We've had a lot of people over this month...

Okay, the holidays always bring chaos, but it's time for a re-cap as we wind down the year.

Thanksgiving was a lot of work since I cook it and this year we had it at our new place. Don't go thinking I'm a saint, that's just the only way to guarantee that we get some leftovers. So after two days of cooking and cleaning, we had first Thanksgiving.

Nate cooked the sweet potatoes, the mashed potatoes, and the gravy.

The turkey turned out okay, but last year's was better. We did have the excitement of using our new table and ALL of our dishes. It looked really cute and in the end it was all worth it to have my family hanging out afterwards in the living room relaxing and talking story. I almost cried to see them all so relaxed and content. The next morning we had the girls on my dad's side of the family over for a baby shower. I don't see my cousins nearly enough so it was a special treat to have them all over and they were hilarious.

Second Thanksgiving was at Nate's parents' home right after the baby shower. I was really tired and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but once we got there it was so great to see everyone that I was able to pull through for a couple of more hours. The best part was talking to Nate's brother Tom about my race and he told me that I was "off-white." LOL. Find THAT one one the census. And then the next morning was Tom's new baby's blessing. This also involved Nate and I taking a walk around the halls when I started getting restless and I got to meet some Mendon people that I had heard about but never seen.

On Friday the tenth we had some friends over for crepes. They were so good. My husband makes the most amazing crepes. And my friends say the randomest things. It was good to see them all again. I barely make it to any social events anymore, and this one was abbreviated because I also had to write a final paper before midnight that night and I had only started it at one o'clock that morning.

Rich and Shari (Nate's brother and wife) came and stayed over that night, too, and the next day we got the chance to bum around the house talking and watching action movies that were playing on TV. Have you ever noticed how many African-Americans are in The Fugitive? Nate and Rich did. Since they weren't any of the main characters, it seems that they made them all of the extras. This also applies to mustached people in The Negotiator so don't go thinking this was all about race.

Finally, today we had Tyler and Shelli Johnson over for dinner since they so lovingly let us borrow a Christmas tree. I LOVE IT!!! We spent as much money on decorations for it as we could have spent on a tree, but it gave us an excuse to have even more people over and to cook some more great food (like porkchops and stuffing). Besides, Nate completed the pharmacy technician program, passed the PTCB test, and I got all of my assignments turned in on time to move into the next semester of my program. We wanted to celebrate with as many people as possible.

That's the haps, stay tuned for baby countdown the next month. It's going to be fun.