Countdown to Christmas!

Other than some sniffles and a cough here or there, the kids are getting through what has been a tough couple of weeks. Although I needed to get to the doctor a month or two ago, it just seemed there wasn't enough time (or enough reason) to do so. I think we invincible moms have to be half dead before we break down and do what we need to do. :-) Anyway, now it's my turn...

Something like ear infection, bronchitis, and sinus infection. Oh, and she also mentioned a little heart murmur and a slightly enlarged thyroid. See...that's why I don't like to go to the doc! The thyroid issue is likely a result of all of this other junk that is going on, and well, I'm not sure about the murmur. Anyway, one thing at a time! With a healthy stack of meds, I should be feeling better in short order.
Since my family's Christmas celebration is this weekend, I'm going to post random pics from the rest of November and get them out of the way. The next week is going to be crazy, especially considering we have school right up until our Christmas party on the 23rd! (Yeah, I'm bitter.)

                           Preparing for the fundraiser was a huge job!  Here we are prepping
                                300 potatoes for baking.  Hint: rolling in butter and sea salt
                          before wrapping in foil makes for an incredibly flavored moist potato!

Each year we celebrate Thanksgiving by inviting the parents and
grandparents of our school students to attend a traditional luncheon
on Wednesday.  Although not every family is able to come, we always
have a crowd and enjoy being with these special people.  This year we
fed approximately 75!

Amazing amounts of delicious food!

Meeting the newest addition to our school family:
Gwenyth Gabrielle!

Thanksgiving 2011 was probably the most relaxing holiday we have had in awhile. We missed Eric and Megan who were in Illinois, and that left Valerie's family, my parents, and our family. We slept in, lazed around, and ate too much. What a perfect combination. :-)

Every girl can be a bride at Mamaw Nichols' house!

Browsing stacks of ads...didn't really find any fantastic deals, but
the guys went to Walmart on Thanksgiving night just to see the
chaos.  They didn't buy a thing.  Valerie, Mom, and I went to
CVS and bought a few things, and that was enough for us.  :-)

Lots of cheesy grinnin'

  And lots of cheesball and crackers.

Another cute 'lil bride

On Saturday night we went to a parade in a little college town a few minutes
north of Lima.  The town participates in what they call The Blaze of Lights,
and it is a lot of fun to see all the decor, take carriage rides, and be a part of
the festivity.  The annual Christmas parade occurs the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

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This pic is blurry, but this was so pretty!

The kids liked the clowns.

The right combination of 'classy' and 'country'!

Check it out!

And the grand finale with Santa and the Mrs.

Now we are baking...

and mixing...

and wrapping!  Christmas is almost here!