Thanksgiving

I'm a bit behind on posting, but we had a nice Thanksgiving in Ithaca. Mark's cousin, Jacques, flew out from Las Vegas to hang out with us, and it was nice to have a change of pace for a few days. Most days I feel overwhelmed by motherhood. Not necessarily that I feel inadequate, but that I don't have time to even think of anything else. I'm really glad that the holidays are here to remind me that life is good, even if it's crazy. When I actually do stop and think about our blessings, I'm overwhelmed by all that we have and feel undeserving. I'm definitely grateful for this little girl, even though she poses her own challenges for me. She's just the one I would have picked out for myself if I had any say in the matter. She enjoyed a jar of turkey and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving, as well as a few pieces of bread and bites of Jell-o that I snuck her.

The day after Thanksgiving, I was SO excited to go cut down our Christmas tree. I've never been one to rush into the next holiday before the first one is over, but if we're going to kill a tree in the name of Christmas spirit, I want it to adorn our home for as long as possible. I LOVE having a real Christmas tree. It just a huge, pine-scented, light-adorned statement that Christmastime is here. I especially love looking at it all lit up at night. Makes me want to be a child again and feel like it's a magical season despite the nasty weather outside. It was really freaking cold when we cut our tree down, so we did it as quick as possible with Camilla bundled up as warmly as she would tolerate. Apparently it was also a little windy, as evidenced by my huge comb-over hairdo.

We thought the tree would scare Camilla. She's checked it out a time or two, but honestly she really doesn't care about it. I'm sure next year will be a different story.