Thanksgiving & Decorating

Wow! December already!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Nice, sunny (albeit a little cool) weather....good food...family...football...games...more food....PERFECT!

We celebrated at my brother's house this year. They had a wood pile out back that the kids had the best time playing on. Hey...it kept them occupied and allowed them to run off some of that energy.

Black Friday we were up bright & early to see if we could snag any great deals. I know...we're a little crazy...but we really enjoy running with the crowds and seeing what we can come up with. The crowds around here are busy...and there's always a little pushing/shoving...but never bad. For the most part we're all there to have a good time...and catch a good deal. We're all competitive, but never to the point where anyone gets hurt. Dan & I go every year, and this year was no exception. I had to work this year (the first time in over 5 years), but I was still up at 4 a.m. and at Wal-mart by 5...Target by 6. I now have most of our shopping done...just 3 or 4 more gifts to pick up.

We also began decorating our house this weekend. We always begin putting our decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving. We finished decorating the house, just have the outside to do. The girls & I wrapped presents this evening, and placed them all under the tree. Here are a few pics of some of our favorite decorations...

The girls hung all the ornaments themselves.

The 1st picture on the 2nd row is above our entertainment center. This decor is new this year. I love the way the candle set, greenery & caroling set all blend together.


The top pic is above our computer desk. I love the reindeer with the greenery.
The bottom pics are on a counter in our dining area.

These are some of our favorite ornaments...collected over MANY years.

From top left...I got this last year as a way to celebrate our journey to Kalia. The train (& sled...2nd row) was given to us by our Secret Buddy for Christmas last year. The next 2 are Amanda's...both given to her by her Grandma Su, who gets both girls a new ornament every year. The fairy is Emilee's...she found it while she & I were shopping a couple weeks ago. The Scooby Doo is also Emilee's, given to her by Grandma Su. The Santa is one I picked out a couple weeks ago.