giving thanks.

i'm hoping santa starts delivering new imacs some time in december because we really really need one so we can get back to posting all the pretty, nice pictures that justin takes.  our 1 TB hard drive is completely full and he's got all kinds of video projects (the paying, work-related kind) on there, so our family photos have taken a side seat since like june.  sigh.  anyway....for now i will keep posting iphone and instagram photos when i make the time to write. 

last week was thanksgiving.  my favorite holiday.  i love that there are no presents and the whole holiday is about eating and resting and spending time with those you love, reflecting on all the wonderful-ness in your life.  or at least, that is what i try to make the holiday about. 

this year, we spent the day at our friend wendy's parents' house in marble falls - a little texas town on a lovely lake in the hill country.  it's about an hour drive from austin, so it was perfect.  wendy's mom and aunts and uncles cooked up a feast like you wouldn't believe, and we got to relax inside and outside without having to cook or clean or really be responsible for much of anything.  it was kind of amazing, really.  the highlight of the day for me was when the boys were all shooting (and missing) a bb gun at this bell.  i was ready to leave (er, emme was ready to leave), and justin was taking his time.  i asked for a shot and hit the bell on the first pull.  it was a great moment for me - i love showing people up.  haha. 

my parents had a wedding the day after t-day, and i had lots of work and am 33 weeks pregnant, so since it didn't work out to spend the weekend with them, we were really delighted to be included in another family's festivities.  of course i missed my own mom's cooking - especially the cornbread dressing! - but we more than made the best of being apart. 

the rest of the long weekend was incredible, even if it was nothing super special/eventful.  we took the dogs for some walks, got our christmas tree, smoked a turkey and made turkey/sausage gumbo, watched a couple of movies (brave and the new spider man), watched football, hung lights on the roof, washed a zillion loads of laundry, including baby things, and hung shelves in ek's bedroom (only 3 months later!).  we literally never have days off with no one in town where we don't have to go anywhere, so i relished the time and really really really could have used at least one (but ideally like eight) more days to finish up projects, start new projects, take naps.  ha. 

in the spirit of thanksgiving, i would like to acknowledge that i have so so so much to be thankful for, big and small.  i'm grateful for the relationship i have with my parents - they are really supportive and really helpful and i love that i am friends with them.  i'm grateful for justin - he makes me laugh all the time and watching his relationship with emme is one of the greatest joys in my life.  i'm grateful for emme - i still don't know how i got to be this girl's mom...she amazes and delights me all the time and i don't think i comprehended "love you more every day" until i met her.  i'm grateful for our good health, including this healthy pregnancy.  health should never ever be taken for granted.  i'm grateful for our warm, comfortable home - even if it's not "the" neighborhood we want to live in someday.  i'm grateful for my job - even if i hate it most of the time, i am really lucky to be able to work in a place that is safe and flexible for good money and insurance.  i'm grateful for my love of animals...pets are an intense joy for me, no matter how much i complain about pippa's meowing or etta's neurosis.  i'm grateful for books and crappy television shows and roasted baby carrots with garlic and goat cheese and internet tutorials and cold fronts and math and potty training and coffee (and decaf) and online shopping and being able to sew and friendships and flip flops and mexican food and having perfect vision and gift certificates and baths and the smell of pine and midwivery and babies and chapstick and phone cameras and naps.  it's a good life. 

 hot cocoa with cameron (still delicious, even in 70 degree weather). 

 cuddle time with daddy and all the baby dolls (he will be so pleased i posted this pic). 

 grabbing a quick (and not nearly long enough) nap on the way to marble falls.

 helping wendy feed baby dillon. 

 the beginnings of a (mediocre) turkey and sausage gumbo. 

 showing folks how it's done. 

 good boy. 

helping daddy trim the tree.  she hugged several trees over the course of this experience.