In Everything We Give Thanks

We celebrated our first Thanksgiving in our new home just the four of us. That, decorating, and gymnastics occupied most of the week.

Eliza got her new glasses on Monday. Cutie!

Later, Landon woke up in the middle of the night with an earache. With a blessing and some pain reliever, we were able to get him down for the remainder of the evening. He missed another day of school, had a doctor appointment, and now gets to take antibiotics for the next couple of weeks. Hallie at some point had pulled a muscle in her neck and found a chiropractor to go to for relief. She is not sure if she will go back a second time, but by Saturday it had started feeling somewhat better.

On Tuesday, Hallie and Eliza caught Santa Claus making his rounds doing some last-minute list-checking. The kids better watch out!

The kids had Wednesday through Friday off from school. Landon still had his workouts, but in the morning. While he was at the gym on Wednesday with Mom, Eliza and Dad went up to Dad’s work to help decorate the office reception area.

Landon practiced close to five hours today, and after Eliza ventured up to work with Mike, she came back for her own three hours of practice. At the end of Landon’s practice, his coach invited Hallie on the floor so he could show his mom some of the skills he practiced during his one-hour private lesson.

On Thanksgiving, we enjoyed a relaxing morning followed by turkey dinner. Eliza is really in the mood to get some Christmas decorations up, so Dad indulged her by pulling out the tree to see where it would fit. With each new house we have lived in, we have had to figure out where to use the decorations we have, and we have decided that in this new house our best choice is to move furniture around and put the tree in the corner by the window. This tree has been a good sport. It is nearly 18 years old and has served us very well. By the end of the day we realized at least 5 or 6 of the neighbor kids had been in and out of our house playing chess (some for the first time), playing Zingo, watching Boss Baby, and eating popcorn. The kids went out for a ride toward sunset, and we received this beautiful treat. 

Part of our decorations include LEGO sets (of course). As an early Christmas present, the rest of the gang got Dad a train station. Our winter village is turning into a minor suburb. . . .

Friday morning Eliza got Dad up to start decorating the house in earnest while Mom took Landon to the gym and ran a couple of errands, and then when she came back one of the coaches invited Hallie to watch on the floor. What a treat that was! It is so marvelous to be able to see what your kids can do up close and personal. Later, we went to the movie theater to see Coco and then had Café Rio for dinner. We attempted to go by Temple Square to see the lights. Got a preview, and we’ll have to come back when everyone’s dressed for the weather. It was the first night of lights and there were a lot of people out and about – how fun! We stopped by U-Swirl/Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Draper for some sweet treats on the way home.

Forgot to mention that by the time we were ready to head to the movies, a neighbor girl wanted to do Eliza’s hair and make-up. We forgot to take pictures of the fancy do and face paint, but she sure had fun spending time with her friend.

Mike got a chance to see Landon practice on Saturday morning (make-up for Thursday afternoon) while Hallie and Eliza ran a few errands. The kids at Landon’s level do amazing work! As soon as we arrived home, Landon headed out with a neighbor, and we did not see him at home again until dinnertime. What a great neighborhood we have with boys and girls our kids’ ages! Fergus likes to escape with the kids running in and out, but it means we have plenty of small people to corral him and bring him back in. He spent the afternoon in his favorite indoor spot, sunning himself on the bed in the office/guest room.  

We finished most of the decorating in the early evening and watched A Christmas Story to kick off the holiday festivities.  

We spent Sunday at home and at church enjoying the decorations and some Sound of Music in the evening.