Thank-full.

I haven't blogged about us in a really long time! I left off at Halloween weekend.

A few weeks ago I went to the Nutcracker Market with Judy. We went last year on a Friday afternoon I had off from work and enjoyed it, so we decided to go again this year but I could only go on Saturday. It was really crowded, but with some well-placed snack breaks and pedi-cabs in the parking lot, we actually stayed for 3 hours! I was shocked - I thought I might make it 1 hour. Judy tried to buy us discounted (by $1, so not a big deal) tickets from Randall's the previous day but they were all sold out. A mother/daughter walking in with us sold us their 2 extra tickets for a much more discounted price. I thought it was a good sign! We went straight to the Round Top Collection - my favorite vendor by far. They're wholesalers, so you can only find some pieces here and there around Houston, but at the Nutcracker Market they have everything!! And we met the owner! I splurged a little and bought myself a beautiful cross and the cutest outdoor Rudolph decoration you've ever seen. I also fell in love with something for my mom and Jim for Christmas - my second purchase of the season and it wasn't even Thanksgiving! We browsed the other booths but the only other thing we bought was a cute little guitar outfit and bear hat for the baby (thanks, Judy!). There was the most precious smocked outfit (for a boy) with the Nativity scene on it - we oohed and aahed over it for a while, but since baby boy will be 8 months old at Christmas time next year we just couldn't commit to buying either size and being confident in the purchase. I'll have to go next year! We even checked our bags at the end, walked outside, took a pedi-cab to our car, then got our checked bags put into our car on the way out. We didn't even have anything very large or heavy, but it wasn't expensive and it made our lives easier!

The following weekend we went to the last home UT game for the season against Kansas. It was a push to get there between Jeremy's work schedule and how I was feeling and driving up and back same-day, but I'm really glad we went. It was Colt, Shipley and the other senior Longhorns' last home game (hopefully not the last game we see in person though...come on Pasadena!), and our last game without a kiddo. And it was the first cold game I've been to in a while, which is always fun! We got to Austin right in time to park and walk to the game, then we left right after, scarfed down McDonald's in the parking lot and got home around 2:30am - all in all about a 12-hour trip.

After that weekend it was a short week for both of us! Jeremy was supposed to have the whole week off but got pulled into a project. He at least got to work from home on Wednesday, though he was frustrated about not being able to start his honey-do list around the house (seriously, his list, not mine!). I didn't take any time off but we did get out early on Wednesday, so I got to run some errands I'd been putting off (including trying to make a wreath like this, but I can't find "poly-mesh" ribbon anywhere in Houston or online to save my life). Wednesday night we were able to meet some friends for dinner at the Black Lab, a great English-style pub in Montrose. It's perfect on cold nights! Jeremy always gets beef wellington, and I got shepherd's pie.

Thursday didn't really go the way we planned...but I suppose that's life, isn't it? As I was leaving for the grocery store Jeremy received a call from his mom. Sadly, their 2-year old Yorkie, Beau, went to puppy heaven that morning in front of their house. We're glad we live close to them, so Jeremy rushed over while I rushed to get ready and to make green bean casserole. Unfortunately, they were set to host Thanksgiving for several family members, so it started out as a very somber lunch. But at least we could all be sad together! Jeremy's Aunt Pat and Uncle Dan, Meemaw and Peepaw, and later on his cousin Amy, Chris and their daughter Katie were all there. Beau was a really, really special puppy - Jeremy and I picked the little munchkin out from his first home in Livingston. He cuddled me the whole ride back to Houston! For a tiny dog, he had the biggest personality and we just loved him as much as our 2 dogs. I know if I loved him that much, how much he was loved by Tony and Judy. And at least we know that he left this world extremely happy and well-loved! I know he's not a person, and I know many families are dealing with much more sadness around the holidays, but we can't hide how much he meant to us! We were happy to hang around Tony and Judy's all day on Thursday, and watched the A&M vs UT game over there that night. It wasn't fun to stress over the game, but it probably provided some much-needed distraction. Towards the end of the game, Jeremy decided sitting in the front room with us was bad luck, so he left to watch in the back room. During a commercial we looked back to see Jeremy - shirtless and he said he'd been doing push ups between plays to "help" Colt. I guess it helped? Luckily, for Jeremy's health, the Longhorns won! Playing at Kyle Field is really tough and I think most Longhorns only go in hoping for a Win, regardless of how pretty it is. By the way, our Thanksgiving meal was wonderful - turkey, cranberry sauce and mac & cheese from Cleburne's, plus homemade sweet potato casserole, dressing, green bean casserole, rolls, and frozen cranberry salad. And we had pumpkin and pecan pie for dessert. And we had leftovers before the game.

Friday we slept in (after a rough Thursday!) and had the best intentions of cleaning house so we could decorate for Christmas. I really wanted Chick-fil-a for lunch, but only wanted to drive-through, so we headed to the one about 15 minutes away at the Galleria in the same parking lot as Best Buy. We were sure it would be crazy but at least we'd get what we wanted! It was actually really quick until we got to the window and realized Jeremy didn't bring his wallet and I didn't bring my purse. Whoops! And I was starving!! So we drove all the way back home, got Jeremy's wallet, and this time drove to the awful mall close to our house, Northwest Mall. Surprisingly there is a Chick-fil-a inside, and Jeremy graciously went in to get our food so I could still stay in the car. It took so long! Apparently it was crowded. About an hour and a half later total we finally had lunch. Unfortunately we barely had time to get dressed and drive to my dad's to take a family picture. I was dreading this (with 4 little kids) but it went quick and we got to hang out with them and had dinner together at Campioni's, a great neighborhood Italian place. We left the 'burbs and headed in town for a little surprise...more on that to come. :)

Saturday we actually did begin cleaning the house to decorate. That night we went to dinner with the Harbisons at Backstreet Cafe - it was so good! We started with a flatbread appetizer, which turned out to basically be a pizza. It was delicious! Then I had a goat cheese salad (eh) and Jeremy had sweet potato soup. For our entree, I got the beef filet special and it was really, really good. Jeremy got short ribs, which he absolutely loved. We ran out of time for dessert because we had tickets to go see the Nutcracker! I loved it! I grew up doing things like that - my mom would always pick a "cultural" thing to go see in town during the holidays, the Nutcracker, the symphony, A Christmas Carol, etc. I really enjoy being able to continue doing things like that, especially while we still live close in to town, and Jeremy enjoys it as well! Especially if it comes with a short rib dinner! Since we didn't get dessert, we made the quick trip a few blocks to Vic & Anthony's where our friend Sean works. It was late enough we were able to be seated in his section and he didn't have any other tables, so we got to talk quite a bit. I got a Shirley Temple, decaf coffee, and a huge piece of chocolate cake. Jeremy and Emily both got the croissant bread pudding, which is fabulous, and Justin got a piece of carrot cake with a birthday candle since his birthday is next Saturday. It was a really fun night!

Sunday we helped Tony and Judy with Sunday School at CFBC. They had a small class and didn't need much help, but it was still fun. Funny enough, the bible story we learned about was Hannah and her baby Samuel. On Thursday, Jeremy's cousin Amy announced they were naming their second daughter Hannah Joy, and just blogged about the story of her name here. I was really hoping to hear some of the bible Christmas stories - I wonder if CFBC will let me be a student in their preschool class for the month of December? It was a lot of fun to see Jeremy around those little kids - if he's around any it's my younger brothers and sisters, and they're older now. The church has changed A LOT since Jeremy went there, so it was neat for him to see it now, I think. Afterwards we went over to my mom's for Thanksgiving lunch. It was fun for me to have some of my food favorites also (mainly her sweet potato casserole)! I had the best intentions of making sweet potato casserole and pumpkin chiffon pie for us to enjoy but...that never happened and I've moved on to Christmas decorations now!

I'm going to end this super-long, picture-less post with what I'm thankful for this year:
-A healthy and happy pregnancy
-A loving, supportive husband, whether I am fussing at him about missing Sharpie pens or we're snuggled up watching White Christmas.
-Our families, who we love dearly. We're very thankful to be able to live in Houston with them.
-My dogs, for loving me always, even when I'm grumpy or sad or running late, and especially Beau!
-Having 2 paying jobs, a house and transportation in this economy, regardless of how much we like the jobs, the house or the cars - we know we're lucky to have what we do.
-My friends, who provide laughter always, and sometimes we really need that!
-A friend who found out the day before Thanksgiving that she is expecting after a year of trying and hoping for a baby. God is good!