God's grace, my boys and the river: Thankful for friends

For the past three years, we have always hosted our small group Thanksgiving dinner. Eight couples that are some of our closest friends come over, we catch up, eat an awesome meal, and just fellowship in the love that we have for each other and give thanks for the blessings we have. Here are some pictures from our first Thanksgiving get-together (2009):

Beth and Ben with sweet Leah (only 3 1/2 months old)

Bryan and Jennifer

Lara and Nathan with little Lylah (also 3 1/2 months old)

Kristi and Xander (Kevin had my camera and was taking pictures the reason he's not in this one)

Laura and Will with Hunter (only 5 months old)

Laura and Caleb

Here's an idea of what last year looked like. Eight couples had added two more babies.

And here's what this year's get-together looked like:

Heath and Cash filled the turkey fryer that afternoon. It was beautiful weather, and we had invited everyone to come early in the afternoon so we could catch up and the kiddos could play.

Everyone arrived, hugged, chatted, played, and then it was time to eat. I am certainly thankful that we have friends that are such great cooks. I think Nathan was, too!

Kristi, Xander and Taylor

Here's the little kid table.

Hunter, Lylah, Leah, Baylen and Cash

Hannah was excited about our Thanksgiving meal, too.

Bryan, Laura and Hunter

Here's the latest addition to our group. Hudson is only 2 1/2 months old.

And here's Caleb with Charlie who is another 2011 addition. He's 5 1/2 months old.

This was our attempt at a kid group picture. We didn't have the highest of expectations. It was getting late, and they had been playing hard for hours.

But looking at these pictures, it shows just how awesome God is. He has truly blessed this group over the past years. Nine of the eleven kiddos here are 3 and under. :)