It's been a few weeks since my last blog, so I have a lot to share in this one post!!
Since my last post, our Elf on the Shelf, Boombah, has returned from the North Pole. Grace had been talking about him for a while and wondering when he would return. Last year when he showed up he first appeared on the fire alarm pull station in our apartment. Grace kept saying he would come back to that same spot first this year and she was right! He has moved all around our apartment and even made the trip to NC with us for Thanksgiving. Silly Elf!
The week before Thanksgiving we got to go to Grace's school and enjoy a Thanksgiving program and meal with all the kids. Here are a few cute videos and pictures for you to enjoy!
Showing us her really cool turkey cupcake
With her friend Taylor
Interesting response from Grace!
And again! The other kids were thankful for their parents and their toys!?
I don't often share much about work on our blog, but in this post I need to! This is Brandie, our graduate assistant. She has worked with our office since her last semester as an undergraduate and she will be graduating with her Masters in just a few weeks. It has been an honor for me to get the opportunity to work with her and watch her grow over her time with us. In her photo the thumbs up are because she passed her comprehensive exams! Way to go Brandie!
Also work related is the photo below. In our jobs we encounter students of ALL types. Over the last few years we have seen a huge increase in the number of students at MTSU who are hungry or homeless. Our office has several programs to support these students. To supplement those, we started a student food pantry this semester and it is already having a huge impact on our hungry students. Below is a photo of a large donation from several groups around campus including the library and Project Help (where Grace used to go to school). What a blessing to have so many generous people who are willing to help our students in need and at a very meaningful time of the year! We got these donations just before Thanksgiving.
Before we left for NC for the Thanksgiving week, we decided to go ahead and put up our Christmas tree. Grace loved this!!
Holding a ornament with a picture of her from her first Christmas
The finished product
We enjoyed a nice long trip to NC for Thanksgiving this year!! Lots to share from the visit....
On Tuesday we visited a few schools for Grace and were fortunate to find one that we are pleased with. In between visiting schools we spent time with Huntley. He is just too cute!
Cute Cousins!
Thanksgiving Day was as fun as usual. We ate a lot and had a great time visiting with our family!
On Black Friday we did a little shopping and took the kids to see Santa.
Huntley was not too interested in shopping
We kept Grace entertained with the iPad!
Talking to Santa and giving him her "list"
The list
One of the "illegal" photos I took of both kids with Santa.
The official Santa photo
Riding the train at the mall
We had such a great time in NC. As we were heading to the airport on Saturday afternoon, Grace fell asleep in the car. She was exhausted from all our fun!
Two thumbs up...we are back in TN safely!
Well, the next few weeks will be super busy as I finish work and begin packing! I will do my best to post as time allows!