New friends and MUCH to be thankful for!

The past week has FLOWN by! Holy cow! We have been working, schooling and everything in between. Over the weekend we had our sweet niece Alyssa over, did some baking, cooking and made it to small group. For the past week we all have been PRAYING that Elijah would survive being at small group with us (going to bed past 8pm). He struggled a little bit that night, but he did GREAT on the days that followed. Our prayers were answered!

On Saturday morning we went to a Hope Kids event at the Mall of America that we've gone to for the past few years...Cookies with Santa! The boys had a blast, as always. They made cookies, cards, ornaments and played video games, skee-ball and air hockey (Elijah is SO good at air hockey, we discovered!). They even got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they want for Christmas and thankfully their requests were reasonable.

I was able to spend the afternoon with Sammy in his class for Parents' Day today. We had fun! I love spending time with him in his classroom. He is such a good friend and student. Doesn't he look great in his turkey leg hat?? :)

There is a little boy in Sammy's class who he LOVES....and who loves him back. It is so sweet. This little boy reminds me a lot of Elijah. He just needs a little extra love and I am always so wanting to give it to him. R, Sammy and I make a good team. R hung out with us today and we had a great time together. At the end of the day Sammy and I got ready to grab Elijah from his classroom. R did NOT want us to leave. :( He kept hugging Sammy and saying, "Please don't leave!!!! Who is going to take care of me?!" It was sweet/sad. I believe Sammy is so patient with him because of his experience with Elijah. I LOVE that Sammy is such a kind and patient boy and that he is such a loyal friend!

Since it is a special holiday weekend night, we let the boys watch old-school Charlie Brown while munching on popcorn. They were in Heaven! Elijah even played the part of a pilgrim. :)

Speaking of friends, Elijah has a friend at school that he has been talking about ALL year. He has said things to me like, "Mommy, A is SOO nice to me. She is my best friend. She always makes me feel special." Well, coincidentally, we discovered that A's mom works with Dan! What a crazy coincidence! We had A over last Friday for pizza-movie night. The boys loved having her here. She is such a sweet and kind girl and it is obvious how much she loves Elijah (and vice versa). Today their class earned an afternoon party (allowing electronics), so A took this super-cute selfie of her and E with her cell phone. LOVE!!!

We are so excited that A and her mama will be joining us for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow! Both boys are beyond excited!

We have so much to be thankful for! We pray that YOU do, as well. Thanks for peeking in. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!