Thanksgiving and a Happy Birthday

That should really be the other way around if we are keeping things in order. I am late about both of them and I only have so-so pictures of the one event so I thought I could put them together here.

Chris' birthday was not to long ago.

When I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday he gave me a harried look and said he didn't know (the implication being he was so busy and had so much on his mind that he couldn't think about it) but he wanted it to be memorable. I asked about a party and he said no. So, I started thinking about memorable sans party. Since Paris and the Eiffel Tower and China and the Great Wall were out of the question I had to come up with something else.

The first was to decorate his office space at work. I figured it might be a slightly embarrassing and new experience and thus qualify as memorable. If not for Chris, I am sure it will be memorable for everyone that he works with as they reconsider the pros and cons of posterity every time they think back on the screaming that accompanied the decorating.

This continued on in a Birthday Festival fashion. My sister's family does this. Everyday for a week the birthday person gets some special something. Chris' festival included a variety of things. He got his favorite candy bar, a sleep-in-day, a foot rub, a meat thermometer (I'm so romantic I surprise even myself sometimes:), and (pictured below) a dish of M&Ms from which he had to find many of the reasons I love him. Of course, there was no way this could have happened without the boys being right there!


On a separate note, we had a good Thanksgiving. So good I didn't take any pictures. We had some friends over, Noah wouldn't eat any of it, and we have lots of leftovers. What more could we ask?
I debated the inclusion of a gratitude list and decided that even though some items will always appear on my list and that might make it seem generic or repetitious the reality is those are things I am grateful for and there can never be anything bad associated with giving thanks. Some are silly and some are serious and the list is by no means comprehensive.

1. My knowledge that Christ lives, loves and knows me personally and interacts with me according to those truths.
2. My husband. I couldn't have gotten anyone better.
3. Our children. They are so precious and I can't imagine not having them there to make me smile and laugh and love every day.

4. Access to medical help and treatment.
5. Our home. We have a home and it is a warm and safe place for our family to reside and grow.
6. HGTV
7. My family and Chris' family. The love and support we receive from them is just as God intended, meaning A LOT!
8. Corkboard, friends and neighbors
9. Technology, especially that technology that allows communication across huge distances.
10. That we live in America and it affords us amazing rights and blessings.
11. Christmas music
12. Opportunity for Chris to further his education and the job options that will be available because of that education and where he got it.
13. Magee's Cakes
14. Opportunities to learn new things.