Thanksgiving & more

Our Thanksgiving couldn't have possibly been more perfect.

It wasn't the biggest Thanksgiving to-do we've ever had, obviously, but everyone in the immediate family was  there. Mom, Dad, Jessica, Eric, Jeremy, and me. That's what matters. My Uncle Kenny even stopped by for a while to visit and to pick up plates of food for himself and his wife who was at home sick.

Everyone was in a good mood and everyone was so present, if you know what I mean. Nobody was zoned out staring at the television, nobody was compulsively checking their phone, nobody was distracted. We were all there exclusively for seeing each other, and it was warm and happy and home.

Also... Dad ate. Dad ate a lot, actually, considering that his meals for the past couple of weeks consisted of vanilla-flavored Ensure and potato soup. Mom fixed his plate with small portions of everything we had -- ham, chicken and dressing, corn, green beans, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato casserole, stuffed eggs -- and he ate at least a couple of bites of everything. He was positively thrilled to have a home-cooked meal.  We were all so grateful; it was the best day that he'd had in weeks. 

The rest of my days have been filled with the usual: running errands for (and visiting with) my parents, occupying my free time organizing things for our move (we pick up the keys this week -- yippee!), snuggling my sweetie pie, and reading.

Oh, reading!

I finally jumped head-first into The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes. I devoured it in three sittings and I loved it. Rainbow and Bethany had both highly recommended Marian Keyes to me. Rainbow suggested Rachel's Holiday as a first read, but since I couldn't find it in our local bookstore (and since the library didn't carry it), I picked this one up as an alternative and it's exactly what I needed to pull me out of my reading slump. I'm currently working on my other library selection, Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer, and it seems like a unique little story so far. I'm enjoying it, but I think I'm picking up another Marian Keyes after I finish it.

Maybe next time I post, I'll have pictures for you guys. I promised Jennifer photos once we get it fully set up, but I think progress photos would be fun as well.  :-)

Hope you all are doing well. If you have my current address and need my new one, hit me up in the comments! Christmas card time is approaching! ♥