Our time in Houston...

was filled with fun outdoor activities; such as, tennis...

riding bikes and cars...

taking lots and lots of walks down to the end of the street to see the peacocks...

(yes there are wild peacocks that roam my parents' meighborhood. They've been there for years and when the city finally found out about it years ago they picked em up and took em but the neighborhood fought it and got their peacocks back. The boys LOVE to ride down there and see em.)

and wonderful food!...below is a pic of my dad frying a turkey and it was phenomenal! fried turkeys are definitely the juiciest and tastiest!

Thank you Mom, Dad and Nancy for a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thinking through a thoughtful Thanksgiving

Last night we had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving with our community group. After a great meal we did a "thankful tree" where everyone, adults and children, wrote down on a leaf what they were thankful for and got to put it on the 'tree'. We all sat down and James opened up reading through Psalm 100 and then one by one each peron got to go up and share what they were thankful for and put it on the 'tree'. The kids loved this and got a kick out of listening to each other talk about what they were thankful for. At one point, I had Caitlin and Caleb in my lap and Caleb and I were laughing hysterically. I am thankful for that moment.

This morning we went to church and our pastor talked about how our body has been helping those in need in Africa. Many members of our body have gone over there through ALARM to help, teach and encourage teachers, pastors, government officials, lawyers and those traumatized by war. We were challenged and encouraged to help...not just financially but through prayer and teaching our children what is beyond their front door. Our pastor, Todd, gave us a practical example of what they are doing as a family. Which is, for 1 week they are only eating rice and beans and a banana for a snack to help them understand life through other people's eyes and to also cultivate thankfulness in their hearts. So after talking with Brian, we too, are going to take up this practical example. (Not for a whole week just Monday and Tuesday before we leave for Houston) Even though it's only for 2 days I imagine it will be humbling...not only for them but for me as well.

So right before lunch Brian and I decided to tell them the news when they saw their lunch and started complaining (which was day 3 of leftovers)...and they usually complain 99% of the time.... so I was looking forward to having a response to their ungratefulness. But, lo and behold, this was one of those 1% times. Caleb just sat down and prayed a sweet prayer and Christopher looked at me and said, "Thank you mommy."

Ouch. I was looking forward to addressing their thanklessness yet I got the 1%. Brian and I just smiled at each other and explained to them anyway what we are going to do. They didn't seemed phased by it and said they didn't think it would be hard. Hmmm. We'll see.....:o)

Christopher's Party

Christopher had his Thanksgiving party at school today where they had a feast, made chocolate turkey cupcakes, and all shared what they were thankful for. It was cute:o)

Caitlin sure is having a lot of fun now on the floor, where as 3 months ago she would have thrown a fit if you put her down:o)

Caitlin is almost crawling!!

Well I thought she wouldn't even be crawling by the end of the year but she has proven me wrong! She has a HUNGER to be moving. My life will drastically change as I will be chasing after her constantly but she'll be happy:o)
(Well actually it won't drastically change, it'll hardly change at all since I'm with her almost every waking moment!)

Pictures at the Arboretum

We went to the Arboretum today with Robert and Janelle and their kids to get some family x-mas pictures. Man was it cold! We weren't expecting that but we surprisingly still got some great pictures.

These are all of the Cole boys....Jacob, Caleb, Peter, Eli and Christopher

All of the boys trying to take Brian down...

Caleb's Day

This morning Caleb had a yard sale...why would he have a garage sale you ask? Well all year he has been hounding me for him to be able to have a garage sale so he can sell his seashells he found and his artwork. I promised during the summer we would at some point but have been trying to see if he'd forget. He didn't.

He asked me a few weeks back and then when I was in his room I saw all of his seashells and artwork he was saving under his bed for his gargae sale. SO...he had a yard sale this morning. He was so excited preparing for it and he set up his own little booth in our front yard.

He didn't make very much but I suppose it's a good lesson for him to learn that it's hard work making money! We did have a good conversation today about bargaining as he was listening to me bargain with customers...and I told him Grammie is a great bargainer.:o)

After, his yard sale he had his last soccer game of the season...which they lost:o( But they had a fun ceremony at a park where he got a little medal with his name engraved on it and he couldn't stop smiling. Rarely do you get to visibly see his emotion and I could probably count on my hands the times he couldn't stop smiling...and this was one of those times. So sweet.:o)