Is it too late for a Thanksgiving recap?

Sans Kids: We left for Ft. Worth after church the Sunday before Thanksgiving to see Michael's family. Since it is really hard to get away from the church at Christmas, this has become our annual tradition to go to his parent's house for Thanksgiving. (Sadly, this was our last Thanksgiving there since his parents are already well on their way to completing their move to New Mexico.) Michael's sister DeAnn and her family (4 kids + hubby) were gracious enough to watch the kids for 2 1/2 days while we drove over to the Dallas side of the Metroplex to stay in a hotel. This was our first time to be away from the kids for more than just an evening. The extra sleep was wonderful (the first morning we slept in until 11am!). And, the extra time alone together was even more wonderful. We especially enjoyed drinking wine in bed to candle light while watching The Hills on the laptop because we missed it on TV. (It's okay if you think that is lame!) The days were not completely relaxing because we were on a furniture shopping mission. Our couch is begging to be replaced, so our plan was to replace the couch first, and then later, the chair and ottoman. We decided to search the Dallas market because we had, well, the time to do it. It is a frustrating process to find new furniture, friends! I am not one to love the process, just the end result. It could possibly be that fact that we have a budget to stick to, I'm incredibly picky, and I'm very OCD/indecisive. At any rate, we did not come home with a sofa. But, we also did not come home empty handed. We found a beautiful leather chair and ottoman at a Norwalk store that was a floor sample clearance and we were able to negotiate a deal. Michael also bought my Christmas gift - a long and skinny table to use as a buffet in our kitchen. The best feature is that the leaves to the table fold over the top, so it can expand into a large table to seat additional guests. So, the couch is still begging to be replaced, but it may have to endure just a little longer.

Food: Okay, we were just complete and total gluttons. I was craving Chicago style pizza so badly that I made Michael find a restaurant that served it. Using the trusty iPhone, he found a place called Lil' Joe's - a hole in the wall restaurant owned by a Chicago transplant. The restaurant was a little schizophrenic because one side was pizza and the other Mexican food. Since the pizza was going to take close to an hour to bake, we each ordered an appetizer. After said appetizers were consumed it dawned on our waitress to offer us fresh chips and salsa. A few minutes later she brings us freshly made tamales - on the house. Then we pretty much devoured our pizza. It was so good we took the whole family back there at the end of the week.

The Kids: The kids did great for DeAnn. She said they were so well behaved and didn't cry. Sarah did give me the cold shoulder for a good length of time when we came back to get her. She also was pretty uncooperative and moody for a day or so. Despite the attitude afterward, it is nice to know that both the kids can comfortably handle being left in someone else's care for a couple of days. We missed them, but we also savored the short break that every parent needs.

Return Home: We headed back home on Saturday. Sarah was pretty excited to turn on the outside Christmas lights - as promised before we left for Texas. And, as promised, we decorated the house Sunday night. We made a big batch of chili, baked some cookies, turned on the Christmas music, put Andrew to bed, and then got after it. Sarah was beside herself with joy. Andrew was in complete shock and awe and delight over the tree the next morning. He was the proverbial moth to a flame. It took about three days of constantly staying on him to keep him out of the tree. If left to his own devices, Andrew is his own one man wrecking crew. He still wanders over to the tree and pokes at the ornaments, but otherwise is leaving it alone. I'm not planning on putting the presents under the tree until Christmas Eve.

Cheese ball!

Enjoying a little pre-Thanksgiving Pop Tart with cousin Mattison.....

.....and cousin Dalton.

Michael's eldest brother, John, has Down Syndrome. Sarah loves him. She is so kind and gentle and lovey with him. John turned 40 on Thanksgiving!

A little post-feasting movie watching.

We got to meet up at Braum's with our dear friends before they headed back to Indiana.

I would love to post the naked tree decorating pictures, but I don't want to over-expose our daughter. We made her put something on so that we could get some less revealing pics.

First day of the best season of all....Advent.

Serenity....even Rosie agrees.