So, a good 3 weeks later, here is the post about our eventful Thanksgiving.
We had G's school T-giving party, dinner with my family, and then a trip down to FL to be with Cuban Daddy's family for Thanksgiving.
G's fall picture she painted: a tree with leaves falling & of course, a turkey!
Happy Thanksgiving...a few days early!
We're really so proud.
We celebrated Thanksgiving a couple days early with my family. These are my brother's 3 girls.
The cousins love each other! (all ages 2-6)
My parents with the kiddos
With my other brother & sister-in-law
Let's eat!
Oooh man...you should be jealous.
My mom's homemade apple pie is ah-mazing!
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Headed to Florida for Thanksgiving week!
I always try to snap a photo before each roadtrip.
No sleep all day. It's cool.
It *only* took us 11 hrs to get there.
So...Mommy gave in and gave us lollipops. Ah, quiet.
We got in super late, but they were eager to spend time with their Abuela early the next morning.
LOVE this pic of Abuela (my MIL) showing them the backyard.
Thanksgiving morning, Cuban Daddy & I took the kids out for a little walk/some family time just the 4 of us. He knows the area & thought the kids would like to see the marina:
the nearby trails
They wanted to see the water
So we got closer & let the kids throw in the shells they had collected along the walk.
All seemingly a great idea...until...
G accidentally sat back/tripped over a rock which turned out to be imbedded with oyster shells! (We were oblivious that it was there, of course.) It instantly sliced the bottom of her left palm open. Cuban Daddy & I knew immediately that she needed to go to the E.R. I pulled her sleeve over the cut and held it tight together. She was absolutely HYSTERICAL & obviously in so much pain. We passed a group of people on the jog back to the car who told us how to get to the nearest hospital. Screaming the whole way & flailing around, I thought she was going to pass out or hyperventilate or something. :( It was awful to see her suffer like that. *I may or may not have also been concerned my husband might pass out as well. Tough as he is, he's not a fan of hospitals or blood. haha. But he did great.)
So she screamed the whole way there...which of course seemed like forever. I couldn't calm her down, even in the ER waiting room. We needed a distraction. I had CD get her a pop from the vending machine. Worked. like. a. charm. She NEVER has had her own before, & especially not a caffeinated one, but oh well. We sat there and gave our 4 year old Dr. Pepper to her heart's content. Best move ever.
I did feel the need to give a "we don't usually do this"
to the people across from us, ha.
So, they gave us the option of stitches or skin glue. Due to the placement of the cut & her age, they felt that the glue might be effective enough & less traumatizing, although we had to be more careful in caring for it. So, yeah, we went with that. She was SO brave & we were so proud of her. All bandaged up & I found a lollipop, so this is the one smile we got for the morning.
She was a trooper as we carried on with Thanksgiving plans for the day, but she was so miserable. And b/c it was Thanksgiving, we couldn't get her meds til the next day. She had to have something for the pain, as well as antibiotics due to the nastiness of the oyster shells.
But she had to wait, and boy was that a tough day & night!! :(
She would flinch every minute or two in pain. Ugh.
The 4 Cousins...love this!
Apparently, 'bubbly juice' is the way to her heart!
With her big cousins, whom she adores!!
(the children of one of CD's brothers)
Extra cuddles for me...I'll take 'em.
Came across some valued items at CD's mom's house- his old trophies! Gotta brag on my man: in one year alone, he was MVP of all 3 Varsity sports that he played. Wish I could've seen him in his glory! Now, if I could only find some pics...
Can we say 'singlet'? ;)
Headed downtown to ring in the Christmas season
They both got skateboard lessons from the big cousins
Sitting in Santa's sleigh
I'm sure my brother in law & nephew will love me for this! :)
They're so fun.
The orchestra got a thumbs up from G
More Christmas Tree Lighting Downtown fun:
We got to see our friends!
It was a GORGEOUS day, so we decided to spend it at the beach.
CD's middle brother & his beautiful family:
She is a light in my world
We decided to make the most of our last day in town
& skip naps...
This was our first holiday without my Papi (the kids' Abuelo). It was really tough, especially for Cuban Daddy.
We made sure to visit his site before we left. :(
Checking Abuela's mail
We did our Christmas together as well. G & K were spoiled w/ their FAVORITE things! A Cabbage Patch baby for G & a cool truck for K. They are still loving them!
One more storytime before we leave.
The drive home consisted of a BBQ lunch stop. The guys were enjoying the Falcons game. Rise Up!
She named her new baby "Abby Bella" and takes her everywhere.
Trying to wear them out for the long drive.
It took 12 hrs to drive home.
NO sleep.
We drove *this* fast for 2 hours of the journey.
Instead of getting frustrated, we choose to believe that God has our best interest in mind. You never know if you are being kept from an accident. Once I began thinking of situations with that in mind- a few years ago- my life changed.
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We are truly thankful for our many blessings, even those that we forget to realize are, indeed, blessings. Thank you, Lord, for our family, our friends, our health, our country, freedom, Your protection, provision, grace, & mercy...among many other things too numerous to list. We know that we are undeserving, but are so thankful that you saw fit to bless us anyway.
Forever Thankful,
~ 6 in Love ~