Happy Everything

I totally missed the boat on a Thanksgiving post, with traveling home and spending time with the fam, getting settled back into real life, etc. We had a great time in Boise/UT/Colorado and have plenty to be thankful for, especially when it comes to having the best family ever! The only family member from both sides that we did not see in the month of November was Julie, but we are so excited for her to come visit for Christmas.

Taking a month-long trip away from home and my husband taught me a few things:
1. He loves me! Ok, I already knew that, but by day 4 or 5, he was already missing us terribly! On the first Sunday morning we were gone he called my cell like 4 times before 6:00 am. Of course, I screened him the first few calls, but then started to wonder what sort of emergency would require that many early morning phone calls!?! But I really couldn't have survived the trip without our daily chats. And I love him, too!
2. I'm not such a great homemaker! Most nights while I was away I was feeling a little guilty/bad that I had left my poor husband to fend for himself for dinner every night. Poor Davey, eating chicken pot pie or pizza from the freezer again tonight! But since I have been home, we have eaten frozen pizza a few times, chicken pot pie, pancakes for dinner, and pretty much anything that you can heat up really quick in one pot or dish. About the only real meal he has eaten since I've been home is Thanksgiving dinner! Not much different from the diet of a husband-turned-bachelor for a month. So, I guess I'll be working on that.
3. Home is where your heart is. Even though Boise (and now, truly, Utah Valley) will always feel like home and Houston is still feeling a little foreign (76 degrees in December is just weird!), home will always be wherever David is! It's so good to be home with him again and to see Trevor get crazy excited in the evenings when he gets home.

We had a great first Thanksgiving Day in Houston. Carin and I started the day off with Run Through The Woods, a "little" 5 mile race. A good warm up for the marathon in June. But it was lots of fun, my first race since before I had Trevor and Carin's first EVER. Thanksgiving dinner was AMAZING! Carin's turkey was soooo delicious - she brined it this year, which now seems to me the only way to cook turkey. After dinner we spread out all the Black Friday ads and mapped out our shopping destinations. I determined that WalMart would have to be sacrificed for Home Depot for a $50 pre-lit artificial tree (Orig. $200!). Yeah, it was totally worth it! In line outside the store 2 other girls right next to me in line were looking for trees, too. So we banded together and grabbed a cart and helped each other fight for our trees! It is always such a rush! I was lucky that we worked together, otherwise I might not have gotten the tree I wanted. But I did and it's so cute. I seriously cried when I put it up (this is my first-ever Christmas tree), and David thinks I'm totally crazy, but it is so fun and pretty! I made a little tree skirt to go around it. Red w/gold pattern and trim and then just put some gold ribbon around it. Ornaments next year... maybe.

Other Christmas preparations.... Danelle came over and sewed some really cute stockings for her and the fam. They turned out so good and no matter what she says she really did sew all of them and they are great. So, can't wait for everyone to see them soon. Almost all the Jones family will be in Houston for Christmas, so we'll be getting read for everyone to come party. We'll just be missing the Paul Jones family. Sad! But we'll see y'all next year.

So, just in case I don't get around to another post before Christmas and New Year's etc, Happy Everything to you all. Over the years, I really have been lucky to be surrounded by so many great people and I wish you all, wherever you are, all the best!