Thanksgiving/Black Friday

I do not have any pictures from yesterday...FAIL. Not really sure what happened, other than we hosted (again; 4th year) and with all the activity and babies/toddlers/children running in and out and making sure food was set up and flowing, I forgot. I realized it about six o'clock last night, but by then everyone was gone or leaving and it was pitch-black dark. Oh well.

We had a good day. I'm a fanatic about my house, so hosting is always a little stressful for me. With Hayden "helping," it took me 2 1/2 days to clean, shampoo carpets, work on food, organize, etc. So you can see why I like my house to stay clean when it's clean. Plus, David and I leave for Vancouver 3 weeks from today, and I do not plan to devote any serious time to deep cleaning. I have to maintain (which is oh-so-easy with a toddler!).

David and I split up and hit Black Friday sales. The only thing we were really after was a GPS as we are shortly moving 41 hours away to a city we do not know! And our little backroads here are nothing to what we're about to encounter. So David got in line at Target, and my mom, sister, and I headed to the outlets in Gulfport. My brother-in-law kept all the kiddos at my mom's house and Hayden and Gabe (cousins) had a "sleepover." However, I found out later this morning that Hayden didn't really go to sleep until about 2. Then my sister called at 5 (after we got home after 3) to say Hayden was up. So I ran up to my mom's, grabbed him, and we came home and slept off and on until 8. A nap is in the near future.

Thankfully, Hayden's Christmas is done. We even started the "Elf on the Shelf" tradition with him today. He named his elf Michael. We'll see how that goes. Oh, and definitely check out http://www.portablenorthpole.com/! You can personalize a message from Santa specifically for your child. It was fantastic to watch Hayden's eyes grow and hear him say, "Wow!" This is a great age!

David and I (and the family in general) are going very low-key. We have to think about everything we buy, as our living space is about to be a 1/3 of what is currently is.

The next month is going to be insane. Holiday gatherings, 3 weeks of teaching, Vancouver, family pictures, Christmas, purging, etc. I'm already tired! But that could just be the overnight shopping talking! It was great not to be "after" anything. No tv's, no Xbox, just a GPS with free map updating. I am also very cheap. Hayden needs clothes, but even at the outlets, I was still going to be paying $8-11/piece. No thanks. I like my Children's Place $1.97 sales (and yes, we have stumbled across many of those!).

So Happy belated Thanksgiving and Merry early Christmas!

Bittersweet

Last night, as I lay passed out in bed (after one exhausting week teaching and trying to control 7th graders), my husband came running in to change the channel on the tv I'd left on. You see, we are HUGE Alabama fans, and currently our team sits at #3. But...as many people probably witnessed last night, Iowa State beat Oklahoma St. (#2) in 2 OT's. Jeepers. So out of a dead sleep I came. As I settled back into my "spot," I began thinking about all the cleaning I need to do before we host Thanksgiving Thursday for my family.

It's not just hosting Thanksgiving. And it's not the cleaning that had my thoughts churning last night. It's the huge fact that we are in our last months of anything in this house. This is the only home Hayden has known and in about 7-8 months, this house will no longer be a part of our lives. I'm trying to take as many pictures of stuff we do around here for him to remember where he spent (by that time) his first 3 years. We won't have this furniture in 6-7 months; we are going to update our rooms as we move; we are getting rid of just about everything. Hayden can do so much in this house, but when we live in Vancouver, our time will be spent outdoors.

It really is bittersweet; we are so excited to be going, but yet, it's hard to look around at the stuff (that's all it is really) that won't be with us any longer. Though, as an organizer, it's nice to know we will be getting rid of boxes of papers and junk!

This is a crazy process--church planting. Well, maybe it wouldn't be quite so crazy if we weren't moving 40 hours away! Regardless, it's all worth it.

Just a thought: Has anyone else ever had trouble cleaning knowing you were moving? I'm at this point, but I will not live in filth!

A Simpler Season

With everything taking place in our lives this year, and specifically downsizing for our move to Vancouver, we are going much simpler this holiday season. This has been both great and difficult.

I LOVE Christmas-time. And with a child who is enthralled with it all, it's even greater. Hayden is fascinated by the Christmas trees, the decorations in the stores, Santa. I can't wait to take him light-seeing! David could take it or leave it, but I love to drive around and see the decorated houses! Hayden's at a great age to really enjoy it this year.

We are primarily talking to Santa and giving gifts from Mommy and Daddy. I'm sure we'll get something for our parents, but that's about it. I'm not even sure what David and I are doing for each other honestly! We are having to get rid of a ton of stuff, so why fill our home with more junk? And for Hayden, we're doing smaller gifts that travel well like books, puzzles, etc. Santa may or may not be very interested in a train table, but we'll have to see!

It's very difficult not to get caught up in all the commercialism and buy just because of the "awesome" sales. Tomorrow my mom and I are probably going to Christmas City; there will be a ton of stuff that screams at me, but I'll have to look and just keep looking (just like at the Peter Anderson Festival in downtown OS last weekend). I'm really learning how must stuff I can truly live without.

Happy early Thanksgiving!

Fall Funk

It's officially here: the Fall Funk! I got that lovely title from my superintendent; nice, huh? It's that stretch of the school year (once in fall, once in spring) where you can see a break looming in the far distance, but there's nothing at the present. I realize we're just 8 school days away from Thanksgiving break, but it's been quite the stretch since our one day break in early October. And between Vancouver, a sick kiddo, and life, it's been quite the whirlwind! And since I get so preoccupied with myself, I tend to forget to check on friends. I'm not a good friend!

Tomorrow, I begin in earnest something that's going to require quite the discipline and focus. With the holidays here and student celebrations, I'm really going to need to zone in on my goal. I'll share more details later once I see how I fare. Any encouragement is welcome!

Keep your heads up and stay out of the Fall Funk!