The Entire month of NOVEMBER

Paul working crazy (night shift) hours in the ICU (hate).

Thanksgiving, Noah's 8th Birthday, Noah's baptism and visits from the Grandparents (love).

{Because I'm never going to get to all these things individually...but I'm not ready to give up on this blog yet.}

Thanksgiving:

Great food,

great friends,

the kids had a blast (Noah says it was his best Thanksgiving ever),

Avery was a ham,

and the Bumans were amazing hosts!!

Thanks guys :)

A few days later...

Noah turned 8 years old.

We celebrated by taking Noah and Alex and 2 of their friends to the Mall of America to ride the rides. That's my kind of birthday party. Kids had a blast, Paul and I did a little shopping (not at the same time) and Avery had fun at home with a babysitter. Win win win.

We also had a family party on his actual birthday, with presents and lemon cake with lemon frosting.

A few days later...

Noah got baptized.

It was such an important day for Noah and our family. Everything went beautifully and we're so grateful that both sets of grandparents were there to share the day with us and be a part of it. We also had the love and support of many, many dear friends. We are so proud of Noah and we feel so blessed.

We also got the first (real) snow of the year that day, the kids could not have been happier.

And Paul surprised the kids with a tree. Not the best surprise ever, but they sure had fun decorating it.

November was busy. I'm not gonna lie, I got stressed out at times, I thought it was too hard some days. But there was also a lot of love, laughter, friends, family, and good food.

It's a wonderful life. And I am happy and grateful.