This year for Thanksgiving, we decided to go out to Raleigh to my parents house. We haven't been back for Thanksgiving since Karleigh was a baby (if I am remembering right) and we wanted to get out there before we moved far away. We decided Thanksgiving would be best because at Christmas I will quite pregnant! We had a great time with the family. My older sister, Mindi, her hubby Ryan and their cute twins, Carson and Kamryn got to come down too. What fun. The twins are only about 3 1/2 months older than Chloe - so they had a great time playing together. 
And of course all the little ones thought that Zach was hilarious. Aunt Joy, my little sister, always wins out as the favorite aunt! She painted Chloe and Kamryn's toenails....of which Chloe is still showing off today! She LOVES it! If you couldn't find Zach, it was because he was stuck on the Wii! What a bummer for him he doesn't have one here at home!
And of course all the little ones thought that Zach was hilarious. Aunt Joy, my little sister, always wins out as the favorite aunt! She painted Chloe and Kamryn's toenails....of which Chloe is still showing off today! She LOVES it! If you couldn't find Zach, it was because he was stuck on the Wii! What a bummer for him he doesn't have one here at home! Here are some random pictures from our trip! (lots of pictures for your viewing pleasure!!)
Chloe and Kamryn helping keep Grandma (and Grandpa) company in the kitchen while they were cooking! 
Starting to dig in to our yummy dinner. My dad made a fabulous turkey! It was nice to have all the "normal" food this year at Thanksgiving. (Normal meaning - food that we had every year growing up)
After dinner, Grandpa (my dad) chased the 3 little ones around the house trying to tickle them. What fun! The kids had a blast!
The day after Thanksgiving the whole family went bowling. It was quite fun, although....I lost! And guess who won....Kamryn! She is not even 3 yet! I guess it helps to have side rails up and the little the little ball hill thingy - whatever it's called! =) That night, my mom treated Joy, Mindi and I to a girls night out at the movies with Joy's best friend and her mom. It was quite fun and a nice break from the kids. The dads got to stay home and play with all the kids....which ended up being, "Hey guys - wanna watch a movie!" That's ok - at least the little ones were in bed when we got back. We saw Twilight (sorry TJ, I keep forgetting to tell you about that!). I have not read the books, but thought the movie was pretty good. Joy has read all the books, so after the movie she gave Mindi and I the run down on everything that happens.
Grandpa and Zach helping Chloe bowl.
Look at the pro! This brought back fun memories for Chris of bowling with his Grandpa Stimpson. He lived out in Idaho with his Grandparents on the farm for a while to help out. He and Grandpa would stop by the bowling alley almost every evening after farming and bowl for a little bit and then head home for dinner.
Hottness Joy!!
Saturday at the park. The weather had been cool and comfortable all week, until Saturday. It turned cold and rainy. But Chloe had her heart set on going to the park, so off we went!
And next is our studdly cowboy! I thought he looked great!!! I got his costume done with about 5 hours to spare! He decided about 2-3 weeks ago what he wanted to be. He couldn't figure it out for a while, so then it was a dash to see if we could get it pulled together. We couldn't find any boots that fit him (that weren't $50 either!), so he improvised and wore his dad's!!! It was pretty cute. He shoved a bunch of toilet paper in the toes of it and clopped around all night in those! 
Here is the group! Cowboy Zach, Princess Chloe, Pirate Evan, and Cinderella Nissa! 
I can hardly believe she would be that old! It is just weird to think of her at that age because kids grow so much from 2 years old to 6 years old. She has been back in heaven longer than she was here on the earth. But yet, at times, it seems like we just had her here. Then at other times, it feels longer than what it really has been.
I have really done a lot better with this anniversary than I usually do. Sure, I have had my moments, and as painful as they are - this time I didn't stop them from coming. But usually it is for about an entire week before that is really hard. Maybe it is because there is a lot going on, or maybe it is because time is healing some of my open wounds. Last night I let myself really break down. I let the tears fall freely. I let myself be consumed in thoughts about my daughter. I prayed that I would feel her near. I prayed that I would have peace and comfort.
One that I clearly remember was when I was making dinner one night. In our Colorado house, we had one of those big long island/bar counters that attach to the wall. (hopefully you can picture that). Anyway, I had put Karleigh in her wheelchair so that she could watch me make dinner and feel included. She always needed to know that I was right there with her and she loved to be a part of everything and loved to have a conversation with you (in her own little special way). I put her on the other side of the counter (bar stool side) while I was on the opposite side. I got kind of involved in what I was making and kind of didn't pay attention to her for a minute. She squirmed the same way she always did when she wanted some attention. As I looked up at her, I remember this sly little look on her face. She was VERY good at teasing and completely knew what she was doing when she did it!! She had this look on her face telling me...."I bet you wouldn't dare come over here and tickle me!" It was so funny and so magnetic that I obviously had to then do the...."I'm gonna get you, I'm gonna get you" as I walked slowly over to her with my hands in tickle position! And then I guess you can imagine what happened next. Shear laughter and fun as I went and tickled her overly-ticklish body! Every time I would go back to the other side of the counter, she would give me that sly look again to tell me to come get her! We did that back and forth for a little while, having an absolute blast. Her laugh was SO incredibally full and addicting! Finally, I had to stop or we wouldn't be eating that night! So I stood on the other side of the counter and just did "Boo" over and over and over while I made dinner so that we could keep the laughing going. That was such a fun night! I will always remember how her eyes and smile were that evening.
Now before I tell the rest of the story, I have to give this little background. For those that never knew Karleigh, you have to understand a little about her muscle tone. She was diagnosed later in her life with CP (cerebral palsy). Sometimes she would be very "floppy" and other times her muscles would be so rigid you couldn't move her. She had a very hard time controlling her muscles and getting her arms and hands to do what she wanted. It took a lot of concentration and diligence to get them right where she wanted them. To keep them in that spot was another very difficult thing for her to do. Ok - back to the story....
I later talked with my mom and my sister, Marci. I truly have been blessed with the most wonderful family! They let me cry a bit and then told me of a poem that Marci had written for today. It is down below. They were taking treats to their friends and passing on Karleigh's love. I cried as my mom read it to me and decided that the kids and I were going to do the same thing. Thank you, Marci for doing this and inspiring us to do the same.
Flowers remind us of Karleigh and the neat thing is, they bloom around the same time that she passed away. It kind of helps to put things into perspective and help us to remember that there is still beauty, despite the pain and grief and longing.
Who's that handsome guy on the bridge? 
We then went down to a cute little town named, Nashville and walked around and window shopped. They just have all kinds of cute stuff there. On our way home, we stopped by our local apple orchard, Anderson Orchards to pick some apples and let Zach climb the trees. 
He was a little bummed that they weren't as big as he remembered them being last year. I guess that is what you get from growing....things aren't quite as big as they used to be! 
