Tis the season for busy schedules!

It has been over a month since my last blog post, and since we have celebrated Thanksgiving, Jeremy's birthday, Christmas, my birthday, and New Years, a lot has happened in that short period of time.  Here are the highlights:

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  I was excited to get to host Thanksgiving for the first time.  We started the day downtown for the Grateful Gobbler walk, a tradition we hope to do with our little family.  Though I was not pregnant enough to be waddling too badly, we did have to cut our route a little short to be sure I would be able to make it back to the car.  For those who have been pregnant in the past, you might remember feeling as if your hip joints are about to come out of socket - that was me.  And the load in my belly was also getting a bit heavy, especially after being on my feet a lot the previous day getting ready for Thanksgiving company.  But, it was a beautiful morning, and I am thankful that we were able to do it.  I was also thankful that my parents were coming over to the house after the walk, so I had my mom to help me get my part of Thanksgiving dinner ready.  Much to everyone's amazement, we actually ate on time!  Here are some pics from the occasion:

Kitchen table - we got out the leaf so everyone would have plenty of room

Dining table

I apparently forgot to take any pics of people - whoops!  Oh, well.  We also began a tradition with Cora this year of going to a Christmas tree farm to get our Christmas tree (as opposed to Lowe's or Home Depot as Jeremy and I had done in the past).  Jeremy's parents went with us so we would have a way to get the tree back to our house - 2 mid-sized sedans make it difficult.  :)  We headed up to McDowell's tree farm on Suck Creek Mountain.  It was a really pretty day, and perfect weather for tree picking!  They had several types of trees we could choose from, and we ended up going with a Norway Spruce.  The needles are "pokey", but we really liked the look of it and it also has very sturdy branches for those heavy ornaments.  It was quite entertaining to watch Jeremy get down on the ground and saw it, but we eventually got it down and loaded in the back of the truck.  Cora almost started crying when it fell down, but she eventually warmed up to our Christmas tree.

We finally settled on one!

It was a little bigger than we expect when we got it inside (which is almost always the case), but we were so happy with how pretty it looked in our living room.  I've cleaned up a lot of tree needles this month, but it was well worth it.  :)

We got the lights on!

Cora helped with the ornaments

The ladies on my mom's side of the family traditionally have gotten together for a Christmas shopping trip, but we decided to make gingerbread houses.  It was definitely a memorable experience!  I think all but 2 or 3 of us had some structural issues and at some point had walls falling in or out.  My poor Mamaw never did get her walls to stay up!

Aunt Joy trying to help Mamaw

Mom concentrating on her construction

Mandy & Amye

Aunt Joy having some structural issues...

Amy trying to will hers to stay together

This was pretty well Mamaw's finished project  :)

Uh-oh, Mom's walls fell down

Aunt Joy's finished product

Mandy's gingerbread house

Amy's - she had some issues with her icing.  :)

My gingerbread house

Mom's - she didn't get around to landscaping :)

Amye's house

We got to try some other Christmas activities with Cora this year.  We went to the parade of lights in downtown Chattanooga.  As much as Cora loves music and lights, we thought she would really enjoy it.  And she did....at first.  Unfortunately, it was a very slow-moving parade and when the semi truck was creeping in front of us and kept honking, she was not a fan.  Then there was the kid with the fog horn who was pointing it right toward us and sounding it repeatedly.  She was absolutely beside herself.  So, we left.  Our next family outing was MUCH more successful.  We went to Rock City to see the Enchanted Garden of Lights, and Cora loved it!  She especially loved the toy soldiers, snowmen, and the manger scene.  It was a wonderful evening.  Here are a few pics.

Our outside lights that Jeremy was mostly responsible for - looked so festive!

Cora really loved the snowman

Next to the soldier at Rock City

Smiling with Daddy

Cookie decorating!

She eventually started eating more sprinkles than were making it onto the cookies.  Her hand and mouth were very colorful!

Jeremy's birthday celebration - getting old!

Smiling for Mommy before church

That gets us halfway through December....I think I'll save the rest for another post!