Hi everyone.  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.  We did.  We spent our time between South Bend (Mike's family) and LaPorte (my family), which is typical for a holiday.  My sister-in-law, Danyell, prepared an awesome feast.   It was unbelievable. Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend:

Mike with his parents' cat, Emmy.  We are not really cat people, but she is such a loving cat.  She cozied up to Mike while he was on his laptop.  She wanted to see some Google images of mice, but Mike refused to feed her addiction.

Cousins who are joined at the hip at family functions.  I'm so grateful they get along well :-)

Aunt Amy with sweet Lucza.  I just love on this baby girl as much as I can.

She looks so much like her daddy, it's crazy!

I have some great family pictures to share from the weekend, but I'll have to post them later.  Also, an installment of "What Not To Wear," which I find pretty funny.

Now on to the Advent Calendar.  Mike and I made one for Alex last year, but it wasn't used like we had intended since Lydia arrived six weeks early.  And I suppose it's more of a Christmas Countdown than Advent, but I think it's a great way to get him involved and excited about the holiday season.

Here is a pic.  The top calendar is from 2007 and the bottom one is this year's.

It's something Mike and I enjoy making together and really makes for a fun December :-)  The flaps are taped shut and he'll open one each day until Christmas (duh...I know you know what an Advent calendar is).  Anyway, it's a labor of love in that I spent some time looking up events in the community and plotting what we want to do on the calendar, but the majority of the activities cost little to no money.  Some examples from our calendar include:

• Make a Christmas craft
• Drive through the Living Nativity Scene at local church
• Downtown Christmas parade
• Bake Christmas cookies
• Pop some popcorn and watch a holiday movie
• Make dinner together as a family and eat by candlelight to Christmas music
• Drive around town and look at Christmas lights while in our pajamas
• See the Christmas tree at Purdue and have lunch at the Union
• Read the Christmas story together
• Ring bells for Salvation Army

You get the idea.  I make a master list for my reference so I can plan ahead and I am not the one surprised about what we're doing each day :-)  And if something comes up and we can't do what's on the calendar, so what?  He can't read yet anyway so he wouldn't know the difference, haha.

We spent what felt like the entire day putting up Christmas decorations.  I enjoy reminiscing and putting the ornaments on the tree.  However, I'm not too fond of finding a place for all of the other stuff.  My entire rug in my living room was covered with snowmen, Santas, candles, etc. just itching to be placed somewhere.  I have too much Christmas crap, honestly, and I don't know why I feel the need to put the majority of it up.  I do like the end result tonight, but I'm not gonna lie...it kind of looks like the North Pole threw up in my house (I watched the Santa Clause 2 recently, so I know!).  So, needless to say, I'm totally in the spirit now.  How can I not be when I'm like submerged in it, haha.  And the glitter, ugh, so hard to rid yourself of.  Mike's in bed right now with a few shiny specks on his face.  What can I say? He likes the bedazzled look :-)

On a totally unrelated note, I am drinking Diet Cherry 7Up at the moment.  I have not had it forever, but hello?!  It's really good.  I feel like I'm drinking a kiddie cocktail, or something.  Good night!  It's so late right now.  I hope everyone has a GREAT Monday!