Our Thanksgiving

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Wishing you happiness. - Helen Keller

There is something so special about holiday breaks, and I’m always a little sad when they are over. I think it’s the relaxed, simplified pace that I enjoy so much. It’s like the record player of our busy lives screeches to a halt for a short period of time while we surround ourselves with loved ones and have no real agenda other than just being present. We take the time to make everything special about these days; we pull down the good dishes, dust off our favorite recipe cards, light a few extra candles.

Maybe we can find ways to make our “normal” days a little more special from time to time; put away the phone and the computer for a few hours, pull down the good dishes a little more often, gather around for a family movie or game night, or take a drive in the country with no particular destination in mind. Find more ways to celebrate the magic of ordinary days.
----------------------------

A few photos and words from our Thanksgiving holiday:

In preparation for a weekend away from home, we put up our tree and decorations a little early this year. Sydney helped me sort and hang the ornaments. She loved helping and hung every. single. ornament. in the same 2 foot space at the bottom of the tree. I admit, I did a little bit of re-hanging afterwords.

Lillian showed off how fast she can move now, and made multiple attempts at swiping ornaments from her sister, who was not at all pleased. 

We spent Thursday at my parents home. The four-bedroom ranch house that I grew up in, now bursts at the seems when our ever-expanding family is all together. We've overflowed into outdoor space and a makeshift room in the garage.

My mom is going to kill me for posting these pictures, but I happen to love this little makeshift setup. Turkey table, Christmas lights, and a dinosaur blanket wall...so totally us! lol! It worked out perfectly!

We spent a good deal of time Thursday evening watching these video shorts. Have you seen them? Absolutely hysterical!

Food, shortened naps, and cousin time. My girls were in heaven. 

Along with space needs, the amount of noodles needed to feed this family also grows every year. That's a big pot-o-noodles!

Lillian was captivated by Carter. Where has my little bay-bay gone!

"I'm bigger than you and higher up the food chain. Get in my belly."

Later that weekend we were packing up and getting ready to head up to stay with Jon's parents and we realized, last minute, that we probably needed to kennel Sawyer. Poor guy. We just can't fit the dog, two kids, and all of our stuff in either of our vehicles safely anymore. We called our kennel and they had openings so we dropped him off before heading out of town. Yet another reason I need to consider up-sizing from my sports sedan. 

She was freaking out because her band-aid (from the flu-shot the day before) was starting to fall off. So I helped it along. Gasp! She was sooooo mad at me!

Jon and I went to drop the boat off in storage, take a nice drive, and get out of the house for a bit. 

Random photos of a creepy old elevator that caught my eye.

While we were driving around we saw this dog standing along the side of the road. It was so still, that at first I thought it was fake. When we got closer, we realized she was just really focused on something. We're guessing she was/is a hunting dog and was tracking something. She finally broke her hold when we pulled up next to her and got out of the car.

She seemed like a super sweet dog! Kind of made me miss Sawyer, he loves running around exploring the country side. Maybe for Christmas.

Well, it's time for baths and Bing Crosby, so I'm gonna wrap this up! Happy Monday out there!