As in we just celebrated Thanksgiving, so let's catch up! We had a fun holiday. We headed toward Texas on Wednesday (Maggie had school Tuesday, so that was the earliest for us to go) and met up with almost all of Tom's family. We all missed Ray, but were thankful of the blessing to be together for the holiday. Wednesday night we (20 of us!) headed to a local restaurant for some dinner which was quite yummy. Back to the house to break into all the dessert. I managed to make a cherry pie (from scratch - including the crust!) and the surprising hit of pumpkin brownies. I'd seen the recipe and thought it looked good to me, but was really surprised at how much everyone seemed to like them (even Abby who tends to be a bit picky!). Pumpkin, buttermilk, and chocolate/pecan/bourbon rounded out the choices. What's not to like?
Thursday morning dawned and we gathered again at Kay's house for all the various preparations. Dinner was served most promptly at noon and we certainly feasted -- smoked turkey, salad, fruit salad, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and my personal favorite -- the butternut squash soup my sister-in-law made. We waddled into the living room to watch football and be entertained by the youngest members of the family (ages 2 and almost-4). Later in the afternoon we had our annual gift exchange. Always fun to see what people are interested in! Kay made the older girls all cute bags and once again has little ones to make nightgowns/pajamas for. She's amazing with her seamstress ability!
Friday Tom dropped the girls and I off at the mall to meet the other females. Not as crowded as any of us had anticipated. We managed to get a lot of shopping done and gathered for lunch and then divided into two groups for movies. Half enjoyed "Tower Heist" and the rest of us enjoyed "The Muppets" (I'm a muppet girl myself!). Everyone gathered back at the house for some left-over dinner and farewells for those of us leaving Saturday.
Our trip back Saturday was a bit more crowded on the freeway than Wednesday's had been, particularly once we got back in Louisiana. Always nice to be home.
This week is Maggie's busy one -- Friday is her winter formal and Saturday night is a friend's quince anos party. Tom and I will join in with the other parents for dinner Friday which will be nice -- many of them I haven't met yet. Next week starts Abby's crazy schedule. She's going to be in a play the weekend starting 16 December with the same group she did Peter Pan with this summer. Practices are every weekday from 3:30 - 6:30 and the one Saturday from 9:00 - 4:00. In recognition that most of these kids are involved with other activities, we were asked for any conflicts up front, so Abby will be able to attend her violin and ensemble practices as necessary. Tom's winding down the year as well and will have the last couple weeks off. Meanwhile I've begun physical therapy for my hip. The xray showed nothing wrong with the bones, so it's some sort of soft tissue damage/inflammation. Our insurance company deemed and MRI at this point not warranted (until several weeks of PT with no effect), so this is the road I'm on for now. Keep praying for a fix!
In any event, have a wonderful fall/onset of winter. The days are definitely shorter and it's already getting dark here at 5pm.
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