Thanksgiving

Today I'm bringing you Thanksgiving in bullet points because....well, because it's about as coherent as I can get.

• Jason & Lori unexpectedly had to go to New York last Tuesday and Wednesday and I watched Matt & Lily.  Very sad for J&L, Lori's grandmother passed away, but we had a wonderful time with the kids and it's so nice knowing we can truly do something that helps them.
• Rebekah came home Tuesday night.  She's been busy with friends, very helpful, and wonderful to be around even though I know it's a little hard and weird for her to be here--she loves school and her friends there so much.  I love seeing her.  I love having her here.  She's grown and matured so much, more change than I expected in such a short time.
• Thursday was a very nice day.  I was off my cooking mojo.  No idea why, that's just the way it is sometimes.  Anyway, it was a relaxing day with family, Jason & Lori joined us mid-afternoon, and we had a wonderful time.  Most of the food was very good.  The turkey was slightly overcooked and the stuffing was "eh", but it all seemed to disappear, so I guess it was mostly fine.
• Friday morning Matthew ended up in the hospital with an asthma attack.  I'm not sure I have words for everything I've felt about that.  Sick with worry, wanting to help, impotent to help.  Worried for Matthew, obviously, but also worried for Jason & Lori.  I can't imagine how stressful it must be to have a child literally struggle to breathe.  They've had such a long week, with the emotionalness of the funeral; the physical, mental and emotional exhaustion of traveling to New York and back in less than 48 hours, the list goes on and on.  Anyway, thankfully, Matt's much better.  Hopefully he'll continue to improve.
•  Friday we went to Build-A-Bear to take advantage of their $5.00 special.  They were supposed to have $5 male and female moose available plus a $5 dress for the girl moose.  Julianna wanted to spend some money she'd been saving so we headed out.  The promotion had started 2 hours earlier, it was supposed to last 3 days.  Unfortunately, by the time we got there, they were sold out of the girl moose.  Of course.  *sigh*  After a bit of angst, she decided to get the "other" moose (now called a girl, even with it's beautiful antlers).  We bought J&J each a moose, she used her money for a fancy Christmas dress and a good time was had by all.
• Friday afternoon we also went to see Tangled.  I liked it a lot.  So did Mark, Rebekah and Jacob.  Julianna?  Well, thankfully, by the end of the movie she liked it, but getting there was a very frustrating experience.  It's like Julianna is convinced she can't just relax and enjoy a movie--she fights it tooth and nail.  I thought Mark was going to scream when Julianna complained and moaned and freaked out during the whole movie, then proclaimed her love for it as we were leaving.  Kids.
• Friday night home for Thanksgiving leftovers.  Truly my favorite part of Thanksgiving.  I always enjoy the leftovers far more than the meal.  When we sit down for the meal I'm exhausted and done with cooking, working, everything.  Leftovers are the perfect answer--still the good food, none of the work.
• Saturday we had a nice lazy morning, then Mark and I took off to do some Christmas shopping.  SO nice to have Rebekah back to babysit.  :)  I was actually surprised at how little we bought.  I bet I've bought probably 75% of Christmas/Hanukkah online this year.  It seems easier than ever and boxes are flowing in.  The trick for me is paying attention to what I've bought and knowing when to stop.  I think we are done with J&J, Matt, Lily, Lori, and Jason.  We still need to buy for my mom and dad, and Rebekah.  Not bad with 4 weeks or so to go.

Well, that's our Thanksgiving.  All in all, it was wonderful.  So much to be grateful and thankful for.  Most of all I'm thankful Matt's all right.

I hope your Thanksgiving's went well also.