November Recap 2012

November was quite a month for us! Not only were we still visiting Mark's Dad in the hospital a fair amount, we were prepping for the holidays, carving out time for family and friends, and chasing after a VERY busy little boy. For a basic recap of the month of October and first half of November, click here!

Here is a basic recap of the month of November for us, including THREE Thanksgiving celebrations, and numerous visits to Sioux Falls.

Christmas Goodie Day (November 3)

Megan, Chris and I met up in Storden to make some Christmas goodies in preparation for the upcoming holidays. We had a great time and made 6 different kinds of cookies to freeze.

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Girlfriend Sushi Date in Minneapolis (November 9)

I met up with my friend Carrie in Minneapolis for a dinner and then coffee date. I see her typically once or twice a year :)

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Visiting Kent in Sioux Falls (November 11)

Mark's Dad finally moved to the rehab unit AND made it home in the month of November (the day before Thanksgiving, no less)! We made a few trips over to see him in the hospital while he was still there, and were so tickled at the progress he was making :)

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Three Thanksgivings (November 17-24)

We had to start the weekend before Thanksgiving to fit in all the celebrating this year! We spent 2 days down in Humboldt the weekend before with a nice group of 30 for this big celebration. Thanksgiving Day we welcomed Mark's Dad home in their home, where we gathered with Mark's Dad, Pam, Jess, Tyler and Pam's parents for a tasty traditional Thanksgiving feast. Our third Thanksgiving celebration was a smaller one on Saturday afternoon with Mark's Mom and a friend of ours from church, Sister and her husband from Omaha in our home. Needless to say - we had LOTS of turkey (arguably too much), and a great time visiting with everyone.

Full Humboldt Thanksgiving Recap (Nov 17-18)

Full Worthington Thanksgiving Recap (Nov 22)

Full Windom Thanksgiving Recap (Nov 24)

Black Friday Shopping in Sioux Falls (November 23)

I had a fun day doing some Black Friday shopping with my friend Heather in Sioux Falls the day after Thanksgiving. It was so nice to catch up and visit with her, even if it was from 9pm-3am.

Click here for a full recap with pictures!

Looking Ahead in December

While October and November were crazy in light of the big accident and Thanksgiving holiday, December promises just as much craziness. With a trip to Des Moines for a birthday party for nephew Ben and niece Catherine, 3 big Christmas celebrations, a little boy on the verge of walking (see his TEN MONTH update here), a work Christmas party, and company, we certainly won't be looking for extra to do. We're looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas with our little guy and starting some family traditions this year to stick with :)

Thanksgiving in Windom (November 24)

Mark's sister and her husband decided to come up for the weekend, so we decided to have another big meal at our home in Windom with Mark's Mom as well. She also invited a friend of ours from church, Clara, so we had a nice, full table :) I made the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy (courtesy of Diane), rolls and honey-glazed carrots. We certainly weren't hurting for food (we're SO blessed here in the USA, aren't we?)

Even Cashel joined in on this meal, although he wasn't feeling the greatest.


We had a nice time visiting, even if it was shortened, as Mark's Mom had to go home early due to a bad back.

And, of course, another shot of our little family :)

This was the final "Thanksgiving" meal of the weekend, and our tummies were most certainly full. We've almost got all the leftover turkey eaten up, and we're looking forward to the Christmas season ahead :)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)

Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Duluth 2012 Photobook

Click here to view this photo book larger

Black Friday Shopping in Sioux Falls (November 23)

After a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and nice afternoon visiting in Worthington, I made my way to Sioux Falls for the night to hang out with my friend Heather and do a little Black Friday shopping.

Heather and I have known each other for about 7 years now, as we met when we began dating our now-husbands. This is only the second year we've done the Black Friday shopping thing (the first year was 2010). In 2010, it was just Heather and I tackling the crowds, but this year Heather's hubby and sister both came as well.

We started out at Target at 9pm, then Heather joined me as her sister and hubby decided they wanted to get some shut eye. We made the rounds from Walmart to ShopKo to Best Buy to the Mall back to Best Buy and finally home to sleep around 3am. I'd say we did fairly well :)

Heather ended up with a new XBox 360 bundle, some gifts for her niece and a nice heated blanket for her Mom.

I ended up with a few gifts for Cashel for both Christmas and his birthday, grab bag gifts for the Ropte Family Christmas over NYE weekend, a few other odds and ends, a few Christmas gifts for Mark from both Cashel and from myself (that I won't list in the off chance that he reads this haha), a nice memory foam mattress topper for us, and a cool gift from Cashel to cousin Jacob for the cousins exchange.

The next morning, we were up around 8:30am, had a little breakfast (thanks, Sue!), visited for a while, then I hit the road around 10:30 to try to see if I could pick up a few deals in Worthington at Walmart. (The night before was INSANE, and I didn't want anything bad enough to stand in line for an hour)

I hope we can continue this fun little tradition in the future. It's tough with our busy schedules to find time to get together all the time, but we tend to have a lot of fun when we do :)

Thanksgiving in Worthington (Nov 22)

This year, after the big pre-Thanksgiving celebration down in Humboldt, we weren't entirely sure early on how we'd be spending our Thanksgiving Day this year. If somehow you hadn't heard yet, Mark's Dad had a horrible farm accident in early October, and he spent 47 days bouncing between the ICU, Acute Care, back to the ICU, back to Acute Care, and then in Rehab. Our prayers kept hinging around him being able to be home for Thanksgiving, and we were stunned when he was released a week and a half earlier than anticipated and home the day before Thanksgiving.

We were fully preparing ourselves to spend Thanksgiving Day at the hospital cafeteria with Mark's Dad and family, but we were so very grateful to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with Mark's Dad this year at their home in Worthington.

We joined Kent, Pam, Jessica, Tyler and Pam's parents Al and Arlene for a quiet dinner at their home in Worthington (we're missing Cashel and I in the picture, but someone had to take it, and someone was just a little out of range) :)

The Feast

We had a fair amount of the meal catered, but also added some sides and desserts (thanks Arlene!). We all joked about how we were probably going to run out of food (yeah right!)

Visiting

After getting the dishes cleaned up and food put away, we spent some time visiting and catching up in our food comas, and were thrilled when Grandma Vi showed up for a good part of the afternoon as well.

We enjoyed some delicious pumpkin bars, courtesy of Arlene before we settled in a bit and got ready to go home (Mark and Cashel) and off to Sioux Falls for some Black Friday shopping (Amy).

It was such a wonderful day, and we couldn't be more thankful that Kent is doing so well :)

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Thanksgiving in Humboldt (Nov 17-18)

This was a year unlike most years down at the family farm in Humboldt. While we usually have a slew of kiddos running around, and adults pulling their hair out from time to time mixed in with lots of food, fun, games, relaxing and catching up, this year, we added in some of the extended family on my Mom's side. In addition to all of the immediate family (all 11 "babies" and 12 adults), we added in 2 more kiddos and 9 more adults for a grand total of 13 kids and 21 adults (Yes, 34 people!) this year.

Saturday morning Cashel woke Mark and I up at 3:30am, and since we went to bed so much earlier, we struggled to get back to sleep and decided to just load up and hit the road, so we were off around 4:15am and made it to Humboldt just as everyone was getting up and around and ready for the motherload of all breakfasts, courtesy of Uncle Ken, Aunt Victoria and Cousin Jordan :)

Thanks SO very much for breakfasts, you guys! I don't believe I've ever had such an extravagant spread :)

After cleaning up from breakfast, we visited for a few hours until it was time to begin our preparations for our big Thanksgiving feast that evening.

We were thrilled to get to meet my cousin Katy's little lady Ayla Mae - what a little doll she is :)

Big brother Berrit has gotten SO big since we last saw him so many years ago as well!

Settlers was the game of the weekend for sure (it's becoming a trend around these parts). Cousin Rachel and her boyfriend Cory jumped right in! We hadn't met Cory before this weekend, and he certainly fit right in with this group of crazies :)



Aunt Victoria and Uncle Kent also showed us a game they play, although I didn't get a chance to sit down long enough to learn.

Thanksgiving Feast Prep

While everyone else visited, us ladies got started up in the kitchen, prepping for the Thanksgiving feast. It consisted of WAY too much food, including (but not limited to): Turkey, ham, pork loin, mashed potatoes, squash, sweet potato casserole, rolls, watergate salad, cranberry sauce, stuffing, power slaw, crockpot mac & cheese w/ corn, veggies and dip...and here is where I just stop remembering because there was SO.much.food.

Catherine had on THE cutest little outfit for Thanksgiving:

Cashel randomly took about a 3-hour nap during the day, spanning 3 separate snuggle buddies (Mama, Grandma Ruth and Daddy).

Voila! The Feast

Family Photos

It is so very seldom that my Mom can get together with all 3 of her siblings, so, of course, we had to document the event.

Mom and her siblings

Mom and her sisters

While we were at it, we decided to go hog wild and get pictures of EVERYONE (granted, we're missing the 3 photographers in this shot as I forgot my tripod, and I haven't gotten the full photo from Dave yet), but we had 34 people for Thanksgiving this year!

The Roptes

Uncle Ken and family

Aunt Nancy and the Woodburys (minus Jake)

The Vinsands (Amanda and family)

The (Humboldt) Roptes (Josh and Family)

The (Des Moines) Roptes (Dave and Family)

The (Tennessee) Johnsons (well, half of them, anyways)

The (Minnesota) Johnsons

The (Indiana) Roptes

The Most Eligible Ropte Bachelor (Jason)

My closest girl cousins, who I do NOT see often enough!

In case you for some reason don't believe me when I say that it gets CRAZY up in here, I got some proof this year :)

I'm not about to claim that we weren't completely exhausted and ready to head home by the time this weekend was over: I think all of us can admit to that. But we had such a great time visiting with everyone! It isn't very often anymore that we get so much of the extended family all together like this, so it was certainly a special treat for us :) It was a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we are very much looking forward to Christmas as well :)