It still looks a lot like Christmas

Most decorations went up before Thanksgiving. But, we saved the trees for after Thanksgiving- our tradition. I love the magic of Christmas decorations. The lights, the smells, the memories... I have something Christmasy in almost every room in the house. A small tree in the upstairs bedrooms, the kids' tree in the gameroom,

the main tree in the living room,

and next year I hope to add a tree in the front room. It's so much fun taking out the ornaments, remembering and telling the stories behind them, rediscovering new ones bought to represent special times this year.

Tinsel, our elf on the shelf, came to visit around Thanksgiving and found lots of great places to keep an eye on things. Jacob was very concerned, first thing in the morning, about where Tinsel was. However, Tinsel didn't help motivate Jacob to improve his behavior. Beth was still amazed by Tinsel's magic arrival in a new place, but she wasn't quite as panicked about her behavior as she was last year.

One evening, I decided to play around with lighting and settings on my camera. I had SO much fun taking pictures of decorations! I'm learning to just go for it with the settings, and I can always delete pics I don't like. I love digital photography!

Everybody likes a good ghost story

A Visit to Santa

Jacob and I had some shopping to do at the mall one day. We talked about Santa, discussed what Jacob would say, walked by him only to have Jacob hide and not so much as wave. That's okay, maybe he'll be ready when we go back with Beth. Beth makes him a little braver.

Find a day that Kevin was in town, pick up Beth from school, let her change clothes and off we went. There was no line!!!!!! We got our letters out, got close to the entrance, and Jacob shut down. He wasn't going for it, no way, didn't want to go with Beth, didn't want to give him the letter, nothing. So here's Jacob's 2010 Santa pic:

Beth was excited, though. She walked right up, hopped on his lap and had a great conversation. They talked about her wish list, how she'd behaved this year and about her silly brother. I love the magic of Christmas through her eyes!

After we got a picture, I did manage to convince Jacob to give Santa the letter in exchange for a coloring book. Still, he wouldn't talk to him. (I know, I forgot to take a picture of the letter, but it wasn't amazing since I wrote it- a Handy Manny workbench and a monster truck). However, he perked right up for the ride-on machines right next to Santa's station. Little stinker!

I'm hoping next year will be the perfect year. Beth will still believe in Santa's magic, and Jacob won't be scared. Like I said, hoping.

Thanksgiving 2010

We went to visit Yaya and Popi this Thanksgiving, and got a couple bonus days around the holiday for just hanging out. It was a wonderful visit! We we arrived, the weather was around 80*, perfect for playing outside. By the time we left Friday, it was in the 50s!

We did lots of playing outside, even making smores one night. Jacob just ate plain marshmellows, Kevin likes his a little crispy, Popi patiently toasts his evenly.

Lots of preparing for Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving day, Nanny, my 91 year old grandmother, came over early to spend time with us and help do some cooking. She directed my mom on the sweet potatoes, re-taught me how to make my favorite "Big-Momma cookies" (that I haven't gotten right on my own in years), and just spent time enjoying each other. What a treasure to spend time with Nanny!

My aunts came, and one of Popi's cousins. A small, but nice gathering.

I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I'd hoped. I was busy helping Yaya get everything ready. I can't wait to see what pictures are on her camera!

Being Thankful

So, I just downloaded last month's pictures. Sorry for the delay.

Around Thanksgiving, I try to do some sort of thankful craft for the whole family. Last year, it was our turkey. This year I wanted to make a Thankful Cornucopia (or "corn-u-coconut" according to Jacob). I found some fruits and veggies online, got all the right color paints, and away we went.

While Thanksgiving is a perfect time to stop and remember to be thankful for what God has blessed us with, we try to talk about it more often. I hope you took time to thank God this Thanksgiving season. If you're reading this, I'm thankful for you, that you care about our family to read the blog. Thank you!

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