Thanksgiving..

Thanksgiving was a hard one this year. Our first holiday since Patty's death and it hit us hard. Chris' extended family is scattered throughout the country and our holidays consist of just our small Peterson family gathering at his parent's house. With the addition of John, and the kids getting older, things are starting to get more rowdy, but usually it is a nice quiet where naps are encouraged and welcomed. We would come over in our comfortable clothes and let Patty take care of us. She cooked all the food and had the table set just so, and we just took advantage of that. This year, we were in charge and we had big big shoes to fill. We had a few dishes we were responsible for and Chris was helping with the turkey. We realized quickly that we were not prepared and needed Patty's guidence. How on earth did she move all of those dishes around the oven and get everyone on the table by 1pm? We were putting the first turkey IN the oven at 1pm. When we finally sat down to eat at 3:30, we sat in sadness for a minute. We are truly thankful for every minute that we had with Chris' mom that we weren't supposed to have. We are thankful for her being able to meet all 4 grandchildren and she loved them so much. We are thankful for all of our friends and family who reached out to us and are still reaching out to us in this time of need. And we are thankful that all of us were together. Our kids make us keep moving forward. Diapers still need to be changed, accidents behind grandpa's rocker still happen, boo boo's still need to be kissed, naps still need to occur.. life moves forward. And we are thankful for our kids and their smiles and moving forward.

The weather this Thanksgiving was amazing. Sunny and in the low 60's. UNHEARD of for StL. Ellie was in heaven, warm weather and all the outside playing she could ask for. She had Uncle Seany, Aunt Kiki, Aunt Cece and Michael in town giving more attention than anyone child could ever need and she was happy as a clam. (and of course the constant 'in-town' attention from Uncle Timmy and Aunt Ceeeryl). We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week laying around, spending a lot of time at mimi and papa's, eating a LOT of food, having too much wine, and playing airplane :) I was a horrible picture taker (Courtney will be sending me some tonight, so I will update) and a horrible housekeeper, but I gave myself a pass. I am always sad when Thanksgiving is over, the holidays move too fast. I wish my Chicago family could be in St. Louis forever and we could all have everyday off work :) I love nothing more than laying around at my parents house with everyone in town. The best feeling in the world!

I am beyond thankful for...

My husband. Chris amazes me everyday.
My babes. Ellie and John are the light of our lives. They make life worth living and their smiles keep us going every day.
God. I know in my heart that God doesn't give us more than we can handle, but in the past few months, He is really testing me. I know that this is His way of making our faith stronger, and I will forever be thankful for that.
My parents.
My brothers & sisters.
My in-law's.
Our home.
Our jobs.
Our health.
Our friends.
Our military that leaves their family to make sure my family can sleep soundly at night

Christmas is coming, and this year I hope I can really start teaching Ellie more about her faith and compassion for others rather than gifts + toys. I think I need a refresher lesson myself.