Thanksgiving 2014

Such a wonderful time being together as a family for Thanksgiving this year!  We usually go to Indiana for Thanksgiving, but this year, because Jill (Hoffbeast's sister) was home in the USA for the first time in over 20 years, of course we had to stay in Wisconsin!

 We all gathered at Katie and Robert's house, and thanks to AtoZ, we had a beautifully decorated table!

 Our good eater, Mr. Bart, loved the meal and charmed everyone around!

Another bonus was that even though Jill wasn't able to be in town for Rex's opening night, she did get to drive home with me for a couple of his rehearsals...we had lots of good time to visit, and she got to see the boy actor in his element, too!

Block Cake for Bart

Once we got home from our conference, we had a traditional block cake for our darling 1-year-old!  We celebrated his birthday (again) a couple of days late today...he didn't seem to mind! He is the sweetest baby we know, and we are so grateful for his life. Missing his brother today, but so thankful that God is trustworthy and holds him (and us) close. Happy birthday, Bart and Aaron!

Birthday Bart

The birthday boy got to meet Dr. John Perkins today--and had a party in childcare beginning at 9:47 am, the time he was born! It was quite a day for our precious 1-year-old!

16 of 31 - Gotcha Day Celebration Dinner

Gotcha Day in our family calls for a trip to the Ethiopian restaurants in town, so tonight, we went to dinner downtown.  It was delicious, as usual (although also, as usual, the littles didn't seems to like it quite as much as the big people in their lives)!

We feasted on lamb, beef, chicken (cooked with the traditional hard-boiled egg), lentils and, of course, injera...lots of injera!  My favorite were the beef cubes, but by far, Rex preferred the lentils.  Neil ate a little of everything, even some of the egg and the chicken on the bone.  Beth...well, hmm...Beth didn't like it so much.

Beth trying to figure out what to do with the injera

Our friend, Desi, came with us to dinner.  He was with us two years ago, and we thought it fitting to ask him again.  He's had a very rough go of life, but he sure does have an amazing, happy smile!

Kara and Neil sportin' their Packer colors while celebrating Neil's Gotcha Day and Kara's birthday, all rolled into one!  You've been home for five years now, Neil...we love you more than we can express.  And I love how you love the Green Bay Packers.  :)