Thanksgiving and Nostalgia!

Oh how I love Thanksgiving and everything that comes with it...except for Black Friday! I swear I never want to venture out shopping on Black Friday...one of the main reasons I hate shopping is the crowds, so no thank you to Black Friday...I don't doubt that I will end up eating my words on this in a few years though.

This time of year makes me so nostalgic. When I smell the crisp autumn air and see the colorful leaves blanketing the ground I am filled with memories of years past. I find myself so grateful for the beauties around me, the people in my life, and the wonderful circumstances I always find myself in. I get so excited for the coming winter, snow, skiing, steamed milk, family gatherings, and delicious food! It's no wonder we tend to gain weight over the holidays and through the winter...the food is just so DANG good!

We have been especially trying to enjoy this month of November and the approaching holidays since it will be our last in Salt Lake City for a little while. Knowing that we are moving in January has really made me try just a little harder to not take any of these moments for granted. Since we got back from our trip to Rapid City we have enjoyed lots of time with family and friends: a birthday dinner for Sam's youngest sister, Hannah; a fun mother-daughter-grandkid lunch with my mom and sister, Tenille; a Utah-BYU game party with the Evans family; time with my dear friends and old roommates - Laura Ball, Andrea Denzer, and Julie Hartman - at a fun baby shower for Julie; a UofU basketball game that we actually WON!; a dinner with my old highschool girlfriends and their families; a Thanksgiving feast at my mom's house with step-relatives; another Thanksgiving feast at my dad's house with siblings and my Grandma Ruthie; another Thankgiving feast with some of my Eyre cousins, aunts, and uncles; a visit from my dear friend Ashleigh (Wood) Bassett; and just lots of good times all around!



We have thoroughly enjoyed all the little moments with LucyMae...she is growing up way too fast. She has been sitting up for a month now, she is trying to crawl...but luckily not succeeding yet, she loves bath-time, and tends to be all smiles these days.



We also thoroughly enjoyed watching the Utes cream BYU on Nov. 22nd! I have been waiting for this day so anxiously, and nervous to even watch. I HATE watching the U lose to BYU. So this was a glorious day for all of us. We even got LucyMae a cute little Utah shirt for the game.



LucyMae turned 6 months old on Nov. 25th, so we celebrated by letting her try some big people food...rice cereal...yum! She has been so interested in everything that goes in our mouths, so we figured it was about time. She absolutely loved it and made no weird faces. As you can see she was more than happy to let us put the spoon in her mouth. And on Thanksgiving we introduced sweet potatoes so that she could be a part of the Thanksgiving feast! We also broke out the cute little Christmas jammies the day after Thanksgiving...doesn't she look adorable in them?



Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's house was delicious and fun. We have enjoyed getting to know all of Don's kids and families. Can you believe how many little babies there are? It is so nice at big family things like that because there are plenty of people to hold, love, and cuddle all of the babies. They couldn't ask for more attention. Although we didn't get to enjoy any time with Hooper relatives for the Thanksgiving holiday, we hope to see some of them this next month... especially as we need to go visit my Grandma and Grandpa Hooper since my grandpa had a heart-attack and triple-bypass open-heart surgery a week ago. He is doing fine now and home and happy, but it sure gave everyone a scare, and a reason to reflect on our gratitude for life and family!



I finally went through all of LucyMae's clothes that I thought wouldn't fit her yet...and lo and behold, she has grown into just about ALL of them. I was SO excited when she fit into this one...isn't she adorable in that little outfit. We made it her Thanksgiving day outfit. And it was so fun to have Grandma Ruthie at my dad's for Thanksgiving dinner. LucyMae is her 36th great-grandchild.



My aunt Linda put on an amazing Thanksgiving feast for the extended family the day after Thanksgiving. Isn't that table beautiful? It was so fun to see all those Eyre relatives that were there and catch up with them.

And below I have posted a few of the fun videos we have taken of LucyMae lately. She and her cousin Clark are really getting familiar with each other lately. She is also getting better and better in her johnny-jump-up (sorry it is sideways). And she LOVES just "talking" away and exploring her voice.






So, to all of you who are patient enough to read my blog posts...HAPPY THANKSGIVING and we hope you truly enjoy this Holiday Season and find joy in serving others.