Thanksgiving with the Jackson's!

This is my mom's side of the family and I have to say it was such a special Thanksgiving for me! I have so much to be thankful for this year. It was so neat to see my mom's mannerisms and expressions in all the family...like my mom was there with us. This family is genuinely happy to be together and it shows. They are ALL such neat people and we had a fabulous visit with them!

Margery and Bill are the most precious and special people who have always been there for me. We were at their house in Ocala, FL. They are the head of this amazing family.

We managed to sit all 26 people together to have the most amazing meal. YUM!

Always WONDERFUL to see my Uncle Tommy and Aunt Judi! Nancy and Ana are discussing something important in the background I'm sure!

Ana fit in with the family with no problems and had a blast with her cousins!

Visit with Conrads

On the Friday after Thanksgiving we drove to Tampa to meet up with Marc's cousins. We hadn't seen them in 3 years! It was awesome to see them. They haven't changed a bit. They have kept up with us and our blog and even called Marc on his first Father's Day. Such a good family!

Loving her Kitties!

We got our assignment dates! Marc has to be in Korea no later than 10 March. SO...the house went on the market yesterday. We leave for Florida in the morning for Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family. Come back and have a month until we leave for Ohio, for Christmas with the Stitzel clan. Marc leaves 8 Jan. for a month long course in Florida. Get gets back Feb. 9th and then we plan to leave Phoenix middle to end of Feb. We plan to drive to Texas to see my dad's side of the family...and our friends. (We have to get everyone in before we leave the country for a year!) Then drive up to Ohio to drop off some things and leave for Korea from there. Is it time to take a breath yet? Hee Hee!
Our kitties haven't had much spotlight on the blog and they deserve it! They do so well with Ana. However, Ana does so well with them too! She gives them their space and in return she is aloud to pet them! :) Everyone is waking up from their naps here. HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!! AND Happy early Birthday Aunt Erin!

Good Friends..Good Memories..Good Times!

The DeBoer's and Williams are great friends of ours starting from our Alaska days. The DeBoers just got stationed in San Antonio after a year in Oman. They were passing through Phoenix to get their dog and we all got together one more time!

Phoenix Zoo

Favorite movie is Lion King right now...had to ride the lion. The giraffes were so close...LOVED the giraffes. We kept having to go back to see them.
She thought the zoo was so fun. She is such an animal lover. I'm glad it has cooled off enough to really enjoy it. It was a fun morning and we got to see the entire zoo before nap time!

I see you!

Did you know you can see right through a balloon? She thought she was too smart!

Texan Fans...

Rah Rah Ree...kickem in the knee....Rah Rah Rasssss...kickem in the other knee!

Funny Story!

So Ana is at that stage where she just speaks her mind. The innocents of youth I think is what people call it. We were in Target (go figure) and there were two nuns dressed in their white outfits from head to toe. Ana starts saying "BOO" "BOO" and she keeps saying it louder and louder and they are walking towards us and I couldn't just turn around. It was VERY obvious she thought they were GHOSTS! I could have died. There was nowhere to hide and I never got eye contact with them. We had just watched Elmo says "Boo" all month long and gone to Halloween parties with ghosts...I guess it could happen to anyone....RIGHT?

She's on the Charts!

Ana had her 3 year old check up and she has grown! She is on the charts and is considered healthy now. She's in some 2Ts but mostly 18 mon. clothes still. But if the doctors are happy we are too!
We still don't know our Korea dates yet, but we decided we needed to see our families and friends before we leave the country for a year. Marc was lucky enough to get some last minute leave for the holidays. We will be with my mom's side of the family in Florida for Thanksgiving and then in Ohio with the Stitzel clan for Christmas. We will be taking a Texas trip to see my dad's side of the family and our friends after the first of the year. Gotta get it all in! :)

Praying Kitty

Praying Kitty
Video sent by mstitzel

We were on our way to church and Ana takes her kitty as starts praying with it (paws together and everything). By the time I got the camera out she was done, but I got her to do it again....SOOO cute!

Loving her Gammy

We had a great week with Gammy! Ana is even calling her "my Gammy" now. Another excellent "bonding" moment. Ana has been having sleeping issues on and off since we brought her home and I think Sandy figured out how to GET HER TO STAY IN HER BED AND GO TO SLEEP. Marc and I went on a date and Sandy had her for the evening. When we got home she told us it "went well". I was floored, I thought Ana would have "taken advantage" of Sandy and stay up all night. BUT, get this...all Sandy did was tell her to kiss her bears "night night" and be quiet so they can sleep and SHE DID! We've done this for 4 nights now and it works! Who would have thought! THANK YOU AGAIN GAMMY!
Gotta have an attitude! Check out the arms crossed...MAN, this 3 year old stuff is fun! :) At least she is smiling.