Thinking thankful

We've put the thankful jar out again this year, 

with blank strips of paper to jot down our thankful thoughts 

(last year the kids especially loved this & I made a little book out the thankful slips of paper).

We've waved goodbye to our wonderful pre-Thanksgiving guests

(thank you, Brad & Jen, you helped chase away my case of the Novembers).

We've sent the dog for a little 2-day vacation,

he's gotten a holiday haircut,

and now he's back enjoying the festivities

We've attended Maroon and Gold Day at the middle school.

And ran in the Turkey Trot at the elementary school 

(the whole school runs a 1/2 mile 

chasing a 5th grade teacher dressed up in a turkey costume).

We've practiced making rolls.

We're delivering Thank You fruit baskets 

with the youth group from church tonight.

I haven't started cooking yet, 

I still need to go to the grocery store one more time, 

and I forgot to take out the turkey to thaw.

But I'm getting a headstart on the thankfulness part:

I'm thankful for: 

GREG

Lauren ~Maddy ~ Sam

my family (parents + sibs) and Greg's

friends, here & there

health & chocolate

my faith & my questions

books & authors & words

my new camera + lens 

mountains

music

mentors

being able to continue to learn

freedom & possibilities

diet Coke & ice

knock knock jokes

naps

funny videos

late night conversations & sunrises

travel & home

love & loneliness

future & past

now

Boo! review

Usually we carve pumpkins earlier in Halloween week 

but this year we "saved it" 

(read = I never got my act together) 

until Halloween afternoon. 

This meant only three of the five of us were there.  

Which is why it looks like I only have two children.

Sam, bless his soul, crafted his costume on his own 

using things we already had on hand.

He went trick-or-treating with two of his friends,

(plus all the dads).

Maddy and her friends established many weeks ago 

that they would go together as a theme: angels and devils.

(Remember seventh grade is high pack mentality age?)

She went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood

with two of her friends, stopping here

to dump off candy midway.

Lauren is in the pep band and they had a football game tonight 

where they played.  But they wore their costumes and,

according to L, had an "amazing" time

(this is the most common adjective she uses right now)

I made her pose for this late tonight when she came home.

Hence the sleepy eyes.

It was a beautiful, starry night.

60 degrees.

I'm guessing we had around 300 trick-or-treaters.

(I ran out of candy and

 had to raid the kids' candy haul at the end there.)

The night was not without drama.

(Remember 7th grade is ripe with drama?)

A couple of hours before trick-or-treating time,

Maddy's friends called and informed her they were no longer going as devils.

Instead, they were going as Sarah Palins.

Maddy was disappointed that the theme was (so arbitrarily) broken

but she rose to the occasion and  handled it graciously.

Like a good angel should.

Independence Day

It feels like Seattle weather here: a bit overcast and pleasantly cool. We went to the town celebration this afternoon--a homegrown, folksy time with cotton candy, three-legged races, a kids' obstacle course, hot air balloon rides courtesy of a local realty, the town band playing marches and ragtime. My camera took the afternoon off, poor thing deserved a break.

Also, earlier:
pancake and sausage breakfast
too many cherries (but they're so good!)
a Twilight Zone marathon

And now:
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
napping to prepare for the late night fireworks
making potato salad for dinner tonight

I wanted to pause and be grateful for family (it's been great having my parents here), kids holding balloons, oompa tubas, lawns, sparklers (sadly illegal here in MA), and especially for the freedom to speak out/believe/worship/choose your own direction/vote/travel and for those brave souls who sacrificed to secure these things.

Have a great one, friends.

p.s. It's hard to believe that it was a year ago we put Lauren on the plane to Ireland (and we moved into this house). Where does the time go, anyway?

Weekend roundup

Happy Memorial Day!
For us this has meant...

Sleeping in a bit (except Louie)
French toast made by G
Listening to WWII music throughout the day
(thanks to the 40's station on our DirectTV)
Reading outside
(is there anything better?)

Lauren making a movie with her friends
(a disaster movie about a hurricane, I believe.
They're filming a water scene in the river.
It's for school.)
Sam's first lawn mowing tutorial from his dad

Mandatory weeding time
(awww, Dad, it's a holiday!)
Dinner with friends here in our backyard
(pulled pork sandwiches and homemade ice cream. Mmmm...)
& missing taking part in leaving flowers
on loved ones' graves with family in the west

Have a great day,
both remembering
and making new memories

I enjoyed this National Anthem performance
posted this morning by Calibosmom
& thought I'd pass it along...

Going green

Boston St. Paddy's parade, photo via flickr

If you're going to celebrate St. Patrick's Day somewhere besides the Emerald country itself, Boston is the place. (Quite possibly this is why Greg yesterday oddly advised the missionaries to go drink a green beer today. Or he's trolling for a release...? They laughed nervously.) Everybody claims Irishness today.

But I, must say, Maddy looks the very part today (just as green as last year) especially with her redbrown hair and green eyes (and lots of green bling):

Lastly & semi-related, maybe this would be a good day to add this favorite:

Postscript

And some time make the time to drive out west
Into County Clare, along the Flaggy Shore,
In September or October, when the wind
And the light are working off each other
So that the ocean on one side is wild
With foam and glitter, and inland among stones
The surface of a slate-grey lake is lit
By the earthed lightening of a flock of swans,
Their feathers roughed and ruffling, white on white,
Their fully grown headstrong-looking heads
Tucked or cresting or busy underwater.
Useless to think you’ll park and capture it
More thoroughly. You are neither here nor there,
A hurry through which known and strange things pass
As big soft buffetings come at the car sideways
And catch the heart off guard and blow it open.

~Seamus Heaney

My related Irish blessing: May your heart be blown open.
But in a painless, pleasant way.

last two photos courtesy of Lauren & her Ireland trip