Thanksgiving and more

This year, for the first time ever, Mark and I were not in ABQ for Thanksgiving. After the expensive and very hectic travel last year, we decided not to go home this year. Emotionally, that was a difficult decision, but it really made more sense in terms of our finances and our available time. I wasn't really interested in spending the holiday just the two of us though, so we were thrilled to accept an invitation to Mark's Uncle & Aunt's house in Grand Rapids. It's only a short drive away, and it gave us the chance to still connect with family. We went up on Wednesday afternoon, and came home to BG on Friday evening. It was the most relaxing Thanksgiving we've had in a long time! (Although we did have/are still having car trouble, so that part has been stressful...).

On Wednesday night, we got to see one of Mark's cousins and his wife (we went to their wedding back in June). On Thursday, we had a quiet Thanksgiving with just 6 of us--Mark and I, his Aunt and Uncle, one cousin, and his Aunt's mom. I got to help with preparing the meal, which also gave me some quality time to chat with the ladies. I remembered to take a picture of the festive table, but totally forgot to take pictures of the massive meal!

On Friday, I got to sleep in! Since Mark and I have been married, I've always gone Black Friday shopping very early with Mark's mom and sisters. That's a fun experience, but it was a pleasant change of pace to skip it this year. Mark's Aunt cooked a fantastic fancy breakfast for us (crepes with nutella and strawberries!), then she taught me how to make a wreath using real evergreens from her yard--she's very crafty. Here's a few pictures of that process (courtesy of Mark):

While we worked, Mark did some online shopping (between taking the pictures), and Mark's Uncle ran out the gas in the riding mower:

Today, after unpacking, chores, and grocery shopping, I made time to decorate for Christmas. I wanted to make sure I did it in time for us to enjoy it before we leave town again. It's amazing to think that we'll be back home in just 3 weeks! For the most part, the decorations are the same. One new addition that I'm pretty excited about is the banana leaf nativity set from Uganda. Oh, and the new wreath, of course!

At this point, I'm really feeling eager to finish the semester and head home for Christmas. I've just got to make it through those last few classes, and all the grading that comes with the end of the semester.