'Tis the Season

     For everything.  The past few months have been full, to say the least. Between celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas, going to events, and just generally enjoying the season, it has most definitely been a fall and winter to remember.

     The beginning of November found several of us exploring land. Perks of a) living in the country, and b) being in a family with a realtor!

Nut.

We of course went to Nana and Grandbud's house for our annual Thanksgiving feast.

Caroline and Nana wrote a song just for the occasion! They had written a line for everyone. It was great. :)

Love these girls! We were so happy to have Darby with us this year.

Photogenic much? Mhm.

We are big fans of The Andy Griffith show in this family.

Andrew loves his guitar.

Fast forwarding to December, we celebrated both Mom and Caroline's birthdays.

Don't know what I would do without these two.

The 22nd was our long-awaited Lessons and Carols service. This year we had 50-something musicians participating. Having weekly rehearsals for 4 months paid off, and it was a lovely, worshipful time. I'm so grateful for all the friends I made through this, and the awesome memories I'll always treasure!

Picture taken by Olivia.

Christmas Eve found us at Nana and Grandbud's house once again.

Cousins

I was so happy that we got a family picture. It's not very often that we're all together and able to get one anymore. My awesome aunt, Julie, took it!

This year is definitely ending with a bam. :) We have so much to be grateful for.
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So, I wrote this post several days ago and was planning on leaving it at that. BUT, something even bigger than getting a family photo happened today:

Chris and Darby, engaged on New Year's Eve, 2013.

That's right, my oldest brother is engaged! Your brother getting married is exciting enough, but when he's marrying one of your best friends? I don't have the words to describe how surreal it is. Seriously, since when do I deserve these awesome people?!

I could get a lot sappier, but I'll leave it at that. :)

Arts and Ag 2013

My sister and her friends had a booth at the Arts and Ag festival this year. (The name of their group is Simple Stitches, and they have some really cool stuff like homemade dishcloths and beautiful jewelry.)

We drank coffee, ate yummy food, sat on the porch swing and watched lots of customers come and go, admired the creativity at all of the wonderful booths, and talked and laughed with friends. It was a wonderful, memorable day!

A few shots from our piano recital

This year was the biggest recital yet. There were 24 performances, I think.

Gorgeous Abi! Doesn't she remind you of Cinderella?

I'm assuming this is her nervous face...

Two of about 5 attempts to get a "sweet best friends" picture. Fail! (But I kind of like these because they sums up our friendship pretty well. :))

The whole group!

Michigan trip 2013

At long last, I'm posting about this! I shall put it off no longer.

The beginning of May found Mom, Caroline and me traveling with our grandparents to Michigan for my cousin's college graduation. It was such a fun trip and a wonderful time with family.

Uncle Bill and Paige like to dance together. And they're good at it, as you can see.

On Sunday we prepared a Mother's Day brunch for the 4 moms in the house. Here Gracie is writing cards.

Hard at "work." :)

French Toast in the making. Paige made raspberry and vanilla sauces/glazes to go with it. So good!

Gluten free scones and bacon

Opening their cards which contained news of a free pedicure!

Our trip happened to be the same week as Tulip Time! It's a fun time where you can eat lots of junk food, watch Dutch dancers, buy stuff, and see all of the beautiful tulips.

Love her!

Downtown Holland is really pretty.

The Dutch dancers

They attracted quite a crowd.

An older couple had two adorable puppies, and they were kind enough to let us cuddle with them for a few minutes. :)

We went to Lake Michigan one evening to watch the sunset. It was so beautiful! I posted more pictures on my photography blog.

Paige and Caro attempting to make a heart. Haha

Many thanks to the stranger who took our group photo. It's one of my favorites now.

Thanks for having us, family! We had an awesome time with y'all.