So much to be thankful for...

We have so much to be thankful for this holiday season!! God has blessed our family beyond belief!! This past weekend, we had a lot of time to reflect upon these blessings! We had the wonderful opportunity to spend 3 full days with family!!

Thursday after Sophia's morning nap, we headed over to Nate's parents house! This was the first year we celebrated Thanksgiving with Nate's family on Thanksgiving Day! We all had a wonderful time and the food was ALL amazing! So healthy and so wonderful! Yum Yum!! I even tried a new dessert out on the family and it was a hit!! Two pieces made it back to the house with us on Thursday night, but were gone before I could even get Sophia to bed! (Thanks Nate and Tyler!)

Thursday night Lexi and Tyler spent the night! We played Ticket to Ride (European Version) after Sophia went to bed!! After lots of giggles and squeals, we hit the sack early so everyone (minus myself and Sophia) could get up early for Black Friday shopping! Don't they all look thrilled to be up at 4:30am? (I wasn't thrilled to be up taking the picture!!)

Nate and Tyler both scored a copy of "Elf" for $3.99 at Target!!

Friday morning we watched Elf and played with Sophia! I doubt many people were watching movies at 7am on Black Friday, huh? After Sophia's morning nap, we headed to Nate's parents house to meet the family, then proceeded to head to Garfield Park Conservatory for some family pictures. Here is a glimpse of a few of them ...

After pictures, we all (minus Sophia, Rhoda, and Delores) headed south to Perry Park Ice Skating Rink. It is a Long family tradition to "Skate off the Turkey" the day after Thanksgiving! Did you know that ice skating for 1 hour burns 700 calories? Also, 9 laps around the rink is equivalent to 1 mile? We sure burned lots of calories that afternoon and had tons of fun doing so! We had a nice meal at Nate's parents house that evening and some yummy peanut butter balls! (All the kids FAVORITE treat!)

Saturday we headed down to my parents house for some food, family, and fun!! Sophia really loved eating lots of turkey, bread, and veggies this year -- but no desserts!! (I know, such a mean mommy!) After a yummy meal, Sophia took a nap and the adults took part in a card game of "Hand and Foot!" We had a blast playing together with my parents, Sarah, and Brandon. Too bad Nate and I didn't win!!

Yesterday was Sophia's 11 month birthday! I can't even believe it!! Time sure flies -- although I sure love this stage!! Each month is more enjoyable than the last!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!! We Americans have so much to be thankful for each and everyday!! I am especially grateful for our men and women overseas fighting so that I can enjoy freedom!!

Allyson