Monthly Archives: December 2016

Thanksgiving and Big News

Well, on Thanksgiving, we took family pictures at my parents’ house. Thankfully there were no moans or groans. We did our best to be quick by only having Dad take the picture of the entire family. One year we had three cameras on timers–that was not good. We decided to just let Mom email them to us since then.

This is the one I looked the best in. There was one or two where I looked like my face was badly swollen. My hair seemed to disappear into Michael’s shirt here but oh well, it is what it is. ;)

Thanksgiving and Big Stuff ~ Lifeofjoy.meFor our last big group shot, we did funny faces.

Thanksgiving and Big Stuff ~ Lifeofjoy.meWe also get shots of each family, the grandkids, and such.

Thanksgiving and Big Stuff ~ Lifeofjoy.meWe decorate Mom and Dad’s Christmas tree on Thanksgiving night. We each have an ornament with our name on it. There are pictures taken of each group, so the first ones are structured but then the kids do the rest of the ornaments.

Here’s one of Lauren helping Liam put his on the tree. I love the look of joy on her face. Liam is such a joy to us all.

Thanksgiving and Big Stuff ~ Lifeofjoy.me

We all bring a dog too. Tiffany’s Shiloh is not used to being at home in a kennel all day long, so we bring her. Sondra brought her dog, Rupert. Brian brought their dog, Chloe. And Tracie brought their puppy, Belle.

Thanksgiving and Big Stuff ~ Lifeofjoy.meShe’s huge! I’ve never had an indoor dog that big. She is adorable and fun though. :)


Sean spent most of the long weekend editing Tiffany’s book. Tiffany then applied those edits and read through it one more time herself, making any changes she thought it needed, while I worked on her cover art. Then I gave it one more perusal on Tuesday.

Thanksgiving and Big Stuff ~ Lifeofjoy.meThanksgiving and Big Stuff ~ Lifeofjoy.meTiffany’s book is finished and available for purchase on Amazon. :)

We are soooo excited! I’m proud of her diligence. She persevered through losing her first sixteen chapters and had to start over. God made something good out of it though because He helped her re-write them and make them better than they were in the beginning.

Thanksgiving and Big Stuff ~ Lifeofjoy.meIt’s on sale through the weekend, for half price. It’s a fun Christmas story.

After I spent the day editing it on Tuesday, I sat down to dinner with the family. Someone made a comment about someone or something being the MVP and it made me think of the Most Valuable Present comment from the Christmas movie, Boyfriend for Christmas. Then I thought, hmm, we didn’t watch that this season . . . and I felt like the holidays were over already . . . and then it dawned on me, uh, no, that was just me reading through Tiffany’s book that goes through the holiday season. :D I’d gotten so wrapped up in the story that I felt I had already lived through the holidays. LOL I’m such a goon!


Wednesday, Lauren and Liam went shopping with Tiffany and me. I got some good snuggles in and we had a good time together.

Well, I need to run. I hope you have fun and enjoy the holidays. Don’t get too busy!

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Try Drama

Try Drama ~ Lifeofjoy.meI ran across this neat little website that has some short plays on it available for free. I remember reading through a play or two with my children. It was fun.

There are even benefits to drama. It helps concentration, encourages cooperation, and memory among other things. If you’re still not sure, here are 79 reasons. ;) Of course not all of them are applicable but you might find some reasons that you need to try adding some drama to your homeschool.

If you decide you do, here’s a link for 1020 plays including MANY Christmas skits. :)

Well, I guess, it’s short and sweet  today.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº