Grateful

I hope you all had a really nice Thanksgiving. I had a nice day with my family, and I've been having a nice break. It pays to live in PA- you get the first day of hunting season off from school! The weather has been nice and warm too- well, warm for November!

I made a chocolate pumpkin ice box cake for a potluck- yum!

It's layers of pumpkin mixture and chocolate graham crackers, with cocoa dusted on top.

Finally got my Halloween stuff back from the party- told you I had a lot of stuff!

Up until now, Dad has been the one to do the icky hard part of the turkey- picking it up, washing it, etc while I helped with spices or whatnot. This year it was my turn to do the turkey and it was so gross to touch- and heavy!

Here we are laughing so hard we're crying:

Ta dah!!

My grandparents sent us a Charlie Brown tree, we put it up on Thanksgiving. Closest we've become to those "Decorate the Day After Thanksgiving" families!

Dinner turned out great! YUM!

Turkey, potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, stuffing done with homemade sourdough croutons, fruit salad, etc. 

The fam:

Laura made her traditional turkey- cute! 

That night I went shopping with my friend- the Erie mall was open at midnight so we went and had a blast! Got to bed at 7 am!
I didn't buy much, some jewelry and a hat. And stripey socks. And a new shirt...and a cute wafflemaker! I was a good personal shopper for my friend, we found everything on her list, including a galoshes, boots, skinny jeans and a $30 BluRay player!

Loved this coat:

And this outfit:

Raelena rocking that hat!

Well break can't be all fun- on Saturday I got to help fill in dirt where my parents had uncovered the septic tank. And I moved some firewood- Dad used his chainsaw on a fallen tree on the property. He got the pickup truck stuck in the mud in the field- thankfully the neighbors heard and came and helped push it out!

Last Thanksgiving, Mom was laid up on the couch with the infection in her leg. I'm so glad she's ok now. I'm thankful that overall I'm feeling better these days. I'm thankful for good neighbors and friends. I'm thankful for my family and the love and support they give me. I'm thankful for the gospel and our little branch. I'm thankful to be in a good placement for student teaching and for my students. I'm thankful for naps on my couch. I'm thankful to get an extra day off for break- thank you hunters!

And I'm thankful that the snow hasn't stuck around!