Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving has to be my favorite holiday. Every year the Blankenships go up to Maine for a few days. We look forward to and talk about the next year the moment we pull away from the resort. We have many traditions, yet each time we go there are new memories we make. This time it was especially exciting with the new member of our family joining us!
Abby took the 7 hour car ride very well. Night and day difference from our last major road trip to NC, at 2 months old and "colicky". It was so relaxing for us all to get away. No cooking or cleaning, just taking in sunrises and sunsets over the ocean, playing games, working out, eating and shopping with family. What more could we praise and thank God for? It was good to reflect back on this past year and see how much our family has grown and changed physically, spiritually and emotionally. We are stronger and better in many ways.

A day of shopping in chilly Maine.


















Grandma B. and Abby
































Lost my boot!


















Likes those bows.




































Spending time with Aunt Jessica :)


















Abby went swimming. We couldn't tell if she liked it or not. She didn't smile, but she didn't cry. Guess she didn't know what to think. She splashed and spent a lot of time in the pool with Uncle Tim. It wore her out, she fell asleep at 8:00 that night and didn't get up till 9:30 the next morning.














































What is Thanksgiving without turkeys? We were bummed, they didn't have male ones this year. Only males actually gobble and you can hear them gobble by making really loud noises. We figure they did away with the males this year because our family is always making a scene in the turkey room. Not sure if all the people were attracted to the turkeys gobbling or us making fools of ourselves. Either way it's fun.




























Sleeping in and playing with toys.














On the way up we always stop at L.L. Bean to beat the rush. It's a great store with many interesting things to see and wear, such as, fur hats and a fish tank you can crawl into to see from the inside.

Abby's Laughs

Listening to Abby laugh never gets old and always makes you smile.

Some Fun at the Office

This past week we did a lesson at our Sunday morning youth service on the meaning of Thanksgiving. Since all of the people in the youth department are huge fans of the TV show The Office, we decided it would be fun to do a parody of the show with our own little twists about Thanksgiving. I have to say we did a pretty good job considering the script was written in one sitting and we filmed it all in a day and a half. We had too much fun filming to keep it to ourselves, so I officially caved in and got a YouTube account for the sole purpose of sharing this with the world. We will also be adding videos of Abby for you to enjoy as well so stay posted.

Anyway, without further adieu, here's the unvailing of our version of The Office...

Little Abby is growing up

First try with rice cereal.














Yuck, what is this stuff?














Are you serious? I have to eat more of this?!














Yay! Rescued by the bottle!




























This is more like it.

6 months already?

I never realized how quickly time passed until I became a parent. Of course she isn't officially six months till Monday, but close enough. She is now 16lb 6oz and 25 1/8inches.



















Abby and Cai














The jumperoo is the favorite toy now.
































Definitely has her mom's big mouth.

good news

After waiting all day, my dad was about to go in for his procedure when the doctor called up to say he didn't need it after all. He had taken a look at a new x-ray and said they got enough of the fluid out yesterday, so he should be fine. Looks like he will be released from the hospital tomorrow. Praise God!! Thanks for your concern.

News about Rachel's dad

My dad, for the most part, has been doing well with his recovery. He had been having trouble breathing and the doctors told him that it was normal and the more he walked the stronger his lungs would get. Over the weekend he was having a lot of trouble, so today at his doctor appointment they took x-rays and ultra sounds and found fluid around his lungs and heart. He was admitted to the hospital for a procedure that drained a liter and a half of fluid from around his lungs. Tomorrow he will go into the operating room and have a procedure done that will drain the fluid from around his heart. He will be in the hospital for at least a couple of days.

Esther and Rachel

So, it is official. My sister and her hubby are moving to California next July or August. Rob accepted a promotion at work and it is taking them to the LA area. Yes, I am definitely bummed. We have always been close and now she will live on the opposite side of the country. I ran across this photo of us taken while we were visiting Grandma in Cali a couple of years ago. As I was scrolling through the images, seeing family, beautiful sunsets and beaches, I began to think this might not be so bad after all. It just means I will have to take more trips out there to see all my family.

who looks like who?

Happy Birthday Brian!

Today is Brian's Birthday and we have been celebrating all weekend. His favorite cake is Dairy Queen ice cream. Since the closest DQ is 45 minutes away that wasn't an option, so we had to improvise. His next request was a bunch of cupcakes all frosted to look like a large cake. We didn't know what to decorate it as, so we decided to make it look like Joey. I thought it ended up looking pretty silly, but Brian said it was the most fun cake he had ever had and that's all that matters:)

not bad for a phone camera

Our Little Chick

"Trunk or Treating" with the mom's club.



















































Happy Halloween!