In Case They Ever Wonder

Thanksgiving is one our favorite holidays, but the one that seems to vary the most from year to year, especially with regard to where we spend the holiday. Sophie's first Thanksgiving was spent at Whitestone Country Inn (where Matt and I married) with my parents, sisters, Matt and me. Since then, we've either been in Birmingham at my grandparents' home or in Franklin at my parents'. Of course, we celebrate with the typical Thanksgiving feast and family gathering, but we've tried to incorporate a few other special traditions over the years... Special books - I feel like Thanksgiving could easily get lost in between the Halloween candy and the Christmas presents, so we spend time each year trying to be sure we are communicating the story of Thanksgiving. The Story of the Pilgrims , Squanto , 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving , and Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember are some of our favorites. This year, we've added a new favorite, Cranberry Thanksgiving , (from the ...

Last week, we spent the week in Franklin as I was getting ready to help host my best friend's baby shower. The shower was great, and the kids had a fabulous time getting spoiled rotten by family and friends, but now we are in "re-entry mode." Matt has wisely helped me see that I can't return from a week out of town and resume a 100% normal routine the next day. (Why I am not smart enough to figure that out on my own, I am not sure...) So, I am learning to expect a time of "re-entry," a time where we slowly but surely pick up pieces of our routine and return to life as normal. This week "re-entry" mode is taking longer than usual...  We returned home late (like just before midnight) on Sunday night to an immaculate house. I had worked hard to leave things clean and straight, and then Matt really went all out to have the house spotless. I so wish I had taken a before picture as I walked in the door Sunday night, so I could then show the before and af...