Faanunu Family Adventures

Christmas decorations are UP!! Elayna was suuuper excited to decorate for Christmas so, she put most of the decor up the week of Thanksgiving and then our new tree came and we finished! She even put all the outdoor lights on the trees/bushes;) Christmas decorations are the one thing we have a TON of and Ben said no more!😂 We went and decorated a Christmas tree for Nannie and she was so happy;) Yay for Christmas time!                                                  

 Today we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with Nannie and Poppa, Poppa 2, Auntie Cheri, Christopher, Elizabeth and her girls, Uncle Andrew and Auntie Callie, and Auntie Allie and Uncle Drew. The food selection was AMAZING and everything tasted delicious! Elayna made the mashed potatoes- her favorite food currently;) Afterwards, the kiddos performed a Thanksgiving play (Melanie created and directed) that explained where this wonderful tradition began. It was a wonderful day! So incredibly grateful for the courageous and faithful pilgrims who came here to gain freedom from tyranny and for the kind indians like Squanto who helped them to survive.  

We LOOOVE our special opportunities to babysit Amelia Mei! She is simply the cutest girl EVER! We snuggled, read books, jumped on the trampoline, and swung on the swings. She is truly a celebrity around here and we are so lucky to spend time with her!

Due to the crazy weather here and the need for Thanksgiving food for families in our area, we decided to do Cocoa for Cans in November. We advertised to our neighborhood and ward and a lot of people showed up to support us- our favorites were Nannie and Poppa and Uncle Andrew though;) We were so grateful and we donated everything to OUR HOUSE OF THE WAY, a local charity. During our food drive, James pulled out a tooth that had been hanging on for days! Woo hoo!  

 Today we had "Thanksgiving in the Woods" with our COOP friends! One of the families has parents who own a lavendar farm and they allowed us to use it! It was such a beautiful day and we enjoyed a wonderful potluck dinner of all kinds of Thanksgiving foods! Moms favorite was that they had plenty of gluten free/dairy free options! Afterwards we enjoyed some yummy desserts, a warm fire, and cleaned up. Grateful for the freedom to homeschool and meet wonderful new people who enjoy that freedom too!

Today we visited the Firehouse Station! We got a tour of a firetruck and all that it holds, and to walk around inside the building to see what their living situation is like while on duty. The captain and his newbies did a contest to see who could get dressed fastest in their gear and the captain won;) We also were able to hear from a local police officer and got to sit in his vehicle! In St. Joseph, you rotate as needed to be a firefighter or a cop which is kinda neat! Grateful for their service!

One our favorite things about living here is more FAMILY TIME. We try to have dinner together every few weeks and we LOVE it! 

 Today Melanie turned 10!! She got stuffed french toast for breakfast made by Elayna and then she opened the gift she wanted most....a hoverboard!! Then she and the kids played most of the day in the magical SNOW!!  We had all the family over for her dinner of choice- HOMEMADE SUSHI! She wanted to play games afterwards and chose Scattegories. We laughed SO HARD that night playing that game together! We are so grateful for Melanie! She has such a generous, giving and loving heart. She has also become very assertive to stand up for herself or others. She is incredibly talented in the arts and crafts department and we can't wait to see the creations she makes in the future! She can turn ANYTHING into something! We love her so much!