Our First Family Thanksgiving...

Monday we drove to Kentucky to spend the week with family... The kids were so excited, packed and ready to leave before the sun rose that day... We finally hit the road around 9:30 AM after Tony received a few more immunizations for an upcoming trip to Africa... What good travelers they were! Music and movies and we were off....

After a stop for lunch with some friends in Birmingham, we rolled into Barbourville shortly after 9 PM EST... kids were bouncing off the walls thrilled to see their "mamaw" and "papaw"....

Tuesday afternoon we took the kids to the park to run around...

Papaw chased Victoria around the park as she ran from one activity to the next...

Angela loves the monkey bars...

Not to be outdone, Papa had to give it a try...

Mama enjoyed the swings...

James was in heaven with a toy crane...

The kids LOVED Kentucky...

When we got back to the house, Papaw took them to pet their neighbor's horses...

Good friends, the Woodyards (who pastor in Anderson, Indiana - where my mom was born and raised! Small world!), joined us for dinner... Tony's mom, one of the best cooks around, stuffed us with homemade lasagna and salad... the kids enjoyed running and playing around the house....

Earlier that day, Tony and I made a run to a nearby peddlers market... In addition to finding a mandolin for me, we picked up this $3 UK cheerleader costume... Of course, papa could not resist!

Krista and Luke... :)

Train watching...

Meridas & Woodyards... :)

Wednesday we drove up to Georgetown to visit Aunt Lisa & Uncle Ryan & 6 of their soon to be 8 kids! Upon our arrival, we barely saw our kids as they immediately dove into playtime bliss with their cousins...

A little sermon prep in the morning...

One of the many Thanksgiving blessings - a chiropractor in the family! I especially loved watching our "Princess Victoria" receive her pre-turkey adjustment... :)

Thursday, we drove up to Cincinnati, Ohio to indulge in our Thanksgiving feast at Uncle Danny and Aunt Pam's house... They had their basement set up perfectly to accommodate the masses! A glimpse of the pre-'game' prayer...

Let's eat!

Vica ran up to me a few times to say, "This is SO good!"

After the meal, I did a little bird watching in the backyard... owls, hawks, woodpeckers and more... beautiful...

The kids enjoyed playing outside...

When my frozen hands needed a break, I took pictures from the warm indoors...

A little "post-turkey" baseball game...

Tony had to re-live his glory days...

Future faces of athletics... gifted children... football, soccer, baseball, you name it...

Noah getting his game face on...

I love Beniam's smile...

Mercy Kaleab "working out"... :)

Girls tackling Uncle Doyle...

Kids loved the Wii...

More snacking... We had a wonderful and memorable first family Thanksgiving with dear family... God is so gracious to us!

Friday morning it was time to hit the road back south to Mississippi... not without a giant morning carrot for the road... ha ha... thanks Uncle Ryan!

By the end, their faces were covered in orange... they loved it...

Then, Victoria was 'out'... Jana, as you can see in the background, is our high energy child who never slept a bit... :) But, she was all smiles all the way... sweet one she is...

After a CrackerBarrel stop in Tennessee for lunch, (that was a first as well!), we made another pitstop later for ice cream... yum yum...

We ended our day of travels at our local Mexican restaurant... We can eat there for the same or less than any fastfood restaurant around... AND the kids love it... truly Meridas... :)

What a blessed week we had... short but sweet... pray you each had a wonderful week!