Where did I leave off?

It's been too long. My apologies. I'll start with Thanksgiving. This is a great shot of the kid's table and Bryan's thinning hair. Love you, Bryan. We had a great day with family from both sides. We spent the morning with Tim & Pam and the rest of the day with the Morans and Reners. 2 turkeys, count them 2!!! Delicious food and good times. And a Longhorn win!!!That weekend hunter Steven got himself a deer. In a few weeks we will have lots of meat to share, so get ready.

While the men were hunting, Joy & I took the kids to see the Chuy's parade downtown. It was a chilly, drizzly morning, but the parade was still awesome as usual.

Matt could hardly wait to get the Christmas decorations out. It was a process that took a few days, but we got it all up finally! Matt wore the Santa hat while we decorated.

The kids had fun running up and down the aisles of trees at Lowe's until Steven & I agreed on a winner. Playing in Daddy's old truck is a good time too.

Both boys enjoyed decorating the tree this year. Matt took care of the back of the tree for me, and Will claimed the ladder so he could put ornaments up high. So we had lots of clustered areas of ornaments and ornaments dangling dangerously at the very tips of branches. It's great to have such enthusiastic helpers!

I attended Joy's annual Christmas cookie exchange party again this year, and it was a fantastic party as always. Every year there are more and more people and more and more cookies! It's so fun to see what everyone made and of course to taste them all. These women are fierce competitors too. While we partied, the boys and kids were here at our house. I love this shot of them all in their footie jammies. Matt's pj's are huge...every time I fold them I can't believe how big he has gotten. He's not stopping either.

Last week my brother & I made a quick trip up to Denver to attend my grandfather's funeral. My grandfather had been living with Alzheimer's for several years, and my grandmother had been the one taking care of him all this time. She was so devoted and loving, and I know it was so difficult to see him go. He is buried at the Fort Logan national cemetery; such a beautiful place that is bigger than I could have imagined. We had a brief military service at the cemetery out in the blistery cold before the memorial service at their church.

Bryan & I got to spend some good time with my mom's side of the family and even got to meet a cousin we'd never met before. Seeing my grandmother is like talking to my mom. Her voice and her mannerisms and her laugh are exactly like my momma's. It was really sweet to just be in her presence and soak it all in. It makes me so sad that she is so far away, and I can't be directly involved in her life or be there to help her. She is not alone though with my uncle nearby and amazing neighbors that look after her daily. It was a great trip, and I am so glad Bryan & I went. It was good sibling bonding time too.

While I was away, Pam took care of the boys one afternoon, and then Steven was able to have 2 days off to look after them. I'm pretty sure they had a great time with their daddy. He's pretty awesome.