November

As all months are, November was fabulous!  It was full of family, friends, traveling, and working on our Adoption Journey.  Here are some highlights from November!

The Fire Station! We joined our friends on a tour of the forestation.  Abs was getting over a cold and wasn't quite herself but still enjoyed it.

Ringing the Bell!

A sweet friend of mine works for Salvation Army and taught me how we could volunteer to ring the bell to help people through the Christmas Season.  If you know Barton you can bet that we were singing.  It was fun to sing and ring at our local Mall.  Some people were so sweet and delightful, others acted like we were invisible :)  It gave me a new insight to the bell ringers.  We loved it.

Decorating the Tree! Knowing that Abigail and I would be leaving soon after we returned from Thanksgiving we decided to decorate the tree a week before Thanksgiving!  

Date Night! 

Barton was so sweet and took me on a date to see the Lion King.  I love musicals, but I especially love time I get with my Handsome one . 

 Thanksgiving!

I love, love holidays!  For Thanksgiving we traveled down to our old territory of Ohio/Kentucky.  We had a fabulous time!

Thanksgiving we spent with Barton's sister Meg and our nieces and nephews.  We have missed these kiddos.  It was so good to get to be with them!

Barton and Jonas enjoyed some guy time:

 While us ladies enjoyed some quality girl time:

 Our original plans for Thanksgiving dinner ended up getting canceled.  So Meg was wonderful and quickly made some new plans. We did a River Boat Cruise on the Ohio River for Thanksgiving dinner.  The food was delicious and we had so much fun!

 Jonas and Abigail decided to join efforts in the coloring contest:

 And they won! 

The day after Thanksgiving we spent with my cousin Suseann and her family.  We miss living by them so much!  We spent the day BlackFriday shopping, playing games, catching up, and eating yummy food.  When Abs was helping Suseann cook I had a flashback from right before we moved to Wisconsin!

Abigail at Thanksgiving:

 Abigail in Spring of 2013, our last weekend with the Meaders before we moved:

And I thought she was so big then!  I can't believe the difference. My baby needs to slow down.  Time needs to slow down! 

Kentucky! Before heading back to Wisconsin we spent a day in Kentucky.  We were nervous to go back, but in the end we wished that we had more time to spend there.  It was so good to see such dear friends! 

Our first stop was Mormon Row to see my cousin William and Katelynn and their new baby Emma Millie.  (Yes, I am convinced that subconsciously they named her after me :)  It was so good to see them.  They are always a delight to be with!  Remember how they moved next door to our new place!?! We could have been next door neighbors....

 Saturday night we spent the night with the Wilburs.  I am sad that I didn't get a single picture!  I loved catching up with them.

On Sunday we went to the Tates Creek Ward.  I can't even put into words what that ward means to me.  I had to hold back tears walking in and sitting Sacrament Meeting.  It felt like we were home again.  And to see everyone's excited faces and feel their warm embraces.  It was priceless. I wish we could have taken more pictures of all of our dear friends.  But I did get one of Sister Martin.

This is sweet Sister Martin.  She became a very dear friend to us.  She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met.  She will always have a special spot in my heart.