Thanksgiving is Over

Our Thanksgiving weekend is over. Well almost over, as soon as Kathleen and Heather pull into Houghton I can consider it over. They have been puttering on the thruway for the past 2 1/2 hours. Going out to dinner was something new that we tried this year for Thanksgiving. I can say that we will not be doing that again any time soon. The meal was definitely generic. No special spices or flavorings and no family recipes. We couldn't wait to get home and have some fresh homemade pie and pull out a game. It is a good thing Thanksgiving is not about the meal or where you eat it or even with who you eat it. There is so much we are grateful for everyday, Thursday was just another day remember that. We played Monopoly until the midnight hour and then Jeff woke us up at 4am for some Black Friday shopping. I was a little smarter than the average shopper and bought some things online so I only had to pick them up at 5:30 am. The girls were anxious to get deals on a new coat and gifts for their friends. They were able buy socks, gloves, hats, scarfs for everyone for about $5 each. Jeff and Max found some jeans at Penny's for $10 and I bought the curtains I wanted for a while, they were less than 50% off the catalog price. The gifts I picked up- well- they are for the tree Christmas morning. By 6am I knew I was done, but the other 4 were shopping maniacs and forced me to stay another hour. Either the sleep deprivation or the coffee kicked and we got a bit silly. At home we all took long naps and started to decorate our tree.
Saturday Jeff, Kristina and Max went off to the farmer's market then stopped on the way home for a fresh tree for our back room. Kristina and Kathleen took charge decorating the new tree with Max. I love how the kids jump in and add their own personality to the holidays. We missed Amber being around over the long weekend. She at first made plans with Jeff to come and spend sometime with us then on Thanksgiving morning she backed out. It is not hard to wonder what (or who) changed her mind. I am grateful our God is bigger than all other influences. I am grateful that despite not feeling well, I enjoyed having the family home, I am grateful that Mom and Sue tried something different this year and enjoyed their time with Justin's family. I am grateful my family and I found amusement and made the best out of eating away from home and away from my parents.