An eleven hour work day

Today I worked nearly eight hours at my job, then worked over three hours at my church job.  That's a pretty darn long day.  I'm grateful though, that Andrew handled dinner for all of us.  And since Thomas had both dryland workout and swim practice, he was gone the entire time as well.  So, so grateful for those things, and for the opportunity of my income.

I also appreciated the weather today.  We received our first snowfall.  Although it snowed most of the day, the ground was too warm for anything to accumulate.  I'll be honest, it was a little disappointing.  I love winter weather, but I've still got all winter for it to happen

Tomorrow is December.  Yay!  Bring on the joy of Christmas!

It was so wonderful to have her around

Catherine went back to her apartment this afternoon.  We had her under our roof for six whole nights.  It was wonderful beyond words.  I can't even describe it.  I am grateful that Andrew cherishes the time as much as I do.  I would've loved for her to stay longer, but I know she has things she wants to take care of at her place.  I am (selfishly, perhaps) hoping she will join us sometime soon to watch a Christmas movie!

Christmas decorating 2020

Decorating has happened much more quickly this year.  No one had a job, and Andrew wasn't traveling with his parents.  That means everyone was around to help, and I absolutely let them.  There are only a few more things that need to get put out.  For everyone, our favorite part was decorating the tree with all of the ornaments.  I am so grateful that everyone else enjoys and cherishes as much as I do.  

I've realized, our house does not have any kind of specific them in decorating.  What I do have though, is memories.  So many memories are in all of our decorations.  We have the ceramic Christmas village that was painted by Andrew's grandmother.  Catherine was thrilled to put that together.  We also have a couple of ceramic houses painted by my paternal grandmother.  We had to find a new home for them because they could no longer go with the Dickens houses.  We have added to that village from houses that belonged to my maternal grandmother.  We each have a house, and that is all that fits where I put them.  There are many other decorations painted by Andrew's grandmother, and so many photos that I put out each year.  There are many decorations that are gifts from my grandmother and my aunt & uncle..  I love how cozy our house feels as I am surrounded by so many lovely memories!

The day after Thanksgiving

We will be leaving here in a couple of hours and making the five hour drive west.  I am so excited to be getting home and having the weekend with my little family of four!  I can decorate, and do Christmas cards, and even begin to wrap gifts!  And with no one having any schedules, it will be awesome to just hang out the four of us.  I will treasure this weekend more than I can put into words!

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 day before Thanksgiving

I had to drop a wreath off at my grandmother's house today.  She had ordered one from our band fundraiser and I wanted to make sure that she got it.  I became emotional even before we got there, and it was so hard to be so close and not really be able to visit.  I put it on the porch, rang the doorbell, and then stepped back so she could step outside.  It could tell she was fighting tears as well.  It was raining, so we couldn't even really visit outside.  Praying this all ends so soon, and that she is around when it does.  She turns 90 two weeks after Christmas, and we all know nothing is guaranteed.

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!