Cold Mountain

Ha get it?
I never actually saw that movie. But I couldn't resist stealing the title.



So the fam headed to the mountains for Thanksgiving. I had my reservations. Last time this crew headed to the mountains for thanksgiving we were all in one house, Scott and I weren't even married yet, and it was definitely eye opening to how much chaos can ensue with that many people in confined spaces. Here we are, 6 years later, 8 kids later, and with three cabins to share.

It was bliss.

It rained, the wind blew, we were cold, we were hot, we ate WAY too much food, we BROUGHT way too much food. There were pictures taken, games played, sewing and knitting done, bingo games aplenty. It was awesome. The only thing was the obvious void of one family. And while it was for the best, it was definitely odd to be short a family. I know some people can't possibly believe that we would feel the difference, but that's just it. With our family, even being short one person, let alone a whole family, definitely makes it feel so empty. They were missed terribly. But we were THANKFUL. Thankful for needed rest for them and for us. Thankful for over all health. Thankful for jobs, being in such an unstable economy, we are all gratefully, gainfully employed. We are thankful for our family, the new members and the old. We are thankful for our Lord Jesus Christ, the center of our lives. The glue that holds us all together and who brings us peace and joy in a world that is in desperate need of both.

I could go on and on. But I am thankful. Oh so very thankful this year.

And here are the pictures.

If we're facebook friends then you've already seen this picture. It makes me melt. I love my boy.





walking with Mama2


We had every oven going full blast to cook all the food. Something about Papa coming to my cabin with a ham had me cracking up. It smelled like hot ham water in our cabin Cece=)


I've been meaning to write an entire blog about my EllaKate, and I still intend to. This girl, my first ever niece, just continually steals my heart. She LOVES to take pictures. And she saved up her allowance for her very own camera. How cool is that?


One of her favorite things is when I let her take pictures with my big camera. The following two pictures are taken by her.





This one was taken by Reese.


And this one by Tess. I think she was going for a "rule of thirds" look in this one. =)


Seriously, my kid is not crying. I could cry with happiness that he WASN'T the one crying for once. seriously.


I DIE.








We drove into Lake Arrowhead on Friday to explore. But um, no one remembered it was BLACK FRIDAY until it took us a half an hour to park. And then there were the crowds. Oh the crowds. We ended up spending most of time feeding the ducks and playing at the park.


Ella so patiently waiting...hoping....


and it payed off!











My kid no longer walks. He runs. EVERYWHERE. Which makes my job of photographing him, increasingly difficult.
So while this one is blurry, I still love it.








Our amazing view from our cabin at night, you know, when we weren't in the clouds.