Happy Birthday, Adelina!

It's definitely a month of birthdays!  We recently celebrated sweet Adelina...

Precious buddy...

Sibling time...

With Papa...

And then she was 7...

Birthday prayer...

Yum!  Sydnee made strawberry mousse with chocolate ganache...

 We certainly appreciate this sweet little girl!  Adelina is about as girly as can be, but she has no problem holding her own with the boys!

Happy Birthday, Calvin!

And just like that, he's 10!

Calvin is such a blessing!  He is kind and sweet.  He likes to read and LOVES learning about science, particularly ocean animals.  He wants to rescue sea animals someday, which has been a passion of his for several years.  He is gentle, thoughtful, compassionate, and quick to repent.  He has a quick mind but he is also pretty quiet, overall.  He doesn't really like to be the center of attention and is quite content for others to be in the limelight while he watches.  He is definitely an encourager!

Calvin has a very thankful spirit and is just fun to be around!

Siblings💖💖💖

Boxing...oh, my!

He saw this sand castle cake several months ago (early summer, maybe late spring) and was certain that's what he wanted for his December birthday! 😂

Birthday prayer...

Caramel cake, lemon cake, and ice cream...

Sydnee was so kind to oblige him, although it was an all-day ordeal that she says she's not soon to repeat!  But she did a fantastic job and everyone loved the unique cake.

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

And then he was 4...

Andrew is such a sweet, ornery, precious, loving boy!

 A soothing gift to my soul...

With siblings...

Fun with presents...

Salted caramel bars, oh my!

 Birthday prayer...

YUM!

Most of the rest of the evening was spent reading books...

And playing fun, new games...

Andrew was pleased to get the "birthday treatment" at Ted's. 😂😂😂

It is such a gift to have young children in older years!  I am ever, exceedingly grateful for this boy, "the baby of the family."  And even though he has now decided maybe we DO need another baby, I think maybe, just maybe, he might get to be content with retaining his title.

A Time of Thanks...

It's been busy, busy, busy around here, but only in the best way!

So much prep work...

What was going to be 50 loaves of Thanksgiving bread, quickly turned into about 80!  Such a fun tradition!  Then we all started in on the main foods while Sydnee continued on with the pies for donation for the community dinner, then our own.  I think she ended up making over 20 pies!

We had so much fun, serving at Joseph's! We got there early to help fill and package the dinners for delivery...

 Then stayed to serve and clean up.  It was a great experience!  We think we may have found a new tradition!

Then home for the regular traditions!  

There's always a bit of chaos...

And always lots of laughter!

Abby got a set of side hobbles as one of her gifts.  I'm sure everyone already guessed where they went, first thing... Yep!  On two of the sisters!  😂😂😂

We spent the rest of the evening eating, reading, and playing games.  

And we had a lot of fun with an old classic...  So hilarious!

We had a great time with family!  It's such a blessing to have a full house!

And so much fun with friends!

Boys, boys, boys...😂

Fun with indoor volleyball!

Maybe a little bit of juice????

We are so thankful for the many blessings God has given...precious, sweet family and friends.  It is nice to take a special time to enjoy everyone and remember all God has done for us!

The Ocker Clan - Thanksgiving 2019