We had a very full house — 13 people under one roof — and couple that with the fact that the end of November/December is also the busiest time of year for my work and Ryan’s work and the past two weeks have felt like complete mayhem. But, honestly, most of it was so, so good. I LOVE any chance I get to blog and creating my annual gift guides and sharing ideas with all of you is something I look forward to all year long but I really do miss catching up with you in a more chatty way!
So let’s back up! My sister and her family were the biggest troopers and hauled their family of 6 (including 5 month old baby James) our way for the first time in a year for Thanksgiving. (We’ve seen them a bunch in Florida though!) We’re fairly stationary over Thanksgiving due to Ryan’s work and were shocked and thrilled when they said they wanted to join us, as we know how intense the first few months with a baby can be. My parents also joined us (they’re actually still here!) and it was a full house but a FUN house.
You know those family visits that somehow feel semi-chill amid complete chaos? That’s how I’d summarize the five days we all had together. We’ve had our fair share of holidays where people were sick, kids were off their game and things just felt kind of frazzled so this was such a welcomed feeling this year. Our time together was loud, messy and non-stop but also kind of relaxed? I think we were all just very much okay with having a house that didn’t look perfect, meals that were a little more paired down than usual and zero ambitions to do anything too involved. This looked like a TON of at-home kid crafting (I cannot recommend this ornament bead kit + these $5 light-up ceramic gingerbread houses from Target enough!!), family football sessions, Christmas book reading, bracelet-making, shooting old pumpkins with a paint gun, coloring, cooking and baking with kids, Plasma Car races, fishing and non-stop pajama time.
And our Thanksgiving meal shockingly came together easily! On Tuesday night, my sister, Ryan, Ross and I began discussing our Thanksgiving menu (my parents arrived on Wednesday) and all agreed we could scrap the non-essentials this year. Everyone pitched in and while we definitely missed a few of our favorites, it honestly felt so nice to just focus on the basics and feel more present with the kids rather than spending all day in the kitchen. There will be plenty of years ahead to make 101 dishes for Thanksgiving but a more simple menu worked well in this phase of life.
I think we’d also all agree that one of the highlights from our Thanksgiving came when we were gathered around the table and Chase suggested we take turns sharing what we felt most thankful for this year. Let’s just say some tears were shed and a common theme was everyone feeling so darn grateful for family we adore and genuinely love spending time with, our health, our safety and the everyday blessings we do not take for granted for one single second. So much of the joy I feel in my heart comes from fully recognizing all I have to be grateful for every single day.
On Monday, we kept the fun going and I pulled Rhett out of preschool to take a day trip with my parents to visit my Aunt Laurie and Uncle Drew in West Jefferson, North Carolina.
Their small mountain town is overflowing with Christmas tree farms and it truly felt like we were in some kind of a Hallmark movie as everywhere we looked we saw lots filled with evergreens and trucks loaded up with Christmas trees driving off to deliver the trees to nearby cities, towns and states. Next year we may have to try our hand at cutting down our own tree at Frosty’s Choose & Cut Farm for the ultimate Hallmark Christmas experience.
As for this week, we are thrilled my parents are staying with us through Saturday! We booked tickets for our entire family to ride on the Polar Express together on Friday night and we cannot wait.
And now before I sign off for the day, I’d be remiss if I didn’t take the time to say how grateful I am for all of YOU this time of year as well. When I was reflecting on my blessings and everything I have to feel thankful for on Thanksgiving, I promise you guys that all of you were at the top of my list. You’ve given me an outlet to share and connect and have shown me and our family so much support, encouragement and love for more than a decade. I’m a lucky woman to be able to call this blog my job and I feel that deep in my bones. Thank you, thank you for being here and for your kindness. It’s more impactful to me than you may realize and I wish I could hug each and every single one of you… and maybe just high-five the non-huggers because Chase has taught me that a solid high-five is sufficient sometimes, too. Ha!
Have a great Wednesday, my friends!!
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