Another Birthday and Some Thankfulness

This year my birthday fell the day before Thanksgiving.  That’s the closest it can ever get toThanksgiving. I usually hate when it falls like this but it actually worked outfine this year.  It was a pretty laidback day and I was overwhelmed by all the birthday wishes and love sent myway.  Facebook ROCKS on yourbirthday.  I heard from so many friendsand family members that I don’t see or talk to often.  We drove to Illinois and made a pit stop inWilliamsburg at the outlet mall.  Ipicked out a few birthday presents to me from me.  Who doesn’t love that?!?!  The boys spoiled me with presents and made mesome birthday brownies.  All in all itwas a great day.  In year 36, I’m goingto focus on being thankful and appreciating all the blessing I have in mylife.  Feels like an appropriate goalwhen the day after your birthday is Thanksgiving!!

Speaking of Thanksgiving… it was a busy couple days asalways.  We spent Thanksgiving Day withthe Schermerhorns, Friday with the Fogelmarks, and Saturday with theFogelmark/Johnsons.  Here are highlightsthat made this weekend so much fun:

• Relaxing ALL DAY on Thursday.  Talking to Grandma Jane on FaceTime.  Searching Black Friday ads and doing a littleonline shopping to avoid the crowds while still getting the awesome deals.  Hunting- Schermerhorn-style:  Trying to get squirrels wit a nerf gun!
• East Peoria’s Winter Wonderland.  We go through this every year and every yearI love it.  We went on Thursday and itwas so warm the boys could stand up through the sunroof.  They had so much fun!!  We saw a utility truck and told them it was thepolice.  They both freaked out and jumpedin the car because they didn’t want to get arrested.  J
• We picked up G-pa Harold on Friday and told himwe went through the Winter Wonderland. (He invented the Festival of Lights you know!)   I told him I was bummed that the FOL paradewas held a week earlier than normal.  Heexplained that the city did that so that more families would go through theWinter Wonderland Thanksgiving weekend which would bring in more money for thecity!  He’s 87 years old and still thinkslike that.  What an amazing man.  East Peoria was blessed to have this guyhelping run the city for as many years as he did!!
• MarioKart on the movie screen at the Cranford’shouse.
• AJ waking up and going rogue on Saturday morning to go wake up Ashley with his nerf gun!
• Tyler giggling when someone made a comment aboutusing their noodle.  Yep, he’s startingto get THAT humor now.
• Avanti’s on Wednesday night. Butch’s pizza onThanksgiving night.  Monicals on Fridaynight.  And all the other traditionalthanksgiving meals in between.
• A couple trips down memory lane – driving by ourold homes in East Peoria.  The boys wereso confused that we used to live in a ranch house and they couldn’t understandwhy we didn’t just go in and look around. Going back to IVC to a boys’ basketball game to see Ashley’s pom-pomroutine – I haven’t been there since I graduated!