Thankful

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We took a day trip to the Vineyard to spend Thanksgiving with my grandparents, along with some extended family and a wonderful friend, Sue. There was a ton of food, wine, and lovely conversation.

We are thankful for family.

We are thankful that Chloe has grown into a beautiful young lady...

...who still knows how to be silly.

We are thankful for the bounty we have - whether it be food, drink, family, or friends. The good things in life, we've got 'em.

We are thankful that we are so loved by so many.

We are thankful for our health, and the health of our family and friends.

We are thankful for our hobbies - photography, running, and horseback riding.

We are thankful for friends; we've hit the jackpot there.

We are thankful for good conversation.

We are thankful for the little moments, and the big ones.

 We are thankful for Baby Signing Time, which has helped Addy communicate as she develops her language skills.

We are thankful for a happy, healthy family. And a one and a half year old who can put my heart in my throat by spinning, pajama-clad, giggling and laughing. And a 11 year old who loves her sister with all her heart, and regularly melts mine.

We hope everyone's Thanksgiving was even half as love-filled as ours, and that you had a chance to stop and reflect on all you are thankful for, and be humbled.

And now, hold on to your seats. It's Christmastime.

This & That

I started writing this post because I took a picture of Addy yesterday that I really wanted to share... and then realized that I had many more things I wanted to talk about. First, the picture:

We were doing a brisk photo shoot in the Fells, and we couldn't find any mittens. But she found her pockets, and man, she is a big fan of those little suckers.

We hosted what we hope will become an annual event - Friendsgiving. I have surrounded myself with an amazing group of women and their families, and we all share a sad commonality - we all live far from our parents. Our kitchen is small, and there is no dining room, so we served dinner buffet-style on the stove and counter tops. My first turkey? A roaring success.

I really had wanted to take more pictures, but I was busy in the kitchen, and was worried about smearing food on the camera. So that's it.

The kids' table. **Credit where credit is due: Pete took this picture. I was doing dishes** (Not sure which one of those statements is more note-worthy. Take your pick.)

It is Christmas/Holiday Photo season, and I've been getting busy. It feels good to be busy. All the pictures in this post were taken with my new camera - the Sony a55v. I love it. 

We are spending Thanksgiving with my grandparents on the Vineyard - I promise a good long post-triptofan-post and lots of pictures. 

Hope you have many things to be thankful for this year. We do.

Wordless Wednesday

Published!

This is just a quick Friday Flash of a post, but I'm ecstatic to announce that a piece I wrote is currently being featured on the Mamalode website. The piece is an adaptation of the Hope, Strength, and Blueberries post I did in July.
Please, take a look, and if you are so inspired, share it with a friend. Thanks.
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In cleaning out my grandmother's apartment, my cousin discovered our great-grandfather's pipes. "Grand-pere," sitting and smoking his pipe is a memory that imprinted itself on many of our memories, and I was asked to take some pictures of the pipes. I'm not used to subjects that don't smile back, but this is what I came up with.

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We have some sick in our house. Addy has been battling a high fever for the past few days, and was diagnosed with coxsackievirus today (also known as foot-hand-mouth disease). She has some vesicles in the back of her throat, but no rash on her hands or feet yet. We're hoping that the fevers will break soon, and that the rash stays away.

Chloe had her first middle school dance tonight. My heart clutched as she hopped out of the car, purse swinging, and ran over to join her friends in line. My baby is growing up.

Thanks for checking out my Mamalode post.