so very thankful

We have had such a lovely week. Paul's sister Nancy came out from NY to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. We played many games of Scrabble in front of the roaring fire, drank lots of cocktails, took Ole for hikes and pet Fuffles, and generally relaxed all week. It was wonderful. On Thanksgiving Day, we hosted Rob and his boys and ate like kings. Nancy's favorite was the squash soup. Paul's was the Tofurkey and I always love the Lentil Squash Pot Pie. We also had green beans, roasted sweet potatoes, cranberry relish and 3 kinds of pie! Mmm mmm. Rum and egg nog too! We are so thankful for all of our families, nuclear, extended, in-law and anything else, but oh, Nancy is a treasure. We love you, Nancy!

Mae tested for her Yellow Belt last week. She was very serious and did a GREAT job. I was worried she'd get goofey, in the tradition of her brothers at that age, but she rocked it. Phew! She graciously gave up her room for Nancy this week and very much enjoyed sleeping on the floor of our room. I don't think she slept well all week (because it was just too fun being with Mom and Dad!) so I'm hoping she'll let us sleep past 6:30am tomorrow, for the first time all week!

Today I did a rock climbing class with Ted. He and Sam are enrolled in a class with Adam, a 2/3 teacher, and a bunch of Horizons kids. Sam really doesn't like it so Mae's taken a few classes but she didn't want to so I tried. I've never climbed before and had to overcome some fear-of-heights issues that I didn't know I had, but it was AWESOME! My hands and triceps hurt. I'm sure tomorrow will be even more painful. I think I'll finish this class up with Ted. It was a great workout and I really enjoyed the challenge. Did I mention that my hands hurt?

Tomorrow we'll get the Hanukkah box down and get ready! Hanukkah begins on Friday night. Saturday night is chavurah. It should be a nice week - I've purposely not put anything on the calendar for that week so we can pick and choose, or just stay home. I only want one thing for Hanukkah - slippers! My feet get cold at night! Speaking of getting cold, I need to finish up Ted's blanket by Friday night. It will keep him snug and warm; I can't wait to see him snuggled up in it!

That's all for now. Hope you had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving too. Have a lovely holiday, everyone!