thanksgiving in florida

we had a wonerful time in Florida for thanksgiving. we left monday when garret got out of school and drove through the night. it took us about 13 hours to get there. the kids do pretty well in the car. we have been making the trip now for years so they know the routine. we were able to spend time with scott and nicole, logan and his girlfriend Jolynn, mackenzie, mom and dad, and grandma and aunt margaret. i even snuck in a visit with some friends.


thanksgiving dinner was delicious and i got to eat rutabegga (SP) a scottish favorite. not to many people like it, but it is always a treat for me to have it at Poirier Thanksgiving.

Friday we all headed out for Black Friday shopping. we all kind of went in different shifts. mom and i didnt head out to early but still hit alot of stores. dave was great to hang with the kids so i could go. we played games at night and just got to hang out and catch up. we exchanged christmas gifts with scott and nicole since we wont be seeing them again. the kids loved opening some gifts.

Raelyns giant rainbow trout pillow ... she LOVES it!


the kids with the wish bones

wild turkey

just a day before we were heading to leave for Florida, dave shot a wild tureky with his shot gun. he called mom and asked is she would want to cook the wild turkey too. she said YES! so we packed up the bird on some dry ice and brought it down with us. we tenderized it, marinated it, and cooked it on the rotisserie. it was SO good. the store bought turkey took a little longer to cook than we thought, so we all ended up eating all of the wild turkey and only some of the other one. yummy!!!! wish you could taste it.

we made chocolate covered pretzles as place cards for the thanksgiving table

crafty thankfullness

the kids and i did a little project for their grandparents right before thanksgiving. they love to do projects and beg to do them all the time. garret was his usual hard to stay focused self but loved it and ended up doing three of them. raelyn was completely the opposite and took her precious time gluing each bean perfectly straight. it is so fun to watch them work together. garret is getting so good with his hand writing and reading. here are some pics....

i have a lot of catching up to do

it's been a while and now i feel like i have so much back tracking to do. i will try my best to start catching up!

i never want to forget...

tonight we were eating a dinner that was a little bit spicy. garret gobbled it right down and didnt say anything about it being a little hot. after he was all done he said "man this dinner is a little spicy and makes my rims hurt". he was pointing to the roof of his mouth and his gums. :) it made me laugh, so he knew he wasnt right when he said "rims". we told him the correct term and get everything figured out. i just love when the kids say cute things like that. i want to remember them forever and the only way that will happen is if i write them down.

guardian angels

i know for sure there are guardian angels protecting me and and my family every day but today in particular i felt them super close. i was in my first ever car accident today coming home from getting garret from school. someone pulled right out in front of me and i tried to swerve around her but we still hit. i had all the kids in the car, raelyn got really scared and was screaming but everyone ended up being fine. there was someone right behind me and he stopped. i asked him if he could stay until i got my thoughts together and the police got there. he offered to put the kids in his warm truck. he even had a carseat in there so i strapped brenna in and all the kids stayed warm. he was such a nice guy. we didnt talk much but he stayed right next to me in the freezing cold until a friend could come and get the kids. soon after she came the police finally got there and then just a few minutes after that dave got there. it seemed like an eternity until i saw him. he was so calm and caring. he is the best thing that ever happened to me. other than my stomach being in knots i really felt fine. the air bags did not go off so that was a good thing, but the van had to be towed and is probably totaled. we will find that out tomorrow. God is good and was a part of eveything that happened today. dave was all the way out at the camp so it took him awhile to get into town, but it took the police so long to get there, the timing was just right. the kids were all perfect, the man who stayed with me and kept the kids warm in his truck, the police officer was super nice and down to earth, carrie my good friend came and got the kids and another friend picked up a pizza and brought it over to us for dinner. i am blessed even through bad circumstances. God is good to me and i am so thankful.

"i'm gonna eat some deer"...

a friend of ours shot a deer this past weekend and we are going to share the meat with him. dave, garret and raelyn met the guy (and the deer) at the butcher shop yesterday and ever since then raelyn cant stop talking about "eating that deer". she is so exctied and wasnt freaked out at all by the sight of the dead deer. garret on the other hand says he doesnt want to eat any of it. :) i think it is neat that they are being exposed to hunting and then preparing and eating what was killed. we got to talk about how God puts animals on the earth to provide food for us to eat and how we can also respect the wildlife and only kill what you will eat. anyway, i'll let you know how our first meal with the deer meat turns out. raelyn will love it, I am sure.