Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends! We have so many things to be thankful for this year, including the birth of Kendall and her improving health, the purchase of our first home, visits and time spent with family and friends, etc. We have been so blessed and life is good!

We had such a great holiday. My dad drove in early last week and then my brother Clay and his family came in on Wednesday. Now that we have our own home and a lot more space, we were all able to sleep and hang out here at the house! Mom and Dad stayed in Isaiah's and my room, Clay and Maryann had the guest bedroom and pallets on the floor for the girls, and Isaiah and I slept on the twin w/ trundle in Kendall's room. We celebrated Mom's birthday on Thursday and then had a big shindig with my mom's side of the family at my aunt and uncle's house on Saturday.

It was so fun to watch Loren and Camryn interact with Kendall. They met her for the first time when we got together in San Marcos over Labor Day, but she was still pretty small and fragile back then, so this time they could hold her and play with her more. Loren was so cute...she said she wanted us to move to Kingwood (where they live) so Kendall could go to her school! She said, "She can be in the little kids' class!"

We had a fantastic visit and it's so quiet around here now...I don't know what to do with myself! As usual, I took lots of pictures, so enjoy!

One of my favorites of Loren snuggling with Kendall on the couch:



Miss Camryn with her Nana:



The little turkey in her Gobble Gobble onesie:



Playing with Grandpa:



Watching the Aggies win with Daddy...we don't let her watch TV...except A&M games!



Most of the kids (except Kendall who was off being snuggled somewhere, I'm sure) at my Uncle Eddie and Aunt Susie's on Saturday. There were nine grandkids on the Turner side growing up -- now we already have nine kiddos between us and my cousin Leslie has one on the way!



My goofy cousins Jill, April and Erin playing Apples to Apples...game playing has become a super fun tradition in our family...we're just a little competitive!



My cousin Andi managed to play the game AND hold Kendall...who promptly fell asleep in her lap!



My Uncle Mike took a turn with Kendall too, and as you can see, she made herself at home. Aunt Susie served as a soft place to land for my cousin Erin's daughter, Avery, as well!



The girls -- April, Andi, Erin, me, Jill and Maryann:



Since we won't see Clay's family at Christmas, we decided to exchange presents in person on this visit. Here's Isaiah and Loren "helping" Kendall open her gifts...she made out like a bandit!



Excited (and sleepy) with her new bear, Artic!



Loren and Camryn with Maryann, showing off their new Sing-a-Ma-Jigs from Isaiah and me. Loren named hers Little Polka Dot and Camryn named hers Hummus. I like it!



Worn out after all the festivities:



After Clay and Co. left on Sunday to make the looong drive back to Houston, Isaiah put up the new tree we bought last year after Christmas (for 70 percent off!). It's gorgeous and pre-lit, my favorite part! Mom and I decorated it and I think it turned out very well! Isaiah and I love Christmas trees, so I have a feeling it will stay lit probably 24 hours a day until the holidays are over. We also put lights on the mantle above the fireplace in our room and hung stockings, and Isaiah and my dad put lights on the outside of the house too. And it's not even December until tomorrow...we're ahead of the curve this year!

Here's our gorg tree:



And of course the blog wouldn't be complete without a picture of our girl taking a lil' nap with her Daddy.



Mom and Dad headed back to San Marcos today and I've spent the day just decompressing and taking care of Kendall on my own again. My mom is such a baby-hog (ha!) I'm going to have to get used to changing all her diapers, doing all her feedings and giving her all her baths. I tell ya...the life of a mommy is rough! ;) They'll be coming back up this way at Christmas since Isaiah won't have time off, so Kendall will just have to settle for hanging out with just me (and her daddy, when he's home) until then!