Likewise

This past Thanksgiving brought with it the usual craziness that our small family can muster, but as usual, it was a lot of fun. Josh and Bre and Kaia came into town too, and it was so nice getting to visit them! What a surprise to see Kaia all grown up! Here's what she looked like the last time she was here:

And here's how she looked at Thanksgiving:

And what a sweet big girl she's become!

We all headed over to my parents' house that afternoon, and Mom gave each of the girls some beautiful scarves she had crocheted for them. This is Bre, trying to get it folded correctly over her head…

After dinner, we played a game called Likewise. If you've never played this, it's a fun, fast-paced "party game" in which each player has a greaseboard-paddle and pen, and when a phrase is given, each person writes down (or draws) something that they feel fits the phrase. After a set time, all the players simultaneously reveal what they've written on their boards, and the players with like answers gain points, while those who had odd answers get nothing, and so the game goes on.

It was Bre's turn to roll the dice, to find out of we were to draw or write our answer…

Josh was a very focused player…

(By the way, my mother keeps a very clean house, but once the Stewarts descend on the Kwaak home, there isn't usually a clean countertop or a closed cabinet door to be found. 😉 We do love to have a lot of commotion at our get-togethers!)

Here was one of the phrases played:

And here were some of the answers:

Mike always enjoys a bit of game drama…

And here was another phrase:

Again, Bre was not amused with Josh's gameplay, although Josh appeared to be enjoying himself…

(I think his idea of a fun game is seeing how easily he can get Bre rankled! Ha!)

I think my favorite part of our family holidays, however, is when we sit and relax and talk at the table. One never knows what the topic will be.. the latest headlines, chatter about past holidays, ideas, or even how one would interpret a certain Bible verse. It's always lively conversation, and mostly everyone seems to hang on to what my dad will say; he's a man of few words, but when he does speak, everyone listens.

I wish my brother and sister and her family could have been here this time! Sabrina and Sophie were there also, but somehow they managed to duck the camera, along with my Mom. I hope your holidays with your family are as enjoyable as ours always are. I look forward to the time together this year as well… I'm so thankful for these moments together!