Happy Thanksgiving

It seems a little too obvious, doesn't it? 
To write a post on Thanksgiving? 
A post about the things I'm thankful for?
About how lucky I am? 

But I am lucky.  And I am blessed.  And I do have SO much to be thankful for. 
It's been a crazy little adventure - this journey called life.
But I have an amazing family - health - and everything else a girl could ask for. 
And I have a guardian angel. A bittersweet blessing. 

And on this, our second Thanksgiving as a family, I started to see little things pop up...little things that, on year two, can be considered traditions. 

I think the best way to start Thanksgiving is with a nice run. And since Thanksgiving is such a family holiday, it's even better to run as a family, with family.  And we certainly would consider these two family.  Andy and I both love them both as brothers. Brothers neither one of us had.  And Eleanor loves them as Uncles.  And I certainly don't want to make an exclusions, because we have several friends who fit into this category.  Friends that you love so much, you think of them as family first. 

 

But perhaps it's time for Mom and Dad to find a new hobby, because it. was. cold!  Don't be fooled by the fact that Andy is in shorts - look at baby E!  And...might I point out my number?  I was #100!  How cool was that?

 

So after 3.1 in the snow in cold, it was time to head up to Neenah to celebrate Thanksgiving feast with Andy's mom, step-dad, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, 2 Cousins (and their families) and sister Melissa and her family.  It was a great day indeed.  We ate too much, watched a sad little football game, toured Andy's cousin's amazing new home and then drove home.  We passed several stores on the way home and laughed at the crazy people standing in line at Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy.

Brett Farve who?  We are a #12 kind of family! (dorks! there, said it before you!)

 

But I only laughed a little bit....Eleanor fell asleep in the car and requested to go right to bed when we got home.  She had been up since 5:45 AM and the "no nap" thing doesn't really work out for her yet.  She was sleeping by 5.  I dropped off Andy and Eleanor and jetted off to Michael's.  I needed to make quick work of my favorite craft store because I was meeting my sister-in-law Sara at 8 PM at Target.  Yup...that's right, I shopped on Thanksgiving. I had no need to.  It's just FUN.  We waited in line for 1 hour at Target and just a little longer at Kohl's.  I did get some great deals, but nothing that I couldn't have gotten any other day of the week.  We didn't storm the doors for TVs or anything else. We just wanted to be with the crazies!  And half the fun I had was standing in line with my new sister, acting silly, acting serious, learning, sharing, and shopping!  I really hope this is one of those things that becomes tradition because I really had a great time! And we were home by midnight!

Sara...this thing is Empty!

 Friday we staid in jammies, decorated the house for Christmas and started a new tradition - CHOPPING DOWN OUR OWN TREE!  Seriously, you need to do it.  It was SUCH a blast!  It's like the pumpkin farm, but with trees.  You circle around, looking for the best one and then WHOMP, chop it down.  Our new little tree looks amazing in our house (albeit, slightly crooked) and makes our house smell DELISH!  AND, I can guarantee that this real tree will be FAR less work then our fake tree (which still left needles all over our house).  I never want a fake tree again. 

 

And the festivities aren't over yet!  As soon as I'm done here, I have to get my turkey out of my fridge and prepare it for feast two.  I'm SO excited to be hosting my mom and dad for Thanksgiving tonight.  I think my parents are just two of the neatest, greatest, most amazing people.  Really!  And I'm SO honored to invite them into my home tonight and just start to be able to give back to them.  I want them to sit and play with Eleanor while I run around the kitchen getting everything ready.  I want them to relax and enjoy their grandkid!

 

OH! And Eleanor is marching in her first parade today!  Andy and I get to join her too!  She'll loose interest after the first candy toss, but we are doing it at her request! 

 

Tomorrow we are spending time with Nic's parents!

 

My head is spinning!  So many people to see during this holiday season!!  So many people that I love and respect.  Life doesn't go the way you want it, but it has a way of working out.  And I look at my husband traveling this journey with me.  And I can hear my kid that makes my heart burst with love.  And I look to the vast starry sky and see Nic smiling down on us.  And I feel the love of friends and family wrapping around me.

 

And I think, Yup.  I'm pretty gosh darn lucky.