Life on Lofty Lane: Turkey Day 2012

We spent Thanksgiving in Austin this year and had a wonderful visit with Frank's family. Since we both had the whole week off we drove down Tuesday and stayed until Saturday. It is nice to be able to stay put for several days since it's almost a 4 hour drive if traffic is slow and packing up stuff for 2 kids requires some prep work! I spent some of the week shopping with Dorthy and Sarah and Frank was able to golf a little with Big Frank and Glenn. On Thanksgiving we enjoyed a feast like most people with turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and more! We also had beef tenderloin that was delicious. :) We took a few family pictures after our late lunch on Thanksgiving and got some really cute pictures of Frank's parents with the kids. On Friday we spent some time hanging out with Team Ross (Todd, Lane, Halden and Sloane). We ate hamburgers and enjoyed the visit. The time always passes so quickly when we visit Austin, which really is not very often! We will be heading back for 2 nights for the Paul family (big group) Christmas on the 22nd. It will be so much fun to see Frank's cousins and visit with them.

I have been so busy that I am behind with posting about Thanksgiving and everything that comes to mind. Over the month of November there were all these people posting daily about what they were thankful for on Facebook. While it was pretty annoying and cliche, I do have to hand it to those people for making sure they stopped every day to think of what they have to be thankful for. Maybe for some it was a show, but they certainly remained vigilant with the posts EVERY DAY. I obviously did not participate... this year I actually didn't post anything on Facebook that day. But I am thankful for so many things in my life. I am thankful for my precious family... Emerson and Cameron mean everything to me and so does Frank. There is no greater joy than the joy they bring to us every day. The giggles, shrieks of laughter, the running around, in Cameron's case the scooting he does to reach toys while clasping his fingers as he tries to reach a toy, the way his eyes light up when you talk to him,and so much more. Watching them brings a smile to my face whether they are playing or sleeping. They are our angels and we are both thankful for them. I tell Frank this I think pretty often, but I am so thankful for his love and his friendship. I watch him with our kids and know he will always be the very best father. He is patient and calm, two words you would not use to describe me and he helps me chill out when I get too twirked up at times. He doesn't complain when I ask him to do things, he helps so much around the house, and he is always able to rub my shoulders and neck when I have a headache. He takes care of me always. I am thankful for our extended families. Both of our parents are still happily married (happily most of the time anyway! ;)) My parents have been married for 40 years and I can say that I am extremely blessed to have been raised in the loving environment that I was, and the same for Frank. I am also proud of them because it is such a rare thing these days, but they have always overcome challenges together and they have put us first. They are the best role models and I hope when our kids are as old as we are they will feel as strongly about us and we do about our parents. I think pretty often how thankful I am that my dad is healthy and still here with us today. It has been almost 7 years (in January) since we found out he had Esophageal cancer and we were told he had a 50/50 chance of survival. He has been cancer free now for over 6 years and when I see him with our kids my heart swells because I can't imagine how different it would be without him. I am thankful for our siblings. Growing up we went through periods where we did not get along as well and we really did not enjoy spending time together. I talk to my sister pretty often though I wish we could talk more. I am so thankful for her wisdom with situations and for reminding me that everything is ok since she knows I worry too much. :) My friends are also very special to me and I am thankful for their support, their shoulders when I need to cry, their ear when I need to talk something through, and their laughter when we share fun times together. Several of you will read this blog and I hope you know how much I value the friendship I have with you. I have so much more I could continue to list, but I will stop here. :) Frank and I have not been to church in a while, but I know we have God to thank for all of these blessings. There have been times when I have been angry with God because I did not understand why things would happen, but over time my heart has changed. I should say I am thankful for God's unending patience while I sometimes still struggle with understanding!

To continue on, here are some pictures from the wonderful week we had in Austin!