Catching Up...

It's been ages since I last posted, at least that's how it seems! So let me give you the Thanksgiving run-down.


Wednesday: We had our little family Thanksgiving with just us and the kids in our dining room. The kids and I set the table all festive-like. Jim cooked a Cornish Game Hen, dressing, green bean casserole, and I made some fresh rolls. This was Jim's safe Thanksgiving meal with dishes all cooked with ingredients he can safely eat. It all turned out quite yummy. The kids favorite part was the cranberry sauce, of course. At the end of the meal, we all went around the table saying things we were thankful for. As we made our list, we dropped a pinch of corn kernals into a bowl. By the time we were done, our bowls were pretty full. The plan is to pop that corn and make a blessing string for our Christmas tree. (Thanks, Mom, for the idea!)
Thursday: We joined Jim's parents and his grandma at their house in East Austin for a Thanksgiving feast. Each place setting had a pilgrim hat that we wore during dinner. It was so fun.

Of course the icing on the cake was Judy's apple pie, which I LOVE!! Elijah had also made a cranberry pie for all of us. It was yummy, too. We played over at their house all afternoon into the evening. Judy offered to let Elijah & Rebekah spend the night so Jim & I could do some early Friday morning shopping. Woo-hoo!
Friday 5am shopping! We rose early, each hopped in our cars and headed out to save some big bucks! I went to Kohl's and Jim went to Circuit City and a couple of other electronic stores. The lines were as you'd expect, but that's what you do to make those hard-earned dollars stretch as far as you can. We're pretty much done with our Christmas shopping now. Yippee! That evening we packed up and headed out to the Lakehouse to see my side of the family.
Saturday As always, we had a relaxing visit at my folks Lakehouse. For those who don't know the whole Lakehouse situation, let me explain. It's kinda like a family community of sorts. My Grandparents (mom's parents) live in the "BoatHouse" which is a nice two-bedroom house right on the water right next to my parent's house. Aunt Brenda (mom's sister) and Uncle Jeff Stuart live in the "Chalet", or south bldg, right behind my parent's house. All of this is situated on two lots that are normally waterfront. However, Dad currently mows where the lake usually is! It's so funny! The peir overlooks, well, a field. The deer just love it! Well, back to Thanksgiving weekend... Saturday morning we got to visit with Uncle Jeff's mom, Rachel-whom I haven't seen in ages-, before she headed to the airport to fly back to Arkansas. Jim and Elijah helped dad hang the lights on the roof. Yes, Elijah was up on the roof. Made me SO nervous. Mom and I went to do a little shopping and then we all met for a Mexican food dinner. My cousin, Matt Stuart, was able to get over to the lakehouse for Thanksgiving also. He's in the Navy and stationed in Florida. His next destination is Hawaii. Torture, isn't it? We enjoy visiting with Matt every chance we get! Saturday was full of visiting with family and breaking in mom & dad's new leather furniture. The lakehouse really is lovely. If you ever get invited out there don't turn it down! Maybe I'll post some pictures for you guys sometime.
Sunday We headed to church in Austin from the Lakehouse. Jim and I were scheduled to work the nursery that morning. We had a good time with the Sullivan family who worked in there with us and of course with all the kiddos! After some socializing after the service we headed home for some much needed rest.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! We did miss our siblings and their families, but really look forward to spending some time together at Christmas. Hey, you take what you can get. We're so thankful to be living so close to both of our parents. It's truly a blessing.