Hello, November

...thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ...

{I Corinthians 15:57}

So here we have the colors we've all been waiting for!

I just love the contrast between a perfect blue sky and golden Autumn leaves

Mr. Tony dropped in for a sweet visit with his Mama

A surprise birthday dinner...

...for the beautiful birthday girl! (PS baby #5 is on the way!!)

Laughing time with Grandma Margarete...we just love her sweet chuckles!

A sunny day called for some good ol' sand volleyball with friends

Johanna and Grandma Glenys looking purty as a picture with their artwork

On the 5th of the month we assisted at this sweet baby girl's birth

One-day old pictures are so much fun!

Happy birthday to our little Jorgie Porgie! 

Breakfast-in-bed has been our family's tradition since us girls were itty bitty

We moved the party out to the living room to enjoy the fireplace...can you tell they're enjoying breakfast? :)

A piano duet was next! (seriously, though, Dad needs to get back into music lessons) :P

Oh wow! Look at our mature 8 year old! 

Johanna could not wait for the day when she could finally sit in the car without a booster seat!

(and for those interested in those technical details, here's the link to the official laws regarding car seats) :)

Booster-seatless!!

A lovely duo...photo-bombed by Miss Mustard

Kissy kissy

The awesome backseat drivers ;)

We had several surprises for Johanna's birthday. First stop...lunch!

Mamacita and her not-so-little-anymore, littlest girl

It was a beautiful day to eat outside (and no, Vanessa wasn't eating that whole bowl all by herself... my fork's in there too) ;)

The second and BIG surprise was ice skating!! Johanna has always wanted to do this so it was such a blessing seeing her excitement

Getting ready to hit the ice (some of us *cough* Dad *cough* took this idiom way too seriously). So here's the story... Johanna asked Dad to go really really fast and see how quickly he could get around the entire rink. A quarter of the way through I met up with him and we started racing...like, really racing...and, well I'm sure you can guess who "hit the ice". :/ Long (and painful) story short, Dad left the rink that day with a very sore shoulder and back. 

Learning to skate!

Safe in Daddy's arms

Later that evening we had a fancy dinner for a special birthday girl

Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cake (wow, that's a mouthful) made affectionately by Vanessa. And the itsy bitsy banner??... she made that too!

Getting ready to blow out all 8 of her candles, officially starting off the new year!

Out of all her gifts, Johanna was the most excited about receiving a Bible with her name engraved on it.

Even though these pics are unfocused, I still wanted to share her beaming face!

Finishing the night off with a serious game of Cranium (don't you love Johanna's face?) :)

Grandma Lorry, chillin' with little Abby

The Grandmas are the best babysitters in town ;)

Mama and two of her lovely daughters

Johanna Banana and Grandma Glenys

It was a special treat having Mr. C and the T.s join us for Thanksgiving this year!

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

{I Chronicles 16:34}

The food was delicious... but the fellowship was the sweetest!

Sweet smiles from Grandma Lorry!

Shootin' the breeze

"No kidding?"

Our littlest therapist loves having nail salon parties

On the last day of November we assisted at this beautiful little girl's birth!

December, here we come...