Have I mentioned that our pastor is leaving? It's sad for the church, but his new job is so perfect for him, we can't help but be excited for him. Tomorrow we're doing a sending service for him. Endings are always hard for me, so I fully expect to cry. (Ben knows me well enough to expect that!)

and it's snowing again! Twice in two weeks! It started this morning.

So you may or may not know that I prefer to finish my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. But this year I'm still not done! The Plaza was packed! The Discovery Channel Store was shoulder to shoulder!

And I've started working on an anniversary present for Ben. It will be five years in January! Amazing...

So here's a picture of my mom's parents when they came to my house for Thanksgiving.

Snow pictures

The snow was so pretty. And I got a day off from work in the bargain! :) I cleaned the house, and made cake for Ben, and then made cut-out gingerbread/molasses cookies and decorated them. It was so relaxing. (And it reminded Ben very fast that he needs gloves! - we got them on Saturday)

Here's my back deck early Thursday morning. It had just finished snowing. 

And here's the view from my front porch.

Snow!

It’s the first big snow of the season! I’m not a huge fan of the cold, but snow is pretty!

Thanksgiving

I feel like I should compose an amazing essay on all my blessings. But since I spent my time with my mom, brother, and grandparents, I'll just share the end of "A Thanksgiving Poem" by Paul Laurence Dunbar:

Thou hast, with ever watchful eye,
Looked down on us with holy care,
And from Thy storehouse in the sky
Hast scattered plenty everywhere.

Then lift we up our songs of praise
To Thee, O Father, good and kind;
To Thee we consecrate our days;
Be Thine the temple of each mind.

With incense sweet our thanks ascend;
Before Thy works our powers pall;
Though we should strive years without end,
We could not thank Thee for them all.

Thanksgiving guests

I found out my mom's parents are coming for Thanksgiving with my mom and brother. Won't that be fun? I love cooking for a crowd on holidays. I'm really looking forward to it!

Well, I've got my first cold of the season. Yech. But Thanksgiving is only one week away. And my mom and brother are coming. I'm excited.

Hospitality

Our house was full of people last weekend. We love it like that! Steph's boyfriend came on Friday night and was with us till Sunday afternoon. Sunday we had a couple over for lunch after church. Then my aunt and uncle came on Monday night to stay with us. They left on Tuesday morning. They were on their way through from Michigan to Oklahoma, so it was a short visit. And now it's time for the Hub (Wednesday night community meal at church), so I've got to go. Just wanted to write a little something.