October...November...December

TEC made a crack this evening about my last blog post being a "catch up on October" entry and it now being December.  I tried to blow it off, but I'll admit that it's eating at me.

I suppose I read so many Thanksgiving posts from other people and thought about it so much myself all through November that it doesn't feel like it's been that long.  And it's a shame because Thanksgiving is right up there with my favorite days of the year.

So I'll quickly note that we had a good November.  The kids and I spent a good amount of time going through old things--clothes, toys, etc.--and made some decisions about what we no longer need.  It was a wonderful thing for me, partly for my selfish need to rid my life of clutter.  But it was also neat to hear the kids acknowledge that we have quite a bit more than we need and even get excited about giving things away--both to kids we know and as donations to the DI (RVC keeps referring to these donations as "selling" to the DI; she understands that we are not getting money in return, but still...)  The whole effort has also given me a strong desire keep our Christmas as simple as possible.  So far I think we'll manage to do so.  I am grateful that my kids are still young enough that they don't have elaborate expectations and that they have never been into the "latest and greatest" of anything.  Wouldn't it be nice to keep it that way through the years.

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister's house again this year. My mom did a fabulous job of both orchestrating the details and preparing a wonderful feast. I baked an apple pie and made the mashed potatoes. It was fun to be with my family and chat/ laugh with my sisters.

When our kids had reached the "it's time for bed" point, we left Val's, dropped off our leftovers at home, quickly packed up the car with clothes and such for the rest of the weekend and headed up to the cabin (kids slept on the way).  It was strange to not have snow for sledding this year, but it was still nice to be up there.  The kids especially love it and always look forward to our time there.

I'm looking forward to the coming weeks.  Trying to get caught up on that never ending list so that I can enjoy  and savor this season before it flies by.