The Saturday before Thanksgiving, Damon and I were discussing our exit strategy for leaving Chattanooga for the holiday. We had been planning on going to Ohio where my mother has moved back to my folk’s house while my dad is still working in Texas. We knew Damon’s recovery from surgery was going to be a variable for when exactly we would go up there… Tuesday was most likely.

But with me having bronchitis and the kids being a bit cooped up and running amok, we decided that morning to pack it up and head on up to Ohio for a little help from my mom. We were on the road by 6 and thanks to priceline, we were in a motel room at midnight. On Sunday morning we rolled into Dayton, into the open arms of my mom who was waiting with a big smile on her face.

Since I was twelve, the motto on my side of the family has been “Home is where the Air Force sends you.” And while their location has changed five times since I graduated from high school, I can still say that I do feel like I am returning home whenever I visit my parents.
Continue Reading »

Our family pictures are going to be changing soon.

Tomorrow my little sister will go in for a c-section and Genevieve will become a big sister. Fuller will get a new cousin. And in a few weeks, Fuller will be a big brother and Genevieve will get a new cousin (and so will Vivian, Nick, and Olivia).

In April, my sister Austina is getting married and Fuller will gain three older cousins and a new uncle (as will Genevieve, Seth, and Baby Two).

And sometime in July, Fuller will get another cousin! And Olivia will no longer be the youngest kid in her family.

This is a very exciting year for family growth. I’m looking forward to seeing how our new family pictures come out.

We are still at Lake Martin, returning home tomorrow. Maybe Damon and I will be home in time to catch the season finale of The Amazing Race.

But I’m still focusing on thanks, and so we give thanks for:

~ rain (we really need it)
~ a store like an amusement park
~ crayons at restaurants
~ rest
~ Tums

We are thankful for:

~ more family
~ safe travel through fog
~ lots and lots of laughter
~ separate beds
~ Aunt Lois making our Thanksgiving Part 2 meal

Today we give thanks for:

~ family
~ marshmallows
~ generosity of others
~ Skype
~ morning fog

We are now holed up here at Lake Martin, anticipating a lazy Thanksgiving morning followed by a rush to get to Thanksgiving lunch at Aunt Frankie’s.

So today, we give thanks

~ safe travel
~ library book drop off box
~ cousins who like to run and shriek as much as Fuller (if not more, because there are three of them)
~ Hardee’s Friscoburger
~ a slight warm up of the weather