Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Highlights of Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving Break is one of my favorites of the year because of the fun we have as a family as we kick off the holiday season and prepare to celebrate with everyone we love most. Such a great week of down time but also busyness and fun. So I thought I'd share some of the highlights from our week so far. 

Our break started for us on Friday as soon as Austin got home from school. My little pilgrim came in happy and hungry. Haha. He's having a great experience with preschool and enjoying it lots just like we knew he would. We haven't made any final decisions for next year but we love the preschool setting for PreK so that's what we're leaning towards. 

The break continued right along after picking Garrison up from school. And he came home with a story about having something different for Thanksgiving other than turkey.... he decided on cookie cake. Oh gracious. That one and his sweet tooth. Ha!

Friday night Terrell had a work event to go to that originally I was going to attend with him but at the last minute we decided against so that I could go to Austin's soccer banquet and so that Layton wouldn't have to spend the night away from home. The banquet was fun but also wild and crazy. Haha. Thankfully my mother-in-law was able to meet me there so I wasn't outnumbered 3-1. Phew! That would've been tough. After the banquet she took the big boys to her house to spend the night and Layton and I came home... where he went straight to bed and I had a lazy evening all to myself. =)

My mom kept Layton for us Saturday so we could have a shopping date and the big boys spent the day with Nana and Pops before going to see their cousin Allison in a Peter Pan play. She was a lost boy. =) They were so proud!

Sunday night we watched our first Christmas movie of the season together... Elf!! Layton saw a little of it before his bedtime but the big boys were able to watch the whole thing and loved it. We did too. =) It was a fun way to start off the break and do something different and special on a school night that wasn't a school night!

Monday we attempted decorating the big boys' Christmas tree for their room. Unfortunately all of their ornaments are mixed with all the ornaments for our big tree so we haven't been able to finish yet. (New system to correct that coming this year...) But they loved getting a start on it. 

In the past their tree has always had a theme. Like sports, or transportation or "baby" for their 1st Christmas... but now it looks like it's just turning into a "boy" tree. And I'm okay with that. I've been attached to the themes in the past but I'm kind of loving the new version of everything from sports to transportation to superheroes to anything boy. It just fits. =)

Terrell and I finally managed to get the mantle and fireplace area decorated. YAY!! This is one of my favorite spots in the house during the Christmas season. One day I'm hoping my mantle decor will be a little more elaborate, but for now it's perfect. I will say however, the downside to decorating a little at a time like we do is that you feel like your house is a messy disaster for however long you're decorating. A week plus for sure. That's the only downside I've found though. For us, this works so we'll keep this system for a while I hope. 

By day....

By night.... Ahhhhhhh. =)

This week I've been in a mad dash to finish this book! It's really good but of course all 3 books I requested from the library came at once so I'm reading at record speeds. Haha. 

We've had our first frost of the season this week! I took this picture standing inside my front door because brrrrrrr! It was so pretty though. The boys and I had to be out early so they loved seeing everyone's yards covered in frost.  


We had to be out early to drop off Bailey at the groomer's and then make our way to the pediatrician's office. The big boys got the flu mist and Layton had to have 2 shots. Thankfully we were in and out pretty fast. 

Also, today is mine and Terrell's original anniversary. 16 years ago today we became us. =) I've been reminiscing a lot this week and remembering how God brought us together and what those first few days and weeks were like. They were all pretty much centered around the holidays and time with family and fun. And of course young love. We wanted to spend every waking moment together and hated saying goodbye and talked more on our cordless phones than is probably normal. Haha! It's crazy that it's been 16 years but also such a testimony of God's grace and goodness in our lives. This week as I've reminisced I've been reminded not to take our life and our love story and my amazing husband for granted. He is God's gift to me and I love him even more today than all those years ago. Which is some serious love because I loved him a LOT back then. =) It's been fun remembering the early days and God's faithfulness to us as we suffered through the long distance thing in college and then as we stressed over the right time to get married and then as we started this journey together of us as a family. I am so thankful for November 24, 1999. It's been a fun, exciting, wonderful, hard, crazy, stressful, joyful, amazing 16 years. 

Thanksgiving week sure is special and I sure am thankful. 

No comments: