All things come to an end, no matter how fabulous it's been

In 12 hours, I'll be double checking attendance and getting started on what will be a very busy day.  When the first work day of the month is also a Monday AND it follows a break, it's always quite a day.

I'm ready for it though.  This break was a perfect combination of exactly what I needed.  We had the right amount of quiet/down time and the right amount of all-in family time.  Three weeks from today, I'll be sitting here, hopefully with my MIL here again, and we'll be looking at two full weeks off.

I don't take any of this past week for granted.  None of us are guaranteed anything, including tomorrow.  I'm so grateful that we had the family time that we had.  I don't know how many more years my kids will want to help with the Christmas trees.  I don't know how many more holidays my MIL has left.  I do know that regardless of what happens today, tomorrow, next week, or next month, my family had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving break, and I'm more full of gratitude than I can even put into words.

And I'm happy to head back to work.  Can't get a paycheck if I'm not there!  I'm also very grateful that I have a job I enjoy so very much!

Happy Thanksgiving 2025

I'm so grateful for every day, but this day feels especially full.  Just as I had hoped, the kids all stayed here last night and we watched our favorite Thanksgiving episodes of Friends.  My mother-in-law laughed so hard even though she had seen them all before.  It was such a gift to go to sleep with everyone sleeping under this roof, and to get to all wake up again together this morning.  Incredible blessings.

Andrew and his mom are working on the meal, and we'll be eating around Noon so Thomas and his wife can get to her family.  My mom won't be coming down so I might run up to see her and my grandmother, and tomorrow the decorating starts after a day of food, family, and football today!

I'm not sure how, but we made it to Thanksgiving break

Without a doubt, the best thing our school ever did was decide to change our calendar and be off all of Thanksgiving week.  This is the third year for this calendar change, but it might be the most appreciated.  By the time I got to work on Friday, I was actually dreading checking my email.  I rarely remember a work day filled with dread while I've had this job, there it was Friday morning.  That is how crazy hard this school year has been. 

Friday was also a wet and dreary day, and it made it all the better to be home after school.  Andrew picked up dinner in town, and I forced myself to stay awake until 10.  Yesterday Andrew left to go get his mom for the week, and I began scrubbing the house.  I managed to stay up until only 9 yesterday, and then slept blissfully.

I'm so looking forward to this coming week, and hope to report about lots of fun times with family!

Thanksgiving 2024

We spent the quietest Thanksgiving EVER on Thursday.  Andrew made us omelets for breakfast with hash browns, and dinner consisted of sausage.  I worked on Christmas cards, and we watched lots of football. We finished the day with some episodes of our favorite show, and some Thanksgiving episodes of Friends.  It was a pleasant day.

Andrew took his mom back yesterday, and a neighbor was kind enough to meet them part way so he was able to be home last night.  Catherine has decided to be here all weekend, so we had some potato soup and watched some Christmas movies.  I'll be honest, my heart hurt a bit last night evening as I was missing our pup, and also missing Thomas as well.  This is what we strive for, that our kids are on their own, but there are plenty of moments when I miss the little people.

Today is the big college football rivalry game, and this year the Buckeyes should be in good shape.  We still have all day today and tomorrow to enjoy our Thanksgiving weekend and look forward to the holidays!

Thanksgiving week 2024

Starting last year, the public school district and my little school decided to be off the entire week of Thanksgiving.  This, my friends, is brilliant.  I am all for celebrating the holidays in an extended manner!

It also made our decision to switch things up a bit even easier.  Thomas loves his in-law-to-be family, and they adore him.  I knew he would want to spend as much time as possible with them on Thanksgiving, and I didn't want our meal to feel rushed.  Since it is so few of us, I decided that we could do Thanksgiving yesterday, and we all agreed we loved it that way.  Andrew and his mom made a lovely meal, and it was a wonderful afternoon.

I don't deny, it is a bit different when your own kids have to come "home" for the holidays.  I really wanted to make sure we were able to decorate the tree together, and that was another reason for moving Thanksgiving up a few days.  I refuse to eat Thanksgiving in a home already decorated for Christmas, so in order to make it all happen given Thomas's work restraints, this was the best plan.  And with Thanksgiving being so late this year, it really feels as though it is extending the Christmas holiday!  I'll be honest though, I kind of forget that others are still getting ready for Thanksgiving.

We have a few plans this week, but we also have lots of time to relax and to decorate.  Life is full of so many blessings, and I'm so very grateful!

Thanksgiving visit

For the third consecutive year, my mother-in-law came for an extended Thanksgiving visit.  I really do love having her here.  She and Andrew arrived home late on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but we were still able to watch a couple of episodes of our favorite TV show.  I'm very grateful that Andrew and his mom take on the task of the big feast!  Clearly not my thing!  They worked on a lot of things Wednesday, and then that evening was our annual Friends tradition.  Thomas's girlfriend joined us as well.  We were able to watch five episodes and enjoy the laughter.

On Thanksgiving Day, we enjoyed the parade while finishing preparations.  My mom and our family friend came down for the meal and were here for several hours.  Thomas spent a bit of time with his girlfriend's family in the evening, and then we got the decorations down and ready for the weekend!

We started decorating on Friday, although Thomas was working.  We finally got the trees up later that evening, and the kids hung their ornaments as they do every year.  It's my favorite tradition.  We actually got most of the decorating finished Saturday, although we did take time to watch the annual OSU/*ichigan game.  Remember when I mentioned it was the third consecutive year my mother-in-law was here?  It's also the third consecutive year the Buckeyes have lost.  Her invitation may be in jeopardy next year! :)

On Sunday, Andrew and his mom watched the Steelers game and I began working on our budget and other things that needed catching up. We were able to continue watching our favorite show.  

Our next week was much crazier than originally anticipated.  My best friend from high school lost her dad on Thanksgiving morning.  Even though it was a nearly four-hour drive (each way), there was no way I was not going to be there to pay my respects.  I was able to see her entire family and a few of her family friends I had met over the years.  It was 456 total miles of driving that day and I didn't get home until 9:30 that evening.  Andrew had to work at a basketball game Tuesday evening and wasn't home until 10:00.  I then had to work at my church job on Wednesday, and Andrew had parent conferences on Thursday.  Friday we had planned for the entire family to go see some Christmas lights.  It was a cold, wet evening, and I really had no desire to leave the house again once I got home.  Catherine decided to go back to her apartment, and Thomas wanted to spend the evening with his girlfriend and her dad's family.  I felt badly because we didn't get to really do anything holiday-like, but my mother-in-law agreed ordering some food in and staying in sounded lovely.  We were able to watch several more episodes of our favorite show.  WE had also enjoyed one Hallmark Christmas movie each day.  

It was a lovely visit, and I'm so glad she'll be back in a couple of weeks!  Hopefully the next visit will be a little less chaotic!

Thanksgiving 2023

Happy Thanksgiving!  It's been a very nice day.  My mom and her friend, Deb, came down for lunch.  Andrew and his mom arrived Tuesday evening, and Catherine and Thomas are here as well.  Andrew and his mom prepared quite a feast.  Earlier this month, I was lamenting only having seven people here for our meal, but some craziness ensued, and I'm very grateful it was the seven of us around the table.  I don't mean to be vague, but I'm not sure I want to really write about that.

Both my school and Andrew's school had the entire week off work.  Last evening, we watched five Thanksgiving episodes of Friends.  To be honest, I think that is probably my favorite Thanksgiving tradition we have.  We laugh and laugh about those shows.

In sad news, I learned that my friend Stephanie lost her father this morning.  I saw him last summer when her daughter graduated from high school.  My love and prayers go to her family.

Hopefully, tomorrow is the beginning of the decorating! 

My dad has been gone ten years

It seems so hard to believe, but my dad has been gone ten years.  It seems unfathomable to me that an entire decade has passed.  There are so many days when I find myself wishing I could ask him how to do something, how to fix something, or get his opinion on something.  There are so many times when something will happen and he's the first person I want to share it with.  Even ten years later, those things happen.  It's so unreal that it's been ten years.

I know it's been a few weeks since I've written.  Life has been both crazy and dramatic lately.  It's all going to work out though.  I'll recap when I can.  I'm so looking forward to Thanksgiving week, some down time, some family time, some good food, and decorating for Christmas!

Thanksgiving memories

As I went back to work today, there is no denying that Thanksgiving is over, and that always makes me a little sad.  While I am always grateful for the month of December and the festive holiday, I truly have always loved Thanksgiving.  It was exactly three years ago today that we celebrated one of my most favorite Thanksgivings.  Aunt Cathy had passed away just a couple of months earlier, and it seemed to remind me to truly enjoy and soak up the family as we spent the day together.  I took so many pictures that day, and I'm so grateful I did.  It ended up being G.G's last Thanksgiving, which isn't surprising as she was 90.  It also ended up being the very last big family Thanksgiving.  I knew it would be the last Thanksgiving before Catherine left for college, and I think in my heart I knew big changes were coming.  I'm so very grateful for those memories.

As a kid, we often were able to see both sides of the family at Thanksgiving, which was such a blessing.  The day after Thanksgiving we always helped my Grandparents decorate their tree...even when we were in high school!  It always came down when we spent the night at New Year's Eve.  I'm grateful we make a family event of decorating the tree now with our kids.

Thanksgiving also means the end of the college football season, and that makes me sad too.  Those thirteen Saturdays from Labor Day through Thanksgiving weekend are the best of the entire year.

Yesterday, I cried after I dropped Thomas at school.  The memories are getting to me this year, but I'm so grateful for those memories.  I love this phase of our life, but it sure is quiet here right now.

It all goes so, so fast

Our incredible amazing long Thanksgiving weekend is coming to an end.  There are few days that bring as much joy as these five days do.  Although Catherine arrived Sunday and Andrew and his mother arrived Monday evening, it didn't really feel celebratory until I was finished with work on Tuesday and Andrew arrived home with Thomas.  He had taken his mother along to see the campus, and it felt so, so good to begin our weekend Tuesday evening.  We ordered pizza and watched our episodes of "Friends".  It was so relaxing and felt so good to just laugh and laugh.

Wednesday of course brought some sleeping in and lots of preparations for the meal.  Fortunately Andrew and his mom enjoy those meal preps, because I sure don't!  Dinner was some quiche and we continued on with sharing "Big Bang Theory" with Andrew's mom.

Thursday was Turkey Day!  We watched the parade and my mom and her friend arrived early afternoon.  They were on the road back home by late afternoon, and we watched some football after cleaning up, then more TV shows, and we did absolutely nothing at all productive.  Thomas brought his girlfriend to the house for a while, and we all seemed to be in a turkey coma.

Friday we got the decorations down from the attic.  My mother-in-law napped for several hours, so it was difficult to get things accomplished without waking her.  Andrew got all of the outdoor furniture put away and got the outdoor lights up.  We got the trees up and mostly lit, although by the time we realized we needed to get some new lights, we decided it would wait until the next day.  We had leftovers and more TV shows in the evening.  I was supposed to attend my high school class reunion, but decided I just simply didn't want to do so.

Yesterday we made a trip to get lights and some groceries.  We were home in time for the OSU vs Xichigan game, which did not go at all the way we had hoped.  We finally got the trees decorated late afternoon into early evening, and two crock pots of potato soup was for dinner.  I continued decorating until we ND vs USC game, which also didn't go my way.  We finished with more TV shows, and early bed times as Andrew needed to hit the road early to get his mom back, and I needed to make an announcement in church this morning.

Catherine and Thomas left 30 minutes ago to get Thomas to his girlfriend's house for a few hours before I pick him up and take him back to school.  The house was on the way for Catherine as she headed back.  It is suddenly way too quiet around here.  These last five days have held so much love, laughter, and good times I can't even describe it.  It all went so very fast, and I'm so, so grateful for the moments.

It's been a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend

Andrew left about 45 minutes ago to drive east and return his mother to the neighbor who will take her the rest of the way.  We are so very grateful for the neighbors who were willing to help out with this trip, and we are so very grateful that my mother-in-law was willing to come for the week.  I know that she was fairly emotional about things, but I also know that being here was good medicine for her soul.

While the day of Thanksgiving itself was not my most favorite, I'm grateful the weekend overall was one of my most favorites.  The house is decorated and picked up...fingers crossed it stays that way!  We decorated the trees first to make certain we could get them done while everyone was around.  Andrew's mother thoroughly enjoyed watching us unwrap all of the memories that we hang on the tree each year, as well as the memories that we place throughout our home.  We have many decorations that were made by my mother-in-law or even her mother, we have many that were made by my grandmother, and we even have one that was hand-carved by my great-uncle.  We have decorations that were gifts to my grandmothers and now we get to enjoy them as well.  And we have decorations that are just fun.

The OSU/*ichigan game (you understand if you're from here) did not at all go the way we wanted, and my mother-in-law laughed at the exuberance with which we watch the game.  I wasn't too happy about the outcome of the Iron Bowl either, but I think our Irish still have a shot at making the playoffs this year!

More than anything, we made sure Andrew's mom laughed.  We began watching some of our favorite episodes of our favorite shows, and she would just laugh and laugh.  She even said her sides hurt from laughing so hard.  I know she especially enjoyed all of the laughter.

We are hoping to get up to see my grandmother today since she didn't feel well when we hoped to see her the other day, and real life begins again tomorrow.  It's a little hard not to wish it was a week ago when all of the fun was beginning, but I'm just going to take the full and peaceful feeling in my heart, and remember to enjoy even the crazy busy days!

Thanksgiving break 2021

We aren't even half way through this amazing Thanksgiving break, and I'm so glad we still have the weekend ahead of us.  Honestly, I've been looking forward to the next three days even more than today.  My mother and her good friend (who was also my high school choir director) came down for a wonderful meal prepared by my mother-in-law and Andrew.  It was a nice meal, and I'm grateful we could be together, but I sure did miss the big family gatherings that used to happen.  It was a nice day though.

Tomorrow we get to start decorating for Christmas!  I've been so very excited about this!  I'm grateful that we have three full days to make this happen.  The big goal will be to get the trees up tomorrow because Thomas has some plans on Saturday.  We are so looking forward to a few more days of downtime!

If she doesn't care, I shouldn't either

My mother decided she didn't think she would be hope to hosting any kind of Thanksgiving meal.  She wanted to because it would be easier for everyone to have it in my hometown and have the four of us and my mother-in-law (Andrew is going to get her this weekend) drive there.  We were happy to do whatever was easiest for my mother.  Mom decided this past weekend that there was no way she could do it.  She has some compressed nerves and is in a lot of pain.  My aunt had sent the same email to my late aunt's kids, so we sent them messages letting them know they are welcome as well, and my mom has a friend who will be joining us.  Andrew and I began to discuss the menu, and I was carefully planning to make sure my sister, who has dietary restrictions, could eat what we were serving.  Keep in mind of course, my sister at no point over the years told me about her dietary restrictions, but I learned about them over the years at meals.  Today, I sent my sister a text asking if her "significant friend", or anyone else would be joining us.  She let me know that not only would there be no guests, but she wasn't interested in making the trip down and would rather spend the day at home along with the dog.  Those were actually her words.  While it felt like a slap in the face to me, I hurt more for my mother.  I know my mother feels as though she's lost so much of her family, and my sister being so blunt about not wanting to be with us is bound to be hurtful.  I know I felt hurt by it.

It reminds me of one year shortly after I was married, and my sister was in town on a grad school break.  I had been out of town on my honeymoon during most of the break, but I arrived home three days before she returned to school.  We had plans to see each other one of those nights, but I had a bad cold.  We were supposed to drive to my parents' house to see her, but I asked if she would mind coming to my house instead (about a 40 minute) drive.  My dad offered to bring her down to my house.  I remember being at work and talking to her on the phone asking if we could adjust the plans.  I remember explaining to her that if she didn't come down I wouldn't get to see her while she was on break, and I vividly remember her response being, "I don't really care if I see you or not."  I remember crying and saying to my dad, "If she doesn't care if we see each other, I shouldn't either."  Dad responded that isn't really who I am.  It's true.  Family is so important to me.  I'm grateful for those that I do get to spend the holiday with!

Officially the end of family celebrations

I received an email this week from my aunt, the wife of my mom's brother.  She was letting us know that they would no longer being hosting a big family Thanksgiving.  I'm certainly not surprised, and of course given the way my aunt & uncle have treated my mother, we wouldn't have gone anyway.  But this truly means the end of the big family gatherings.  Even if there is some reconciliation somewhere down the road (unexpected, but never say never), there won't be 30 family members gathering together for a holiday.  It makes me sad.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and the meals hosted by my aunt & uncle are a big part of that.

It had already been decided that my mother-in-law would be coming here for Thanksgiving.  The five of us will be joined by my mother & sister for a meal.  Seven of us sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner.  I try to remember to be grateful for that, but it's a little tough.  I feel sad that my family feels as though it is getting smaller.  We have Robert who has essentially left the family, and of course both my dad and father-in-law have passed away.  I know there may even come years when we can't be together at all on Thanksgiving and need to choose another date.  This is absolutely our reality and I accept that, which encourages me to be grateful even for just the seven gathering around the table this year!

Thanksgiving 2020

In all honesty, our Thanksgiving is not really different then what it would have been without COVID.  Because of my father-in-law's precarious health, we were going to spend it in their home anyway.  They aren't seeing anyone other than the nursing aides who come each day, and we aren't leaving the house.  Other than those restrictions, it would've been just the six of us anyway.

My mother-in-law has spent some of the day putting out a very few Christmas decorations.  Andrew and I have each done a little bit of Christmas shopping (online), and we've been texting with a few friends.  The food (catered in) was good, and it's been a lovely day in spite of the craziness in the world.

Tomorrow we venture back home and start our own decorating.  This is the first Thanksgiving weekend in many years that none of our kids have had jobs, and I can't say I'm sad about it.  I'll miss the annual OSU/Michigan game, but there will still be plenty of college football to happen.  I am looking forward to so very much family time!

The tradition is continuing

I think we can all agree that this Thanksgiving is pretty much going to be unlike any other Thanksgivings in our lifetimes.  Our family though, is continuing one of our favorite traditions.  We are watching some of the Thanksgiving episodes of Friends.  They are some of the best TV episodes of all time.  This is a tradition that Andrew and I began years ago.  At the time it was just the two of us.  We would have some wine after the kids went to bed and binge watch the episodes.  Now though, all four of us look forward to our evening together.  I loved the times it was just the two of us, but I love this even more.  With Catherine not living here most of the time, I am especially treasuring this! 

Almost time for the Holidays

Catherine was planning to come home tomorrow, but I asked if she would come today.  She doesn't have any classes this week, and we could use some assistance around the house.  She got home in the middle of the afternoon, and I must say it is wonderful to have her here!  So very wonderful.

This past weekend was the culmination of the fall band fundraiser that required I spend 13 hours at the nursery with wreath disbursements.  That doesn't count the paperwork or driving around to handle deliveries.  Because of so many circumstances, we sold less than half than we normally do.  I'm not sad though, because overall it made things go more smoothly.

Now, time to finish up band stuff, try to work on some church stuff, and then have Thanksgiving so we can decorate for Christmas.  It's pretty crazy! 

A Thanksgiving I will always remember

Today was one of my most favorite days.  I truly loved it.  It is a Thanksgiving I hope I always remember.

There were 28 of us all together at my aunt & uncle's house.  I loved watching how all nine of the great-grandkids, ranging in age from Catherine at 18 to Ava at age 4, hung out together and laughed together.  Most of the grandkids and spouses (along with Andrew's parents) all sat at another table.  I don't ever remember having as much fun and sharing as much as we did today.  While I am older than all of my cousins (in fact, I called them my "baby" cousins growing up), we are all adults now and the age difference doesn't matter anymore.  We all enjoyed watching our kids, and we laughed as we heard them arguing about the answer to a math problem.

We missed our sailor, and with the impending graduation of Catherine, and of course losing my aunt...with all of this, gathering together as a family seemed all that more important.  I so enjoyed getting to spend the day with so much family.

Thanksgiving morning

My favorite holiday of the year is here.  I'll be honest though, Thanksgiving isn't what it used to be.  There were so many years when Thanksgiving meant an entire weekend of time for our family to do exactly what we wanted, and to just hang out.  It's so different now.  Catherine will work all weekend, and the kids had swim practice and work out yesterday.  We also need to transport Andrew's parents back and forth, and it just isn't the amount of "down" time that we had in the past.  It is what it is though.

I've enjoyed the quiet of the morning.  I emailed Robert, and since he is 15 hours ahead of us his Thanksgiving was almost over.  I have enjoyed a cup of coffee, and now I am watching the parade.  Catherine has been sick (she does feel much better today) so Andrew and I have been camped out in the living areas of the house.

I am looking forward to heading to my aunt & uncle's house later today.  I am really missing Aunt Cathy today, and I can only imagine how her girls are feeling.  I am so grateful that we get to spend so much of our day with family.  I am thankful for so many things.  Life is full of so many blessings!

Thanksgiving came and went

Honestly, I didn't love this year's Thanksgiving.  The day itself was very nice and I enjoyed seeing so much of my extended family.  In fact, there were 31 of us altogether at my aunt's house, and only my sister and Robert were missing from the family.  It was nice to see everyone, and Robert even took a couple of moments and FaceTimed so he could say hello to everyone.

The rest of the holiday though, was a little rough.  The kids had swim Tuesday evening, and I was working frantically trying to get the house picked up.  In fact, I worked until 10:00 that evening, and the kids were helping also.  I ended up sleeping on the couch because that way I could go ahead and change the sheets on our bed because I was fairly certain I wouldn't have time on Wednesday...and I would've been correct!

The kids had swim first thing Wednesday morning so we were all up by 7.  I had to be at the band fundraiser by 8:45.  It was 9:30 before I got home, and since my van was full of greenery (the first of many trips) I needed to unload it myself.  I had an appointment at 11, then ran a band errand, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed to my actual shift at the fundraiser.  I finished with that at 3:30 (with another van load of greenery) and dashed home to get dinner started.  Andrew and his parents arrived about ten minutes later.  We got dinner started, and Andrew and the kids began cleaning out the van so we could drive it the next day.  After dinner Catherine made dessert to take to the family meal, and we mostly just hung out and watched TV.  We even spent some time watching Thanksgiving episodes of "Friends" which is a tradition we do every year when we can make it happen.

I went to bed early, but didn't sleep well.  In fact, I woke up not feeling well Thursday morning, mostly from sinuses.  My in-laws were in no particular hurry to get moving that morning, which was tough for Andrew and I to get ready since there were things we had forgotten to get out of our room the night before.  There were lots of little frustrations that occurred, and as we were leaving (later than I had told everyone we needed to leave) I fell.  I'd had a bad toe anyway, and it took everything I had not to cry in front of everyone.

I went to bed even earlier Thursday night, but woke up feeling even worse Friday morning.  We were having breakfast with Andrew's parents before they all left, but the place we wanted to eat was closed.  That meant a big chain restaurant, but I was concerned because I had to get the church payroll submitted.  I suggested a different place to eat, but Andrew's parents didn't want to eat there.  Of course, the wait for our food was just as outrageous as I was convinced it would be, and the ONLY thing I was able to accomplish at church was the payroll.  I would have been able to get a little more done, but Andrew locked himself out of the house as he was trying to leave with Thomas to take his parents home, and I had to run home and let him in before doing my afternoon shift at the band fundraiser.  Because it was the last shift, all of the greenery that hadn't been picked up had to be loaded into my van and brought home.  Another parent who volunteered with me is a packing genius, and although the van was packed to the brim, I got it all home in one trip.  Of course since Andrew and Thomas had left, that meant I was unloading it on my own.  I had to get all the bedsheets changed again so Catherine could sleep in her bed (where we sleep when my in-laws are here) and I could sleep in my bed, but I was able to meet some friends for a quick drink before Catherine and I tumbled into bed early again.

Catherine had to work all day Saturday, and I had to make some band deliveries.  I was able to be home by the time Ohio State kicked off, but since I had awakened feeling poorly again I didn't get nearly as much done as I had wanted.  The only chance we were going to have to decorate the tree together was Saturday evening, and I needed to have the trees ready before that.  However, I couldn't put the living room tree up before the train platform was down, and I didn't even know where that was.  Andrew and Thomas left his parents 90 minutes later than I had expected them to, and I needed them for the platform.  I was able to get the first tree put together and was putting lights on it while the platform was put together.  Unfortunately, I realized that most of the lights had stopped working form the year before, so we needed to purchase new.  Catherine got off work an hour early, so she joined the guys in a "quick" trip to get more lights...which took a ridiculous amount of time.  When they got back, I realized Andrew had purchased the wrong lights, but he needed to pick up the pizza we ordered.  I ran back to exchange the lights while Andrew got the pizza.  When I got home I realized I these lights weren't right either, and also realized that Andrew had put mushrooms on the entire pizza.  I don't eat mushrooms...never have in all of our married lives.  Can't do it.  He is aware of this, and it meant I had no pizza for dinner.  At this point I really wanted to cry, but I had to get back to exchange the lights...again.  I finally put the lights on and we finally started with the ornaments after 9:30 that night.  None of us really felt like doing it, but Catherine had to work all day Sunday so it was our only shot at doing it together.  Poor Catherine was so tired she just wanted to go to bed.  We were all very tired, and instead of fun memories, it was just tiring work.

We couldn't wait until this weekend though, because Thomas and Andrew are headed back to Pittsburgh again.  I know that overall life is very much blessed, but this was definitely not the break any of us were hoping it would be.  I knew things would be different than the last several years, but I didn't expect it to be so exhausting.  On the upside, the house is almost decorated, and the band fundraiser is beginning to wrap up!