I started writing blog posts a couple weeks ago and then other things happened and I'm just now coming back to it. So the next few posts are catch up posts....
I just love the time of year between Halloween and New Years. So much festive and fun stuff going on. Lots of family time, beautiful décor, and things to look forward to. Although this season hasn't been as joyful because we are just heartbroken about Becca and what the Stevenson and Holland families are going through. This year's holiday season just isn't the same. But we're trying to make the best of it as much as we can especially because Nathan is so much more aware and into the holidays this year. He has said "wow" probably 100 times from seeing fun décor in our home and in the stores, and Christmas lights on the houses.
Thanksgiving weekend was full of holiday events. Especially because Thanksgiving was so late this year, it feels like the day after we just rolled right into Christmas. The other special element to our weekend is that we got to have Brown Bear with us the whole time. Brown Bear is a mascot from Nathan's class. For the past couple of months, each kid has gotten to take Brown Bear home for a week or two and take him on special activities. This week was our turn! Keep an eye out for Brown Bear in the below photos.
I feel like Nathan got to more fully experience all the great parts of Thanksgiving this year since he's older now. Our day started out as it usually does with the Macy's parade. Nathan was enthralled watching all the dancers, marching bands, and floats. Then he had his first official full Thanskgiving meal this year. Last year he was just starting on solids so only got to enjoy sweet potatoes. But this year he had all the fixin's. We had a lovely meal at the Spauldings' with Uncle Jerry and Aunt Joyce visiting. After the meal we took a brisk walk down to the park that Nathan loves. Later in the afternoon we went over to the Warners' to enjoy some pumpkin dessert and French silk pie.
The next day we moved full speed ahead into Christmas. Nathan, my parents, Brown Bear, Carly, Ryan's girlfriend and I all went to downtown Seattle to brave the Black Friday activity while James and Ryan went to the Apple Cup game (lucky them!). The stores were crazy, but we tried to keep a good perspective and just enjoy the sights and sounds. We visited the gingerbread houses in the Sheraton which were really cute and of course had to stop for peppermint mochas in the middle of the day. Some stores were way too overwhelming for me. I tried to get some Christmas shopping done, but realized it's better not to have an agenda on this day and just simply be present, browse, and just enjoy being with the family. Ryan and James met us later for a yummy dinner at the Pink Door--one of our favorites.
Saturday's adventure consisted of helping Grampa Jay find a 12 foot Christmas tree for their home. That's right...they have tall enough ceilings that they can get a 12 foot tree! After a couple hours of searching and Jacky and I teasing the guys because they're so picky, we finally found the perfect tree and sawed it down. Can't wait to see what it looks like all decorated!
Finally Sunday we spent some time at home. We worked on getting our house decorated both inside and out. Then in the afternoon, we met the grandparents for a Santa visit at the mall. I was looking at last year's Santa photo and Nathan was happy as a clam sitting on the big guy's lap. This year...not so much. This year Nathan realized that Santa is a little scary. But we got a classic crying photo (I was hoping we'd have at least one of them!). He was a brave boy.
It was a wonderful holiday weekend and I just reflected a lot on how much I'm thankful for even in the midst of this hard time. In fact it's interesting how the hard times help us realize what's really important and help us appreciate the good in our lives. I'm grateful to Becca for helping me live better in the present and really take advantage of every day.
