Belated Friday Thankfulness

I am sorry I didn't post again on Thursday night. We stayed so busy I was exhausted by the time I got back home, my fingers wouldn't have been able to type! 

Thanksgiving was fun. I got to watch a little of the parade while we waited at the Rent's house to leave. Daddy was sick so he didn't go to Paw-Paw's, so we went with Momma. Momma had a crazy morning. The dressing burnt and a coke exploded all over the kitchen, but we got up to Banks County okay! Remember when I talked about Psalm 100? Well, my aunt Martha decided to print off a sheet with the words to the verses for those people who were "scripturally challenged"! I laughed, but it made me smile when everyone could say it correctly! One funny thing about it was that she typed "gererations" instead of "generations" so Jeremy purposefully said it wrong when we said it. We also always have the option to draw names up there. The kids draw each other and the adults draw each other. This year we decided to mix it up a bit. We put everyone's name in the same basket and drew. We couldn't find the basket that we ALWAYS use to put the names in, but we made do. When we got back home Jeremy said he was "leaving" me at my parents house while he went to eat with his grandparents and dad. I was okay with that! He wanted me to spend some time with my family since Daphne's family or my dad didn't go to Banks County. I took a nice nap before dinner. After dinner, we chatted and then Jeremy picked me up. We stopped by Andy and Tami's for his mom's family gathering. They were looking at the sale ads. Of course I got pressured into saying I'd go shopping at 4 in the morning. I made my list of things to get and then we went home so I could get at least a few hours of sleep! 

Let me preface this section with a note from last year. Last year I was pressured into going shopping at 3 AM with some of Jeremy's family. I like my sleep, but I also like good deals so I decided to go. I was really excited about getting some things I needed, but the best part was we went in the limo. Jeff, my father-in-law, owns a limo company, so he offered to drive us. It is the funniest thing to pile out of a limo in front of the stores and have everyone look at you like you are crazy or laugh at you. I get embarrassed pretty easily, and I can't believe I said I'd do it again this year! I mean, we are going shopping for cheap stuff in the wee hours of the morning, yet we are in a limo. At least we didn't pay for the limo, now that would be crazy. Other people look at us and say, "Man, that's smart!" We just pile all our bags in the back and could shop all day long. This year we went to Buford to the mall area because some people needed certain stores that were over there. My previous experiences in Buford (before Jeremy and I got married) are what cause Jeremy to say he will never go again. We had an awful time at Wal-Mart one year. People were HOSTILE! Well, Wal-Mart was crazy yet again. No other Wal-Mart in the area (Lawrenceville or Snellville) has been this crazy and unorganized on Black Friday. I talked to Miriam who was in Lawrenceville and she didn't even have to wait in a line! What a joke! I am continually disappointed with the way the Buford Wal-Mart handles things and I really don't think I will go back there. I mean I needed ONE thing, and it ruined the beginning of my day because of the way they handled everything. Oh well, I got the item at another store later in the day. I was more impressed with some of the other stores we went to during the day. (Sorry I can't mention their names- I am being secretive!) During the trip I saw some friends and one student from last year. I tried to hide from my student though! I probably spent more money than I should have because I didn't really get anything I needed. Oh well. It was fun and I slept for a few hours afterwards so that was nice too! -----Sorry, I didn't take pictures of me half-asleep!

More importantly, we put up our tree yesterday... So yesterday I was thankful for safety while shopping and for memories. I have been wanting to put up our tree for WEEKS! Jeremy asks me to wait until after Thanksgiving, so I try to be patient. I don't know what I love about putting up a tree though. I mean I used to complain as a child if I was asked to pull the tree out of the attic. Maybe I don't like the work to get everything out of the attic, or putting the lights on, but I like putting the tree together and putting the ornaments on the tree. Oh, I guess that gives it away that we have an artificial tree! I find it so much easier. There isn't a lot to clean up and Jeremy's allergies don't act up. We put on some Christmas music and decorated. We only put white, silver, and hallmark ornaments (Wizard of Oz ornaments--my theme since I was little-my mom gives us one each year) on our tree so it may look plain, but it's very pretty!!