Mess and Happiness

Dear me. Thanksgiving now seems so long ago that it is hardly bloggable. We've had such a whirlwind week and next week will be just the same, perhaps even worse!
I'm wrapping up my physical therapy, which is fantastic. Oh, I will miss the massages (even though they hurt), but my schedule will be so happy to have me back.
Chris was home with the kids this past week and they all had a good time. Without me. I had to work. Do you feel sorry for me yet?
Well, don't.
I ate pumpkin pie (made from pumpkins that I roasted) this week. I also ate sweet potato casserole made from sweet potatoes I grew in my back yard. They were smothered in homemade marshmallows. I kid you not. You need to try these stat, by the way. The men in my family who hate marshmallows all loved these!

The kids and I were in charge of decorating our Thanksgiving table this year. It's been a few years since my last turn and normally, I go all out with the table decor. This year, though, I really wanted to include the kids, keep it simple, keep it super-cheap, but still keep it stylish.
That was a tall order.
We plopped a few little pumpkins on top of some candle sticks I already had and connected the whole thing with garlands of paper circles, sewn together with brown thread. Truthfully, once the circles were cut, the sewing only took twenty minutes or so.


There were paper leaves down the middle of the table,




and glittery paper napkin rings.


The best part was the time spent with my favorite small hands in the world - my children's, of course.



Oh. And? My nephew. Who wants to see the baby?


And from there, we jumped headlong into Christmas preparations and celebrations.





I want to share something really special with you - a little preview of sorts. I had the privilege of taking my dear friend's maternity portraits on Friday. There are lots of images that I want to tweak just a little bit, and many that are too personal to share on the internet, but here is my absolute favorite shot, as-is:



With any luck, there will be more of these posted soon!