Thanksgiving 2019

To say that I have much to be thankful for this year, is an understatement. This is such a special season in our lives filled with kid's laughter, excitement, and houses filled with family members that are near and dear to our hearts. I realize how very lucky I am and am doing everything in my power to embrace each and every minute of it. 

Here are some poorly lit, blurry phone pictures that capture the moments I will treasure the most this Thanksgiving. 

 Silly, silly Emmerson giggles while baking sugar cookies with her Gram. 

 A rapid fire selfie with this ever moving boy. He is getting so big, tall, and lanky but is also perfectly child-like, still anxiously anticipating Santa this year and all of the fun that comes with that. 

 The infatuation with our ridiculously funny Uncle Darek. 

 And snuggling with Grammie and all of our Hein family members for the first showing of Elf of the season. 

 Donovan is big enough to bring in the log and light the fire in the fireplace this year. He was extremely proud of that role. 

 Emmerson was equally proud of her headband designs. She crafted these on a blustery day this week. 

 My girl and I baked an apple pie from scratch together. She made me so proud. I love that she delights in the same things that I do. 

 Meanwhile, Donovan spent the day at Uncle Dave's house baking cinnamon rolls from scratch. 

 The next morning, Taylor gave the cinnamon rolls an A+. 

 Thumbs up. 

 Thanksgiving morning was FREEZING! The kids were shivering and I was loving every minute of it. Fall smells different in Sacramento and it's delightful. A combination of  rain on pavement, wet fallen leaves and smoky fireplaces burning, I just can't get enough. 

 We got dressed for the day and helped Gram set the table. Emmerson designed little name tags for everyone. 

 Dustin and I made a little charcuterie board to snack on. 

It didn't last long. 

 Uncle Dave was the master chef making two turkeys, one oven baked and one smoked. 

 Perfection. 

 While the chefs prepared the turkey and the fixings, we played pool at Uncle Dave's. 

And Taylor so carefully helped Gram peel the eggs for Gram's famous deviled eggs. She can amazingly do all of the above while holding her Paw Patrol pup. 

 And then it was time for dinner and it was GOOOOOD!

 Great, actually! This young man loaded up his plate like a grown up. 

Dinner provided us with tons of laughs. It was such good family time shared together. 

And that my friends, was Hein Thanksgiving 2019. So, so much to be thankful for. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Not a whole lot of thoughts to share today. Just a sense of deep gratitude. Thankful for family near and far, for traditions, for the holiday fun to come, and for this perfect moment in time. 

This morning we (minus Taylor who stayed cozy at home with Grammie) ventured out for a walk. How beautiful is this world we live in? The fall scenery was like an all encompassing rainbow. All the more reason to look up and give thanks. 

Wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

xoxo

Giving Thanks

It is the very best gift to marry a man from Sacramento because that means that you get to spend Thanksgiving in the dreamiest place full of fall color and crisp autumn air. I am pretty sure God created me to live in a place where I can experience the seasons, because there is nothing that gratifies my soul more. Dustin and I were out jogging the other afternoon at a nature preserve close by his parents' house and I said, "I am so glad I married someone from here."

One of the other things I love the most about spending our Thanksgiving week up north at Grammie's house is that I have no cleaning, organizing, or work beckoning to me. It is a daily battle I face at home to be present with my kids.  Here, I have no other choice but to play, relax, laugh, and eat more than humanly possible with my family all day long. It's a gift and I do not take it for granted.

This is me... beaming from within because it really truly feels like fall and I get to share it with my littles. And here are about 30 more pictures of our week so far:

 

 

Wishing you all a Thanksgiving that affords you the time to pause and recognize the abundance of blessings that surround you.