No, we haven't dropped off the face of the earth...

...but it has been a busy couple of weeks.

To be honest, I can't really remember what we were up to in November (kind of scary :-). However, I do know that the week leading up to Thanksgiving was super-busy: I had an OB appointment (complete with glucose test), I went to my last Ladies Bible study for the year, Jim taught a six-sigma class, we had Shepherding group, and we went to a fancy company dinner- all of this happening while trying to pack and get ready for driving up to PA for Thanksgiving! But we made it through all of the insanity leading up to the trip and survived the trip up, which was about 10 hours (not too bad).

Here are a couple of pics from before the trip. The first one is of Micah, lounging in our bed. The second is of Ethan reading a favorite book to Micah... so sweet!

The first part of our Thanksgiving trip was spent with Amber's parents in Gettysburg, PA. Grandma Joy was visiting from California, so we got to spend some time with her (and she got to see Micah for the first time). Amber's sister, Kristina, and her husband, Jeremy, also came, so we got to meet our nephew, Andrew, who is such a happy baby. Here is a picture of Grandma Joy holding Andrew:

While we were at my parents', my sister and Mom threw me a baby shower, which was so nice (they did a high tea with scones and finger sandwiches... yum!). Here I am at the shower, sporting a clothespin on my nose, which I will unsuccessfully attempt to drop into a baby bottle:

Here are the ladies trying to match up famous moms with their daughters (no surprise that Alicia won this game :-):

And here we all are at the end (take note of the amazing diaper cake on the left, made by Kristina):

Thank you all for the wonderful gifts and for making the day so special (a special thanks to Kris and Mom for all of the planning and the hard work that you put into the shower). It was such a blessing!

On Tuesday, we said goodbye to the Lyche's and made our way to Elizabethtown to spend the day with Jim's grandparents. They took us out to lunch (thanks!), and then we went back to the house to hang out and chat. Here is a picture of Micah tickling the ivories at their house:

That evening we headed over to Jim's dad's house. Thanksgiving Day was spent in Ocean City, NJ, with the Burgoon's (Jim's mom's side). We got to see aunts, uncles, cousins, and lots and lots of kids (I think that there were 12 kids under the age of 5!). We had a nice time with the family and really enjoyed being able to look out a the ocean (it was a beautiful day!). Here are a few pictures from the day:

Micah getting his first view of the ocean

Micah with his gorgeous Aunt Rosemary

The Kolmus Family, including our newest nephew, Asher, but minus Micah who was sleeping

Jim and Ethan enjoying the view

Ethan looking handsome :-)

We had a great time visiting with family, but, boy, were we exhausted by the end! Our trip home did not go as well as the trip up (it took 16 hours to get home!), but we made it. It is definitely going to take a few days to get settled back in. However, it is so worth it! We are so thankful to the Lord for our families and friends and for the time we got to spend with them. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!