And with a blink of an eye Thanksgiving is gone!

This year's Thanksgiving week was fun! We started with a winter storm on Monday that dumped over 6" of snow on us and basically brought Seattle to a halt. School was cancelled, Jack got to "work from home", the kids went sledding, and I did the unthinkable, I decided to decorate for Christmas before the Thanksgiving turkey had even been served, something I have never done! Since we were spending this Thanksgiving with friends in their home I didn't have much to do so the Christmas ornaments started calling my name!

If I had my way Thanksgiving would take place in January! Wouldn't it be nice spending Thanksgiving writing thank yous rather than Christmas lists? Wouldn't it be nice for our children to have a day set aside AFTER Christmas for them to reflect on all their blessings, even the ones that come wrapped and placed under a tree? It would definitely lessen the after-Christmas low that takes place for me every year as I pull down all the Christmas decorations that first week in January!

I must admit though it was really nice to return from a fun Thanksgiving evening to a home that was fully decorated and a weekend with nothing to do...with the exception of our annual trip to the mall for photos with Santa! The last couple years we've figured out that the best time to do this is on Thanksgiving weekend. So off we went on Friday late afternoon after the Black Friday shopping madness had died down and again we ended up having Santa all to ourselves. Not only is their no line but on this weekend only they give the kids a stuffed animal and they throw in a few wallets when you purchase their pricey 5X7. The primary motivator for me though for going this early is that the kids know that once they tell Santa what they want, it's difficult to contact him if they change their mind so they are very careful to tell him only things they know they really want! I love capturing them as they each tell Santa what's on their list. Of course, I quickly ask them after for a run down of what they told him... I'm not sure how much longer the spirit of Santa will exist in our home, at least for the boys but for now he's alive and well!