Looking Forward To…

Hiking in the Smokies

Decorating Christmas trees at work

Thanksgiving potluck at work

Thanksgiving with Andy’s fam

Playing with our 5 nieces and nephews

Thanksgiving with my fam

Playing with my two cute cousins

Turkey, dressing, cranberry salad and all the fixins

Extra time off work

Volunteer afternoon with all my coworkers

Telling people’s giving stories at daveramsey.com

Dave Ramsey’s Christmas party

Watching Christmas movies at home every night

Watching a Christmas movie at the Franklin theatre

Weekly community group

Hosting community group in a few weeks

Shopping for gifts

Wrapping gifts

Sending and receiving Christmas cards

…And that’s all within the next few weeks. I think I’m going to explode from excitement.

I’m Dreaming of a White December 1!

Whatdya know? The weather forcasters predicted correctly. I woke up to snow flurries outside my window this morning! Of course none of it is sticking to create a fluffy blanket of beautifulness, but at least it looks pretty floating through the air.

Like most of you, I thoroughly enjoyed the extended Thanksgiving weekend.

Though the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has become all about advertisements, I still like parts of it. It’s a Thanksgiving tradition, of course. It makes me think of “The One Where Underdog Got Away.” Hello, Friends fans? My friend Erin just moved to NYC and was able to go snag some pictures somewhere along the parade route. (The picture I’ve posted here is one of hers.)

Later that day, one side of my family gathered at my grandmother’s house in Bell Buckle for a tasty lunch. It was great to hang out with some of my family that I haven’t seen in 6 months. Some of us gathered around the dining room table to play a long game of Spoons, a family favorite. Only the bravest join in a Rucker game of Spoons. There are always elbows flying, nails scraping, cards crumpling, and people yelling – all in good old-fashioned family fun and love, of course. All that to say we no longer play Knives or Forks anymore.

The rest of the weekend I was in Huntsville eating leftovers, watching Christmas movies, hiking, celebrating Bama’s win over Auburn, and putting up Andy’s Christmas tree. For someone like me who has always assembled an artificial Christmas tree, putting up Andy’s live spruce tree was really fun! (He just doesn’t know that I hid a squirrel in there that will jump on his face like what happened to Clark Griswold.)

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend as well!

Mini Thankful List

When I was younger, my cousins and I had a tradition of writing our Thankful Lists each Thanksgiving Day at my grandparents’ house.

It wasn’t a 10-minute activity to keep us occupied from bickering with each other; it was a competition that lasted multiple hours.

We went way beyond the “normal” stuff you hear people say they’re thankful for – family, friends, house, pets, school – and stretched it a little bit a lot. We were thankful for eyeballs and elephants, fingernails and fungus, dirt and desks, seeds and seahorses…and every person we knew. You get the idea. Anything that existed, we made sure to write it down. Because you know, whoever had the longest list was the most thankful. The non-winners had to throw their lists in a fire. Non-thankful failures.

I don’t remember when we stopped writing down our Thankful Lists, but who’s to say we can’t continue? I have a countless number of blessings to be thankful for that I can’t imagine listing them all here right now. However, here are a few positive things:

• (I would be a fool not to include my relationship with God, my family, close friends, comfortable shelter, delicious food, warm bed, and reliable car.)
• My parents became completely debt free years ago. This was one of the main reasons why I was able to graduate from college debt free and not have student loan payments still hanging over my head.
• I live 1.5 miles from work. I know it won’t last forever, but it’s awesome for now.
• Good health. I enjoy being active. I ran my first half marathon earlier this year and am amazed at how I trained my body to endure.
• The Internet. Facebook. Blogs. Email.
• Indoor plumbing. Go to places that don’t have this luxury and you’ll be thankful for it, too.
• The desire and resources to travel. Whether traveling to visit my parents or galavanting around Russia, I love to just go.
• I have a job that I enjoy doing, with people I enjoy working alongside, in a place where I am encouraged to grow and excel.
• I live in America. (cue “I’m Proud to Be an American”)
• My local church body. Inversion.
• Gas is no longer over $4/gallon and Nashvillians aren’t waiting in 2-hour lines to fill up.

If you haven’t already written something of this sort on a blog already, leave a note here! Have a great extended Thanksgiving weekend eating, relaxing, and being with loved ones!