Thanksgiving Wrap Up

Can I just tell you how much I recommend making plans to NOT MAKE SO MANY PLANS through the holidays?  Gosh, I recommend a peace-FULL calendar. We stayed local this Thanksgiving since our FL family is coming to US for Christmas this year!  So, instead of packing and traveling, we layed low this Thanksgiving week and are enjoying it all the way through a second weekend.  I have been to a movie, hung with friends, have another movie in mind to hit up. We scored an online Black Friday deal or two just after midnight on Thanksgiving morning, which was a first for us - Black Friday shopping.  I am catching up on reading.  And speaking of reading, Noah is catching a reading bug of his own ... Get a load of THIS GUY reading for enjoyment, all on his own, because he can't put this book series I found for him down.  LOVE.

 

Last week we wrapped up Operation Christmas Child packing.  Our family did 3 boxes this year and I just love that this is something we can do so easily.  Anna packed one entirely on her own this time.  We gathered at church for a packing party and in the end had something like 63 from Redeemer. 

The kiddos and I wrapped up another read aloud which I can see being their favorite just like it was mine when I was there age.  Still is!  This was special to take in together.  Then we watched the Disney movie of it, which was ok, but so, so pale in comparison to the book.  The book is where it's at!  As a bonus - both kiddos were super proud to earn 10+ points on AR for this bad boy.  

Josh tackled the garage with some down time and it is looking amazing and so much more roomy. He cleared out SO MUCH that had accumulated over the past couple years. Feels so good!  We also unloaded two Goodwill loads of donations.  Also good!

Ahhh, the annual Redeemer Talent Show.  This is usually at our church retreat, but now that we have an actual building, we didn't do the retreat this year. Talent Show moved to the night of our Redeemer Thanksgiving Dinner together and it was a hit as usual.  Both events actually!

Lasa, all dressed up for her Thanksgiving celebration at PDO.  This photo also shares what her newest favorite thing in life is - play doh.  All the play, every day.  She uses it with her dolls, with the play-doh makeshift tools we scrounge up, and in her play kitchen.  It's adorable.  Also adorable - that I can trust her to play with it appropriately at age 2.  She doesn't eat it, stuff it in body parts or hair, doesn't grind it into the carpet, and always remembers where she puts it when I am looking for it later to put away.  Top three most surprising places were the back of her Pottery Barn chair in the living room, in the storage part of her baby doll stroller, and in muffin tins in her play kitchen oven. ❤️

Speaking of Lasa, this cuteness came home from PDO, too.  Always the adorable handprint art! 

And finally, on this stay-home-Thanksgiving year, we did actually leave the house for a few hours by sharing a Thanksgiving feast with some friends from church.  We enjoyed out short trek into the very high hills of White House, Josh is now itching to move even more than he already was, and after a wonderful meal and fellowship Lasa lost her ever-loving mind on the way home - hazard of having had to skip her nap entirely yesterday.  This melt-down was so outrageous, Josh and I were dying laughing and thankfully thought to snap a pic of the magic before it ended.   Anna has even made it her new screensaver, I believe.

This pic makes my day.  As do these people.  We put up the Christmas tree last night, today they are all out working on the green house that is in serious need of repairs, Noah is going shooting with some friends in Lebanon later today and getting a much-needed haircut, and we have Polar Express queued up for tonight's first viewing of the season.

 

Happy Thanksgiving and Welcome, Christmas season.  Take your time with us this year!