Thankful

Hi there! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving. I haven’t posted in quite some time so thought I would give a little life update since my last post around Halloween. November went by in a blink! It’s obviously a lot to post but thought I would share some highlights from the month. We have so much to be thankful for.

Here’s a few pictures from one of our first November outings at Right Brain Brewery. It’s a cool brewery with lots of pinball machines and arcade games so very kid friendly!

We had some old friends in town and were able to meet up at Suttons Bay Ciders. I taught with Megan way back when at Blessed Sacrament in Toledo. Even though we haven’t seen each other in years, we picked right up where we left off and it was so nice catching up. I actually taught her son in kindergarten, so it was wild to see him as a senior in high school now!

One Sunday afternoon, we decided to take an outing to Northport for some Geocaching and hiking. We made our way to Christmas Cove Beach. The boys loved running around in the sand. Mom almost lost her hat in the lake-the wind blew it right off!

I had never been to this beach before, and it was worth a stop for sure!

The boys were very excited to find a random Geocache off the side of the road. They especially like the ones that look like a treasure box.

We also took a short hike at a nature preserve (can’t remember the name). We have never been there before either. It was lots of forest with some sneak peek views of sand dunes. Owen found a pointy piece of wood he pretended was a knife (little Boy Scout ha-ha).

We also stumbled upon a cute little Christmas store called Bells of Christmas. It’s been family owned for 100 years and I couldn’t resist buying one of their beautiful handmade wreaths.

I also spent some time in November deep cleaning and getting the house ready for Christmas decorations! I am obsessed with these adorable deer I purchased from Cracker Barrel. We enjoyed our first fire and first snow this past weekend!

We were kindly invited to a Friendsgiving right before our Ohio trip. What was extra special about it is every family has at least one member who rocks the extra chromosome like Drew (one family has two which is amazing!). It’s awesome we are making connections with other families up this way, and I truly believe it was another part of God’s plan for us and this move. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a picture of all the kiddos (17 total!) but did manage to snap a mom pic. Sweet baby Dominic made it in the photo too:)

The really big highlight of November was our week home in Ohio for Thanksgiving. I have SO MANY pictures and memories from that week that would take multiple posts to blog in detail about. Keep scrolling for some snapshots!

Taylor Swift Candlelight Concert

My first night in Ohio was a girl’s night! My mom, two sisters, niece and I attended a Taylor Swift orchestra concert at The Summit. We enjoyed dinner before at Hannon’s Block before which was really nice. It was fun to get dressed up and go out downtown. We also met my aunt there with her son’s girlfriend. I would not consider myself a “Swiftie” but thoroughly enjoyed the music!

Brunch with the Sanfords

On Sunday, we were invited to my Aunt Lisa’s home (my mom’s sister) for a brunch with her sons and their wives and kids. It was a beautiful sunny day for a get together!

Toledo Zoo Lights

I really miss the Toledo Zoo, so we always make an effort to go when in Ohio. I grew up attending the “Lights Before Christmas” and I love sharing that tradition with my boys even though we don’t live in Toledo anymore. It wasn’t too cold, making it a perfect night (besides the lack of snow). The lights were absolutely beautiful!

Ice Skating at the Ribbon

This evening was very bittersweet. Ryan and I booked a cabana at The Ribbon at the Glass City Metropark. We had a blast skating, but my sister unfortunately took a nasty fall and ended up breaking her knee cap. She was in so much pain, and I just feel horrible for her:( Her son David, however, had the time of his life ice skating for the first time!

Reset Bowling & Santa

My sister’s husband took her to the doctor on Tuesday, so Ryan and I had the entire boy crew in tow. We went to Oak Openings to get their energy out. Even though it was rainy, they had a blast playing on the play structure and walking around the lake.

Plans that evening included bowling at Reset. We met up with my brother and sister, niece Kate, and nephew Zane. The boys had so much fun bowling and hanging out eating yummy food.

Then it was off to Bass Pro to see Santa!!

And of course, to check out all the cool boats, ATVs, and fish!

Petrie Thanksgiving

This was the first Thanksgiving in a long time that all my siblings came to town. It made for a full house giving us very full hearts.

All the kids LOVED tackling Uncle Ryan!

We played lots of games, Euchre and Yahtzee the most. Also, a lot of goldfish was consumed ha-ha!

My nephew David and Owen were two little peas in a pod. They played so nicely together all week.

My mom started a holiday tradition years ago of an elf hunt for all the grandkids. Each grandkid has elves to find with their names on them. The kids love it:)

Mim and Papa with their 11 grandchildren! The last 7 have been all boys–all under 10!

McCarthy Thanksgiving

On Friday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with the McCarthy side of the family:)

Grandma makes a fun game with plastic wrap that the adults enjoy. The kids were really into watching it this year! I mean there’s lots of candy and excitement involved so not surprising!

All the kiddos in their matching Christmas jammies from grandma and grandpa:)

We watched the Ohio State vs. Michigan game at Ryan’s parents. While it was not the ending we hoped for, the quality time with grandpa and grandma more than made up for it:)

During the game, I happened to check the weather and saw Michigan was getting quite a bit of snow on Sunday. Ryan and I made the decision to head home after the game. It was nice to have all day Sunday to unpack and prepare for routine again.

Like I’ve already said, we have so much to be thankful for and family is always number one. Last year at this time I was going through a miscarriage, and it’s hard not to get sad about how different holidays could have looked this year. However, I continue to trust in the Lord’s plan for our family and remain forever grateful for all the blessings He gives us. God is good!