Phew

Okay. I'm done.
I feel like I've just limped across the finish line.
My first semester back in school is done and I am...

What am I?

Exhausted, relieved, proud, disappointed...

I'm all sorts of things, all at once.

I wish I could say I finished strong, but my commitments all started to muddle together there at the end and I know I dropped a few balls in this Great Juggling Act. But I finished.

And now.



Now for Christmas.

One More Something

Andrew had a concert.



Check out that super awesome bass player!



If you grew up here and were ever in band, you remember this auditorium and its giant Christmas decorations very well. It's really fun to attend his concerts in the very same place so many of mine were held.
I also had a concert a couple of weeks ago. And Emma has one this week. And everybody has a recital on Saturday.
Sigh.
All good things, they are, it's just that there are so many!

Something

Hi there. I'm sorry it's been so long. I really am. Now, I have so much to say that it's just hard to pick a spot to start. I think I'm going to start with the parade, which is always a fun way to start anything at all.

Andrew was in the city's Christmas parade again this year. We had some friends who typically put chairs out the night before the parade and we put some chairs out with theirs. That meant we had awesome seats!

Joe and Mindy and little Mr. Nolan joined us too, and we all had a really great time. I don't really have the time to tell stories yet, so how about a few pictures?






This semester is almost over and I'm looking forward to catching up a bit after that.

Dear Blog,
I haven't left for good or anything. I promise I'm coming back soon.

<3,
me

Pie Party!

Just before Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law, Sarah, hosted a pie party. Isn't that just a great idea? All the girls brought their ingredients and crusts and we put together our pies in her ginormous kitchen.

Emma and I made a pear & plum pie.



She helped me cut up the fruit. I showed her how,





Then I let her try it by herself.



We added our sugar, corn starch & spices and piled it all high in the pie plate.




I decided to try a new crust recipe, and though the dough was a little unwieldy, I have to say that I was very impressed with the texture and flavor.



See that perfectly golden pie? The tall one? Oh yeah. That's my pie.



Lots of other girls also made pretty pies.





Once the pies were well under way, we stopped for a delicious dinner of homemade soup & grilled cheese sandwiches.




It was a super fun night.
Thanks Sarah!

Thanks

I have so much to be thankful for this year. We gathered with our family today to seriously feast (we know how to eat around here) and to remember all of our blessings.
I could list so many things I am grateful for, but right now, this year, it almost feels trite to make a list. There would certainly be things I'd forget and the things I would add are bigger than I can measure in a list.
I do find that I'm just all-around thankful - deeply, inexpressibly so.

My sister-in-law, Mindy, decorated our table this year. It was beautiful.

Belly Shots

I know some of you might not be interested in some other person's lovely baby bump, but some of you are. I generally try not to put faces of people on my blog without permission and since these photos are special and are for a real family that most of you don't know, I'm going to only show you my favorite belly shots.





Again, this was really a fun shoot. It was only my second maternity session and, while it may not be my last, I don't get to do this sort of thing very often. I had a great time and I love, love, love these pictures. In the interest of full disclosure, you should all know that part of the reason I enjoyed taking these pictures was the simple fact that I never looked that good when I was pregnant. I am not even kidding. It was awful, people. So there may have been just a teensy bit of jealousy behind these shots too.
Just a little.