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Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas Already?


Like this little pile of "things" I found under the washing machine a couple of months ago, we have a lot of little things going on in our life. Some of the things are annoying or unwanted--viruses, traffic, misunderstood communications. Some things we're happy about--Christmas music (even in October), the smell of wood-burning fireplaces, tidy spaces, clean clothes. Some things are delightful surprises--special gifts from thoughtful friends, unexpected book or movie endings, school delays for winter weather. Some things we didn't know we were missing until they appeared in our midst--the Merg clan being all together for Thanksgiving. (Okay, actually, we have been missing these kids all along, but the missing is magnified the day after everybody catches flights back west, and our once full house echoes with the sound of the appliances resetting spaces for the next gathering.

We had a lovely fall. The weather was sunny and warm most days. We had time to prep the garden for winter
and clear a lot of the fallen leaves.


Our Halloween weather was the warmest on record since the 1950s. Brooklyn dressed as a Crazy Christmas-Loving Lady. Gavin was an injured rodeo cowboy (though he mostly looked like a horse-riding zombie).





I went on a challenging hike with friends. We climbed 650 feet in about 1.5 miles. The Mt. Nittany Loop is classified as "strenuous," and I felt every bit of it. Since the hike, I have committed to taking the stairs instead of the elevator when I park on campus. Maybe climbing to Level 4 a couple of times a week will prepare me for the next hike.
Sean is pushing to keep his grades up in school. Just for family memories, I'll report here that he has served a couple of detentions for unexcused tardies and skipping class, but on the whole, he is doing so much better at school attendance than previous school years. He's hitting his stride in a lot of ways. He enjoys his Health Systems Pro class. Maybe it's his favorite even though it's one of his more challenging classes.

Brooklyn, Gavin, and I met Uncle Danny in Palmyra, NY, one Saturday for a little Sacred Grove and Hill Cumorah sightseeing. We plan to go again in the late spring when the leaves are green. A late fall grove is not nearly as majestical as an April grove.



Thanksgiving was such a delight. We were so busy cooking, cleaning, playing, and enjoying each other's company that I didn't get too many pictures.

Emily made us a winner of a cheese loaf. It was gone within 24 hours.
In fact, our whole feast was delightful. I guess I could have done without seeing Andrew eat mashed potatoes with his hands (why?) or the boys fake-burping to trigger Emily's nausea.
The kids took over the master suite to play Jackbox on the Apple TV. It was funny to see them squished on the bed.

We celebrated an early mini-Christmas with the Engars since they'll visit Logan's family on Christmas.
One of my favorite things about family time is games and snacks; snacks and games. 
Gavin made this lovely gingerbread house with the Primary boys, and yesterday, Brooklyn and Gavin decorated the Christmas tree and made some delightful M&M cookies.

This weekend, I'll head to Arizona to visit my mom. I'm looking forward to claiming my room in her new house, sightseeing, and completing a few projects. When I return, I'll finalize Christmas preparations and we will enter celebration mode. I'm hoping for cozy reading and movie time, sledding and snowboarding weather, and tasty snacks.

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