A Month of Gratitude: Day 28

Day 28: Thanksgiving Together

I'm so thankful that we were able to make it home to see my brother Dave and his family. They live in Arizona and don't come back to Michigan all the time, but when they do, we try to get home so we can see them. This year, they were able to come home for the month of November and we were able to spend Thanksgiving together.

We had a wonderful dinner and spent some great time before dinner talking and laughing and the kids had fun playing together. My mom wanted some pictures of all the grandkids and her kids so we did our best (Gus was not cooperating due to being exhausted from waking at 4:45 for the Turkey Trot).

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our Thanksgiving together.

 I got to meet my newest niece, Zoey (my twin's baby)

 My niece Aine is the best... she loves babies and was loving her time with Hugh

 Hugh talking to Uncle Dave

 My niece Lily also loves babies and was really excited to feed Hugh

 Right before dinner, Gus passed out

 Some of us ate here, and the rest ate in the dining room

 Oh, Uncle Steve

 Hugh was not sure if he wanted to eat dinner or just watch everyone else

 My mom, Mary Breeding (family friend), my dad, and Francine (family friend)

 Hugh kept poking Charlie in the eyes, so she went and got her goggles so he couldn't poke her ;-)

 She's 2.5 and Hugh weighs more and is almost the same height as her

 My nephew Benton playing with Charlie and Hugh

 Hugh hanging out with Mary (Mary was my Grandma Ghrist's best friend and neighbor for YEARS and still lives on the street behind where my grand parents used to live)

It was getting late, so we woke Gus and then took some family pictures.

 All nine of the grandkids (and a screaming Gus)

 My twin brother Scott and his family

 My brother Dave and his family

 My family

 Me with Hugh and my SIL Heather and our niece Lily

 Sibling picture

 Trying to recreate this picture:

(If we had the picture to look at, we could have nailed it)

The spouses

It was such a wonderful Thanksgiving. Probably the best one that I've had in many many years. There's something so special about being around family and celebrating a holiday surrounded by your siblings. 

It's in these moments that I cannot understand what it would be like to be an only child. I'm sure only children think it's great to not have siblings, as you can't miss what you've never had, but I can't imagine not having my brothers in my life.

Not only do I have two brothers, but they have families and I love spending time with all of them together. I love watching Gus and Hugh with their cousins, and watching each of my brothers children playing together. It's one of the greatest joys I've ever known.

I can only imagine how much this Thanksgiving meant to my parents. To have all three of their kids home with their families to celebrate a holiday together... something that hasn't happened in YEARS... truly awesome.

I told Steve as we were leaving that I think I might want to go back home next Thanksgiving. I hated the cold, but I really loved the warmth that being around family provided.

A Year of Gratitude #108

 

A Year of Gratitude #108: Laughter

I am not going to go into any details on this post (sorry), but I am so thankful for laughter. I love the openness shared between my brother, that he was willing to share experiences that he's had, that cause me to laugh so hard I felt like I was going to pee myself.

I don't know if there's anything better than a good laugh. Not a forced, fake laugh, but a genuine, bust your gut, laugh so hard your sides hurt kind of laugh. 

I'm glad my humor aligns with Dave and we were able to commiserate about things, and laugh at the same time.

A Year of Gratitude #107

 

A Year of Gratitude #107: Cousins

 

Eamon, Gus, Aine, and Benton

I was most excited for Dave and Heather and the kids to get here so that Gus could spend some time with his cousins. It was so fun to watch them play together and they all seemed to really have fun. Gus really bonded with Aine, which is no surprise because she's very good with little kids. He liked making faces at her and she'd make them back at him, which delighted him completely.

 

Trying to take a picture of them both making the face at each other

 

Hee hee hee

I could go on and on about how thankful I am to have had the last three FULL days with my oldest brother Dave and his family. I guess you truly don't know what you're missing until you spend ample time with family that you haven't seen in years... and then the reality of how long it's been, and how much you REALLY miss them settles in.

I love my brother Dave so deeply. He's my "big brother" (even though technically Scott is older than me... we're twins, so Dave's the big brother). I've always had a special place in my heart for him and have always loved being around him. I do look up to him, and think he's an incredible person. Someone that I'd be honored to know outside of the realm of being siblings.

 

Dave on the trampoline

Dave's wife Heather is a wonderful ying to his yang, and his other half. They're in-tune and have the same beliefs and values, which is important when picking a partner. She's as funny as he is, and brings out the very best in him. I love her so much and I'm lucky to have her as a SIL.

Their kids are very special to me because for the longest time, they were my old nephew and niece. Eamon and Aine are awesome. They have funny senses of humor, are super smart, and are fun to be around. I was most excited to see how Gus would enjoy being around his cousins (and that's another post I'll blog about shortly).

 

Aine and Gus

 

 

The kids loved the trampoline

 

Fun with Eamon

 

Fun with Aine (and Eamon)

 

Eamon

 

Sketched Aine

 

Eamon & Aine loved the Stachematic app that I have on my phone!

 

 

The boys jumping and Eamon was blowing bubbles

 

 

The boys together

 Benton is the youngest of Dave and Heather's kiddos and he's just as sweet as can be. I enjoyed spending time with him this visit because it let me get to know him a little better... since the last time he was just a wee one and I didn't really get to spend time just watching him and getting more familiar with his personality.

 
Gus and Benton at the park, sharing some fish
 

We had a great couple of days. We went on walks together, listened to music together, laughed at videos together, played outside, and played inside. It was really enjoyable.

 

The kids playing in the basement 

 

Going on a walk

 

Fun at the park

 

The boys playing in the backyard

I am so very blessed and so thankful that Dave and the family were able to swing through on their way to D.C. It gave me precious time with them, and let me really reconnect with them. The only negative is that it makes me really sad that they're gone and I won't see them again for a few months.

Our plan is to head back to MI and reunite in August/September for a week with everyone in my family together. It'll be awesome to have all three of us kids and our families together again with my parents. I'm excited to see them again this fall and hope they have an amazing time in Washington D.C.!!!