broken though, so I need to contact amazon for replacements.  A few weeks ago we set up for school photos and got some good ones.  Tristan, of course, had no darker shirts clean (he does his own laundry now) so he looks like a businessman.  BUT, we have current photos of all five kids and are thrilled.  We already know how to do them better/differently in the future.  They will be going out in the mail this month to their recipients.  

Nico.  Age 9.  4th Grade. 

Tristan.  Age 13.  8th Grade. 

Lily.  Age 12.  6th Grade.  

Here are all five of them.  The twins both had face injuries in theirs and have never done them before so their "smiles" are a little silly but I love them and elected to not do re-takes.  
Here is where I get a little sappy and call out a very special friend.  As I was looking at these photos, I was overcome with a lot of emotion.  I am so very grateful to our friend Jen C. (you know who you are) for supporting us from day one in our adoption journey and helping us match up with our children.  It is such an interesting journey, adoption.  It is full of peaks and valleys and tons of fear.  Anyway, without going on too much of a rant, I'll say this:  Jen, thank you for believing in Eric and me and for seeing the potential in our family with our kiddos.  These pictures have made me re-realize just how lucky we are to have had our journey and to have met you, bonded with you and worked so closely with you along the way.  If it's wasn't for you, this may not have been possible and I shudder to think of life without these five crazies in it.  I actually can't- nor can I recall a time without them in it.  

Ok, on to less heavy subjects- but just for a second.  Here are our other crazies.  Our critters.  These cats are all over and into everything with the bad weather we've been having.  They're inside a bunch more.  Also, ever since Millie was sick (months ago) and recovering primarily in our bathroom, she still prefers to eat in there.  BUT, now, so do six other cats.  They are all very well-nourished.  If we open any drawer and leave it open just a tad too long, a cat appears.  Cabinets too.  Laundry baskets, beds, rugs, clean clothes, open washing machines...  you name it, nothing is off-limits.  

I had wondered why I had to re-decorate our fall decorations on the hutch every morning and then I saw Miss Kitty peek out and realized the answer to my question...  

Oscar lays like this on a regular basis.  This is our footboard to our bed.  That's "Friends" in the background.  I fall asleep to it nightly.  

Friends and Oscar again...  I wonder if he is just growing weary of the same show each night???  😏

Millie hops in the tree box each night and eats our light bulb covers.  It's great.  

There is a cat in my sink and one on the bathtub.  

While I was sick in bed, this was my scene each day.  The whole day.  There were four days that I couldn't even get out of bed.  Lily and Harlan both had scary high fevers.  Lily was 105.4 and Harlan was 105.7.  Tristan was 103, so was Nolan.  It was awful.  Thankfully, their fevers broke easily with meds but they came back for like two weeks!  

Another sick day...  

The napkin spot was empty so Millie took advantage.  

I was laying on the floor taking Christmas tree photos when Callie came and snuggled up to me.  It was so sweet.  I love her.  

It's a swarm of cats.  There are five in the tub and one waiting outside the bathroom door (Miss Kitty) because she hates people (Eric, she hates Eric).  

Mother and Son.  

Alright.  Now I am going to tell a story about the animal tragedy that I had mentioned at the start of this post.  So, one day, maybe over the summer, I was driving on our road when I saw a white and black cat running near the end of our road.  I was stunned because I thought it was our cat Carl.  Upon further investigation, I realized it was not Carl but that cat looked almost identical to him.  It was even small like Carl.  Anyway, I saw it a few more times but really haven't seen him/her since summertime.  Also, it's about a mile away from our house (where I saw it running around) and that can be a little far for a house cat.  So, Gramps was really sick (as you all are aware) for so long that we missed our hay bailing timeframe (mowing too).  So, our front fields were super long and full of drying hay, more like straw at this point.  Then we had adverse weather, so mowing got pushed back again and again (Eric and I both don't drive Gramps' tractor).  Ok, so finally the day comes to mow the front fields.  These are the fields outside our front gate on either side of our driveway, nearest to the road.  Gramps is out handling it and Eric and I are in the shop.  I'm working at the Glowforge when I hear some serious sobbing.  Lily walked Nico in and he was hysterical.  She couldn't tell me exactly what had happened because again, she was the messenger/deliverer of the sobbing child.  Finally, I get out of Nico that we lost one of our cats.  I asked him which one and he said "Felix, I think".  Eric had his earmuffs on but saw my panic and fear while talking with Nico- by now it was slightly elevated because he couldn't spit out what had happened.  Finally he said that Grandpa ran over the cat with his mower.  It was like a punch in the stomach.  I was headed out of the shop to go check things out while pulling the info from Nico.  I looked over toward the barn where Gramps had just arrived from mowing and had to stop for a second because I could clearly see my dad was in distress so I knew there had to be some truth to what Nico was saying.  I went over to his car and asked him what had happened.  He said he felt the mower catch up and looked back to see the cat. He couldn't believe he didn't move or run or anything.  I asked him which cat and he said Carl.  I almost puked.  I asked him where he was and he said he had him in the back of his car so I went to check him out.    I lifted him up and inspected him and noticed there was no blood.  If he had died by mower-death, there certainly would have been a lot more blood.  Eric was comforting Nico over by the shop still so I couldn't show the cat to him because I didn't want the kids to see it.  I picked the cat up again as much as I could and looked it over and noticed he didn't have his flea collar on.  I figured it got snagged  by the mower.  Eric went inside the house and shook treats and couldn't find Carl.  We located all the cats except him so the odds were pretty good that it was our Carl.  We were all devastated and sobbing, Gramps was a mess, thinking he ran over the cat.  He was even sobbing.  He is much "softer" than when I was growing up.  One thing we definitely determined is that the cat was already deceased when he was ran over by Gramps.  Gramps didn't see him first because the hay was so tall.  Eric and I drove out to the front field to see where it happened and look for the flea collar and I mentioned to Eric that I had seen that cat that looked just like Carl down the road and was not fully convinced that this kitty was Carl.  But, we couldn't find Carl and from what we could see (without going into details, I will just say it was a little difficult to tell), it looked like him.  Then Lily suggested checking his nose because he has a soft pink nose and this cat appeared to as well.  Anyway, the kids all sobbed, Eric grabbed the post-hole digger and bars and headed up next to Otis to bury Carl and have his funeral service.  We all said our favorite memory with our sweet Carl and placed him in his deep grave.  We all did a shovel-full of dirt on him and Eric finished burying him.  We made plans to make grave markers for both he and Otis.  After the service was over, I went back to the shop to clean up and shut it down for the evening.  About 15 minutes later Gramps came in and said "Don't make a grave marker that says Carl!  He is in the barn!"  I went out and looked over and sure enough, there stood Carl in the doorway of the barn.  We had a funeral for and buried the neighbors cat.  😳. The ironic thing is that Eric hurt his elbow and cut his hands while digging the hole because the handle of the post-hole digger broke.  So, he's now injured from burying the neighbors cat.  We plan to mark his grave "The Tomb of the Unknown Cat".  Thankfully, Carl is alive and well and snuggling each night just like always.  I wrote a note to the neighbors and Tristan took it to all the mailboxes on our road on the way to work at the food pantry two days later.  No one has called or texted or come to dig up their cat.  

Carl. 😽

Soccer...  Soccer ended and we were all ready for it to be done.  It was drug on a little long due to make up games.  Their coach was so cool though and went around and gave them each a trophy and told each kid what made them special to the team.  They had cupcakes and juice and it was great.  

Harlan, Nolan and Titus. 

Tristan got his first 100% EVER on a test about a month ago.  When I say ever, I mean his entire school career.  This was a legitimate algebra test, too.  I had to go to the store that day so I grabbed what we didn't already have (ice cream) to do sundaes and celebrate!  We were very proud and made a big deal out of it and he was proud of himself.  

Here are some menus and food prep and meals from the past several weeks.  We have not done an official menu since Thanksgiving week but had a mental one all set.  That worked well for a short period and we are back to planning and writing it down.  

I made parmesan chicken one night and it was so flippin good.  I haven't made it for a long time and it was a BIG hit.  

Prep for Eggroll In A Bowl!  It's a favorite.  

Prep for Standing Manicotti.  It was okay.  The kids LOVED it.  

Jess sent me a recipe for taco soup with a creamy broth (NOT tortilla soup).  It was so dang delicious. We all loved it so much.  

https://www.saltandlavender.com/creamy-taco-soup/

Sunsets, nature and our weather...  

Voting day!  Eric and I went to our local church and voted!  I love voting.  Gramps voted, Scott & Sierra voted.  Do it! 

The twins' school had an incredible Veteran's Day celebration.  The pre-k class got to sing one song and initially, we had planned to only watch them but we loved it so much that we stayed for the entirety.  It was so well-done and so special.  One little boy cried through his presentation.  It brought nearly everyone to tears because he was so passionate.  He shared that his dad is in the military.  

Eric's Birthday!

Eric's only request was to go to Waffle House for his birthday- just the two of us.  So, Gramps kept the kids and we went to Waffle House.  Gramps made the kids a special breakfast at home.  We then grocery shopped and went home so I could get the twins to the dentist.   

Poor Eric.  I consider myself a pretty good baker but this makes even me question whether or not I should just buy pre-made and decorated cakes from here on out...   I am not exactly sure where we went wrong.  Perhaps it was the full bag of chocolate chips I let Nolan dump into the mix (they stuck to the bottom of the pan- rookie mistake, I know), or leaving the cake in the pan in the freezer too long or forgetting to bake it in the first place and finishing it right before supper.  It's anyones guess at this point.  We ate supper and I left everyone in the dining room to await singing and cake eating and Nico joined me in the kitchen to help decorate the cake.  When I finally managed to pry it from the pans and dump it on the platter, you should have seen Nico's eyes.  His face was pure shock and disgust.  Lol.  I tried piling it all together and frosting it and what you see is the outcome.  He was begging me not to take it out to Eric.  LOL.  I am dying laughing remembering this.  It was such a mess; I had to wash my hands like six times.  Anyway, I got it to this level of acceptability and started to put candles in it, much to Nico's horror.  He said (thankfully, in a whisper) "I think you pretty much ruined dad's birthday, mom".  LOL.  I was thankful I had also made cupcakes.  This is what happens when I get scatter-brained.  
I took the cake out and we sang.  Eric laughed so hard and was like "nailed it!"  Hahaha.  We actually ate the cake anyway and everyone loved it!!!!!!!!  Hahahahaha.  Just call me Betty Crocker.   

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I'd say my favorite but the 4th of July is tied.  Anyway, I love Thanksgiving.  The kids love any holiday, they love a party, they love people and they especially love a buffet.  Aunt Rose (Sierra's mama) came to visit them (and therefore, us) for the holiday.  We had the pleasure of visiting with her twice during her five-day stay.  Aunt Rose is special and I truly adore her and her kind heart.  The night before, I got a wild hair and decided to make some place-setting greetings and napkin holders for the table.  They turned out great and I love them.  They were a huge hit.  We had such a fun time and dressed up a bit.  We took some family photos, played games, colored, ate waaaaaayyy too much and shared why we are so thankful.  It was beautiful and special and I loved it.  All of us feel so lucky to be together and feel what we feel and see what we see and have what we have and love who we love.  Of course, so many were missed from our Thanksgiving celebration and we all missed the big Thanksgiving celebrations we used to host but this was just as good.  It was just different.  

I have several packages of place-setting cards and we do not assign spots as we sit all over the property, house, etc for our events.  So, I took them out and wrote something I am thankful for to each person inside and gave to them with their supper.  

Sierra made so many appetizers and brought so much food along with the food we made and had out.  It was like Nolan had died and gone to food heaven.  

Leslie sent us some games and coloring pages and I have a bunch from the classroom too, so we put them out on a table in the living room and the kids went to town.  It was a great extra little thing for them.  

Aunt Rose played UNO with the big boys.  

Ivy refused to get in the picture unless she had a cupcake.  We weren't ready for dessert yet.  

Aunt Lindy was gracious enough to share her Garlic Salad recipe with me and Sierra offered to make it.  IT WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and just as I remembered it.  

Eric and I did dishes for an hour that evening!!!  Everyone offered to help but I prefer to do them at my own pace and visit.  Plus, we were all so full that it took us a while to get up the nerve to clean up.  

All Done!

The Tilfords.  Thanksgiving 2022.  

The Casners.  Thanksgiving 2022.  

The Casners and Aunt Rose.  

Just the girls.  

These two...  Lol. 

These three!!!  Lol. 

Christmas decorating...  Lily loves to help decorate for all of the holidays and she is getting really good at it.  She's very creative and helpful and it's nice to have someone who loves it.  It inspires me to be more festive.  So, I decided to decorate more this year than almost any other year.  There were a few times I got crazy at the old house but here I have always done the minimum...  As I previously mentioned, I took down ALL of my usual decor and packed it away for the season.  I left all of the nails so everything I used had to fit in existing places.  I have a BUNCH of spots on the wall to fill (I had, lol) so it inspired me to create!  I have a bunch of signs almost finished that will come in on Monday or Tuesday, depending on how I am feeling.  The kids decorated their tree first because Nolan was going to simply perish if it didn't happen NOW.  Next year, we are giving the bigger tree to the kids and buying a 12-foot tree for us.  The small one may go up on the balcony.  They are running out of room on their tree because they have so many ornaments between the five of them and we have super high ceilings so we can have a big tree again.  Many years ago, my mom bought the kids a train for around the base of the tree.  We pulled it out and set it up around their tree and the kids love it.  I'll take more pictures when I am done decorating.  I told Eric that I will probably finish just in time to put it all away,  But, we have it all now and we made it so it gave us practice and saved money.  

The barn...  We FINALLY got enough bedding to change out the horse stalls for the year.  They have been out of stock every time we had the truck for a big load of feed, etc. Nico and I spent the afternoon cleaning all of the discarded hay from the stalls (there was A LOT) and giving the horses fresh bedding.  The stalls look so much better now.  Also, they're easier to muck each day. 

Nico is pretending to dislike his job.  Lol. He did good, though.  

Ju jitsu...  On Friday and today, each of the boys had ANOTHER belt test,  Both promoted to the next level.  I love watching Nico because he is so focused snd serious about it while he's doing it.  He did such a good job.  Tristan did fantastic as well.  He's in a higher level so this is the first time they didn't advance to the same belt color.  Nico will not get his solid colors at the same time anymore.  We are very proud of them both.  Nolan practices Ju jitsu at home too.  We are thinking of signing him up but then we'd be there another full hour each time. We're not ready for that yet.  

I have a few song recommendations.  This is a spoiler alert if you watch old seasons of The Masked Signer and don't know who each character is yet.  

The kids watch old seasons of The Masked singer and on the show one season was Jewel as the Queen of Hearts.  She sang "Bird Set Free" by Sia.  Jewel's version is so outstanding and the first time I heard it in its entirety, it brought me to tears.  

Also, Eric and I are soooooooooooo behind the "times" but we discovered this album by Lionel Richie called Tuskegee.  It's a bunch of his hits sung by him and some country singers.  I posted a few of our favorites below.  I am not going to lie, "Easy" with Willie Nelson and "My Love" with Kenny Chesney are my favorites but I love "Deep River Woman" with Little Big Town.  That's Eric's favorite.  We really enjoy the whole album but these are favorites.  Enjoy.  

There is also a song on here by Jake Owen called "What We Ain't Got".  It's so good.  His voice and the lyrics.  The whole package.  And then, I'd be remiss if I didn't add the final little piece of perfection.  This was recommended to us recently and we get such a kick out of it.  "Baby Got Back" by Joe Nichols.  You're welcome.  

Finally, birthday wishes.  

-Happy Birthday to sweet Zoe Bowers!  We hope you had a great day.  We hope to see you one day soon.  

-Happy Birthday to my dear friend, confidant, sounding board, laugh partner and so much more, Jessica!  You are quite simply the best.  Love you tons. 

- Happiest of Birthdays to one of the most incredible women we have the pleasure of calling family, Aunt Gerrie!  We love you so much and miss you like crazy.  

-Happy Birthday to one of the kindest men we call a friend, Mark Williamson.  You are one of the hardest working people we know and hope you get spoiled on your special day.  We miss you.  

-Happy Birthday to our sweet, smart, beautiful, Camille Nelson!  We cannot wait to see you, hopefully this year!!  Have the best day. The kids send their love.  

Tristan celebrates his birthday on Christmas Day.  We will likely have his celebration days later or after the new year.  He has requested beef stroganoff for his supper.  He will turn 14 years old.  I am not sure how that is possible when I feel he is still like 10 but it's happening.  

I am starting my year-end letter probably tomorrow.  If I usually send you one and you have an updated address, please email it to me.  Mary, I got yours from your email.  If you want to receive one and haven't in the past, please email me your address,  Uncle Leigh- I am determined to get a package off to Australia in the next two weeks.  I have been collecting pictures for you and have several things ready.  

Merry Christmas!!!!  Take care and stay in touch.