Our new blog address is www.asmandassociates.wordpress.com. FYI, we’ve transferred all of our posts from The Sage Tree to our new blog, so you won’t be missing anything.

Although difficult to see, this is our sister-in-law Amanda at her college graduation this afternoon. Congratulations!!

I told him to put butter on it and he cut off a chunk of butter and put it directly on the popcorn without melting it first. He thought it would melt.”You can just rub the popcorn up against the chunk of butter. It’s like dipping chicken strips in barbeque sauce.”

Tears are running down my face I’m laughing so hard.

If making popcorn on the stove constitutes cooking then cooking is what Aaron is attempting to do as I type. I am laughing my head off as he asks me, “1/3 of a cup? like one of these drinking cups?”, “where is the bucket (i.e. pan) to pop it in?”, “ah shoot, it’s only on 2 – I should probably turn it to high huh?” If only Aaron would take over cooking after the baby is born, all the laughing would give me some stellar post-baby abs.

We did something a bit different for Thanksgiving this year. It has been our tradition for the last six years I believe, to go to my Mom’s house in Wisconsin for 5 or so days the week of Thanksgiving. We have our Christmas with my Mom and Stepdad during that time as well since we have lots of people to visit at Christmas time. This year, because of the many delays farmers experienced this fall, my brother-in-law, Greg, was to be working Thanksgiving morning and the days following. So as not to have him miss Thanksgiving or be home alone that day, we brought Thanksgiving/Christmas to my sister’s house. I must admit, I was sad at first to miss the time at my Mom’s house but it ended up being a really fun time and I was glad we were able to have Greg with us!

My sister was a great hostess as usual and it was fun to be able to lighten the load for my Mom as far as the meal goes. Erin Marie and I made a menu and did the grocery shopping and prepared as much as we could on Wednesday and finished up Thursday morning. We decided to make two pies in addition to the one my Mom was bringing since each year our husbands wish there was more pie. We made a pecan and an apple. Erin Marie has been practicing her pie-making skills and apparently mine aren’t up to snuff because I was only allowed to cut the apples, that was it. According to her I’m not precise enough when I bake which is very true but it was a bit of a shot to my pride coming from the girl who until getting married never made more than a turkey sandwich (cold) for a meal.

As is my custom, I insisted on a menu that was entirely too big and we had more leftovers than we knew what to do with. It appears not much has changed since college when my friends Jill, Erin (no blog to illustrate but anyone who knows her knows she is famous for a spread big enough to feed an army), and I would have dinner parties.

It was a great time with family, giving thanks for the many blessings God has given us!

Preparing the last of the sides Thanksgiving morning. Sporting the aprons my Mom made us.

Michael was as pleased with the box as he was with the toy that came in it.

Mr. Lamb getting a ride in the new truck he got from Papa and Grandma. Mr. Lamb doesn't miss anything!

Family Photo

My Mom keeps telling us Michael needs to wear a helmet. Maybe she’s right? When your head is about 80% of your total body weight (a bit of an exaggeration) it’s probably difficult to control it. Although one would think you would get used to it. Poor Michael!

Congratulations to our friends Jared and Stephanie Van Cleave! They welcomed their second daughter Lauren Marie into the world yesterday. She is just beautiful and in my opinion looks so much like her big sister Brenna!

My friend Shaylyn started a new blog called Healthy Love of Food. Check it out for some great, healthy recipes and also a few sweet treats!

The Moms and kids – up close and personal.

back: Kristin, Nicole, Carolyn, Erin. Front: Melissa, Me