OK, so it has been a long time since I posted so I decided I needed to write something. We enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving with family. It was good for me to take a minute a think about the many blessings that I have in my life.

Thanksgiving was great but I really, REALLY, enjoyed the Friday after Thanksgiving. I stayed home ALL day long. Yes, I "putzed" around all day. I didn't brave the crowds for shopping and almost felt a sense of relief. I must admit I got a little nervous a few days ago when the realization hit that I hadn't purchased a single gift for Christmas. However, I did manage to pick up a few things this week so I think it will come together.

Last Monday for FHE we finished setting up our tree and were getting ready to place the ornaments on the tree. We have an artificial tree and I kept insisting that everyone needed to help me "fluff" the branches. I guess my insisting became too much because Sam proceded to tell me that I needed to be more "insouciant." I was surprised, almost shocked, to hear Sam use this word. I said what does that mean. He said, it is one of my vocab words and it means "carefree." A few minutes later when I was insisting that we keep repositioning the tree until it was perfectly straight Megan informed me that I was "CDO" Apparantly this is her extreme definition of OCD because it puts the letters in alphabetical order. I really don't think they minded fluffing the tree or making it straight but all of them loved the opportunity to raz me. When we finally got the tree finished it was beautiful and we had some great laughs.

Other than that not much to report, we had a quiet week. Just for fun I thought I would share a few things I enjoyed this week...

• Mollie describing her gooey messy burger (sloppy joes) as "yummalicious"
• Having a 2nd christmas tree in our family room for all of the great homemade ornaments
• Watching Mollie play indoor soccer
• Hearing Megan playing Christmas carols on the piano
• Seeing Sam's excitement when he brought home his Honor Roll Certificate
• Listening to Christmas Music
• Taking time to go to the movies w/ Mike (it's been a while)
• Setting up my favorite two nativities, hand made by Megan and Mollie
• Not working any extra hours
• Having great friends who helped us solve our computer problems, picked up my kids when I couldn't, and dropped off some heartfelt gifts
• Listening to Mike sing carols
• Receiving christmas cards
• Having a chance to visit with so many of my cousins via email
• and finally being able to talk with my sister, brothers and parents.

I am sure I could go on but I won't. Like I said it has been good for me to recognize all of my blessings, big and small. Thank you everyone for being a part of our lives.