Thanksgiving in NW Iowa

We headed to NW Iowa for Thanksgiving on Thursday. The first stop was Austin's G&G Lorenzen in LeMars for the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Emily got to meet her new cousin, Seth, for the first time. She was mildly curious about the "baby" but not overly impressed. She was more interested in playing with the hat and mittens in her bag. :o)

Then we headed to Hull to stay with my parents for a couple days. One of Emily's favorite toys was some homemade cymbals made up of two old pot lids. Check out the video of her giggling!

My mom's side of the family got together on Friday night. It was really nice because my Grandma Vander Kooi, who has been in the nursing home for almost 2 years now, was able to leave the nursing home for the first time in a couple months and come to my parents' house courtesy of a borrowed handicap-accessible van. My grandma was recently diagnosed with kidney failure. Because of her age and condition, dialysis really isn't an option, so it's just a matter of time. It's very possible she'll make it through Christmas, but this might have been our chance to say goodbye. So it was a bittersweet occasion. I feel at peace with the whole situation, though, and know that God's timing is perfect.