Christmas Decorations

Another tradition Mark and I have for Thanksgiving weekend is decorating for Christmas. This year, we decided to buy our first full-size tree, so we were particularly excited to get it all set up. We noticed last year that the 3-foot tree we'd had since our first Christmas together wasn't holding up too well (temperamental lights, branches falling off...), so we thought it was time to replace it. Mark suggested we get something bigger, and it seemed like since our apartment is significanlty larger now than when we started out, a bigger tree would probably work. We did a ton of shopping around, picked a tree we liked, but ended up missing the sale price because of my stomach bug. Then the regular price wasn't low enough, so we had to go for a different tree in the end. The tree we got was about half the price of our original favorite, though, and I think it works well. We also had trouble finding a tree skirt--the most commonly sold size was too big, but after checking about 5 places, Mark finally spotted one that was just right!

Anyway, here's how our home looks for the holidays this year:

Small Hallmark ornament tree.

Banana leaf nativity etc. 

Handmade wreath from real tree branches.

New tree! 

Thanksgiving

What a wonderful Thanksgiving! After a really challenging fall (due to various health issues I've had, which kept us from being able to do much of anything beyond basic work/home obligations), it was so refreshing to get out of town and visit with family for Thanksgiving.

As we've done for the last several years, Mark and I drove up to the Grand Rapids, MI area to spend the holiday with his Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbe Jo. We arrived on Wednesday around lunch time, and had a great sandwich spread for lunch, then worked on some cooking. To our pleasant surprise, a dinner at Grant and Melissa's house (about an hour away) had been arranged, and Erin, Drew, Christy and the new baby Cora all came, too! So we got to see all the cousins living in that area and all the kids. It was really great! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures amid all the excitement.

On Thanksgiving morning, I helped a bit with the cooking, but Aunt Debbe Jo and Uncle Mike had already taken care of a lot of the work before I was up and running for the day. We had a small but nice group for the main meal around 1pm: the couple on the right are neighbors. The food was wonderful--especially as I was still coming off the stomach issues I'd been having; everything I ate this weekend seemed especially delicious. Also, Aunt Debbe Jo salt-brines the turkey and bakes it in a bag, making it the second-best turkey I've ever had (only beaten by my Dad's smoked turkey, which is in a class of its own!).

After dinner, Mark and I got to play a few rounds of Sequence with Erin, and eventually we enjoyed a snack dinner with leftovers. We also showed Aunt Debbe Jo and Uncle Mike some of Mark's performances from his website and talked about our Alaska trip. Later, we played Quirkle with Aunt Debbe Jo and Uncle Mike.

The next morning, we got to talk with cousin Sara and kids on Facetime, then Aunt Debbe Jo and I continued our tradition of making wreaths:

The guys came down to check out our work (this is what happens when taking pics with two cameras at once; no one knows where to look!).

After lunch, we headed home. The only downside was that it rained all the way (but nothing too heavy, thankfully!). We ordered pizza on the way and were back at our place for dinner. All in all, this was just the kind of weekend away I needed, and we always really enjoy the warm hospitality of Aunt Debbe Jo and Uncle Mike!