Happy Anniversary and Merry Thanks-giving

This week, six years ago, we moved into our house. It was so nice to be back in a house after living in an apartment for a year waiting for it to be built. The first morning in our house, I sat at the dining room table and soaked up the bright sun pouring in through the east window. The cramped apartment had one window and we ended up with houseplant casualties. What was supposed to be four months in a tiny place with three people and a dog turned into 12 months and four people and a dog. Thanksgiving week six years ago, we got the keys and started painting. Michael brought along his box of Legos to play with while we painted and Daniel was a month old so he slept. This is a favorite picture of our house because it is so "springy" looking. When things turn brown about this time of year, I like looking at the green plants and the sunshine.

Christmas creep!?! Yesterday I heard Christmas music playing on the radio station (isn't that supposed to start on Thanksgiving Day?). And there were no less than three houses on our block already decorated for Christmas! Today I went to Costco and Michael's and the parking lots were full. Regardless of what the news is saying about people hanging onto their wallets, I have not seen the evidence yet. Maybe it's the $1.75 per gallon gas. It's not even Thanksgiving (and even I like to have most of my Christmas shopping done by then). But I must admit, I started listening to Christmas music back in October. I got Sara Groves' new Christmas CD for my birthday, so I had to crack it open and give it a spin. It's a fun new album with new tunes on old Christmas favorites. She has a few originals as well, like "Toy Packaging," about the frustrations of trying to get a new toy out of it's packaging, and "To Be With You," reminiscing about family holidays. So... in the meantime, I'll get ready for a yummy Thanksgiving dinner and wait 3 more days to start decorating for Christmas.