Thanksgiving Week

It is Thanksgiving Week. I love working in the schools because I get all these wonderful vacations. I am going to be working the whole school month of December (3 weeks) and the first week back in January in a 2/3 combo class. I met the class and it seems like we will have a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to getting to be in one classroom. I'm bummed that I won't be able to go in weekly and help in Dawson's class though. Dawson had a Thanksgiving performance at school. He and another classmate had to tell a joke together and he did a great job. He is not shy in front of people like I was. He's quite the opposite which makes he happy.
Brad's musical Once Upon a Mattress is finally over for the year. It turned out great and I enjoyed watching it. One of Loni Anderson's granddaughters attends his school so she was there again this year to watch her in the musical. She brushed up against my arm as we were walking down the aisle. I can now say I had an encounter with a famous person.
My parents bought a house here in Redding and will be retiring there in a few years. I'm looking forward to that. It's less than a mile from my house. Mary and Ben will be renting it from them so I am looking forward to having them even closer.
Since it is the week of Thanksgiving I should mention that I have so many things to be thankful for. I am thankful for my family--I can't even start to mention people because there are so many people in my life that I am indebted to forever (parents, in-laws, sisters, brother, nieces, nephews (Mary is having a boy!!), aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.). I am thankful for how hard my husband works for me and how much he loves me and Dawson. I am thankful for the freedom we have living in America. I am thankful that I don't have to work full time right now, for my beautiful home and our cars. I am thankful for all my great friends I have. I am also grateful for my church and all that it has done to help me so far in my life. My list could go on and on and on but to sum it up I feel so blessed and everyday I am so thankful for my life and where I am at. I feel like I am in a really good place right now and I have worked hard to get where I am.
I hope everyone enjoys Thanksgiving and remembers to give Thanks for all that they have.

Babysitting

Last night Brad and I babysat Mary's 2 daughters. They both spent the night and it was so much fun! We got up early and made french toast and eggs. Mary said Cora did not like french toast but she sure LOVED mine :) I guess I make it better than them. Brad's sister's kids also came over for a couple hours. We had told Dan (brother-in-law) that we would babysit one night for his birthday present (that was back in September.) They finally took us up on our offer. We ended up having a houseful of children (7 total.) It was a ton of fun and all the kids had someone to play with. I especially enjoyed listening to them talk to each other and giggle. Dawson has his last soccer game of the season today. It should be fun and I am looking forward to having my Saturday's back until March when baseball starts back up.

The last couple of weeks have been busy. Lori had her baby shower on October 25th. It was a lot of fun--now we just have to wait until January for baby Iris. The picture of Cora and I was taken there. Mary finds out today if she is having another girl or boy. I get to go with her and am looking forward to that. Mary's family and Dawson and I went to the pumpkin patch. It was an adventure! The kids had a lot of fun choosing pumpkins. We decided that Natalie and Dawson were old enough to gut and carve the pumpkin on their own and they both did a fantastic job. Dawson loved all the gooey guts and using the knife. It rained on Halloween but the kids did not mind. They had a blast trick or treating and both filled up their buckets with candy. Dawson was Darth Vader and I decided at the last minute to dress up like a witch. Cora was also a witch and Natalie was a vampire princess. We have truly enjoyed having Mary's family close by and to do be able to do these activities with them. I feel like my life is so blessed.