A List of the Things that Made me Happy on the Fourth Thursday of November

The Wednesday third grade luncheon



Her beautiful teacher (who is so grand she deserves a whole post)



Hand turkeys



Elementary school



Thanksgiving morning traditions



Anticipation



Faces of joy





Reminding us of "A Nest for Celeste" that I read to her.











Rolling out pie crust



Curling her hair



The natural smile (and that I can kinda see a glimmer of my brother Trent in those eyes)



Red suede shoes and white tights



A dress color and fabric that reminds me so much of this Thanksgiving



A regular moment



Looking at this through my lens knowing that I get to be her mama





The last few minutes before we jump in the car





The kind of welcome as if we haven't seen them in months



Watching the dinner come out of the oven and feeling grateful that my mom made it all possible



Little cousins arriving in big cousin hands



My brothers family



The table







The moments of hustle just before we all sit



Tired faces, low candles, and pie





Squeezing her into size 5T footie jammies I saw at the store



Yes, I'd say... that is a pretty long list of things that made me happy on the Fourth Thursday in November.

By the way... it doesn't feel like a Thursday.  Or really even a Saturday or Sunday.  Thanksgiving feels like a day suspended in mid air (or mid calendar I suppose)  A magical day unlike any other.

Books

I love taking pictures of books they're reading so I can freeze a bit of their childhood.  And I want to remember when Abigail went from being a good reader who loves books to a veracious reader who always has her nose in a book or two or three.

When you have a few minutes before school.



When you wake up early because you have a cold.



When you want a challenge book.



When you adore classics (Anna)

Our Home ~ November

My goodness... my home doesn't look at all like this anymore. We have decorated and decorated and redecorated. It's all red and green and sparkly around here right now. But I always want to remember how I made it cozy for us in here throughout the year. (mostly so I can look back and say, "hey, where are those place mats""

So here are just a few things around my house that made me feel cozy and happy and thankful in November.





The brass candle sticks are on loan ;) from my Mom. They are so beautiful and looks amazing on my dining room table.









View from our kitchen table.



And on the windowsill. My Dad painted these glasses for me when Scott and I were first married. They were my first fall decoration.



Weeknight dinners are so cozy.







I love old books in the living room. And I adore this collection of E.B. White classics. The Charlotte's Web was mine when I was a little girl.



But the real star of November was our new table.