5 Nuns in a Car

It was a highlight of my Thanksgiving weekend: 5 nuns in a car. I had never seen one nun in real life, much less five in a car on the interstate. I stared. I couldn't help myself. It was probably more like gawking. I couldn't help it. I wish I had taken a picture.

Obviously, it wasn't THE highlight of the holiday. I mean, it was the first holiday in almost 8 years that Chandler was not employed in the retail industry. The first Black Friday in 8 years that he did not have to be at work at 4:00am.. 3:00am? Who knows. Praise the Lord. The best Thanksgiving in 8 years.

Holidays, in general, have always been hectic for me: going here to there to see mom, dad, mom's family, dad's family, step mom's family, step dad's family. It only seemed fitting that once I got married and added another immediate family and two more extended families, our holidays would be nothing short of a whirlwind and a lot of stress. Surprisingly, though, everything has gotten a bit easier. It all just fell into place. Praise the Lord, again.

So, we spent Thanksgiving lunch with my dad and Karlette's extended family, then dinner with the Snyder's. AND because it was the first Black Friday in 8 years that Chandler did not have to work, we headed down to Tennessee to spend a couple of days with my mom and her extended family. It was on this day that we saw 5 nuns in a car on the interstate. The best Black Friday ever.

Is it obvious what I was thankful for this year?

There was a little bittersweetness though. My Grammy and Daddy Paul no longer run the camp where my cousins and I basically grew up. They now live on their own acreage just a short ways from the camp near my aunt and uncle with two horses and about a million dogs.

I don't really consider myself a country-girl. Not in the least. Not at all. I'm all city-girl. But I really, really enjoyed the quietness of the country and the noise of family. Between hanging out at my Aunt Cyrisse and Uncle Jeff's house and my Grammy and DP's house, there was ALWAYS someone to hang out with. Saturday, we even took a drive into town! to do some shopping.

What made this quick trip even better was the fact that 1. Waverly had a blast and spent most of the two days playing outside. She ended both days absolutely filthy, looking like a crazed mad woman, but she loved every minute of it. And 2. She slept awesome Friday night. It is highly unusual for her to sleep at all when she's not in her bed in her room, so we were both super relieved that, after crying for half an hour, she fell asleep and stayed asleep until the wee hours, at which point, we put her in our bed and she slept through the rest of the night. Winning.

It was hard to leave. I'll even admit, I cried as we headed toward the interstate. Our time in the States is waning and it's hard to remember that we will be back, when all I can think of is we're leaving. I am trying so desperately to soak in the minutes we have with family before it becomes an impossibility to visit for four years at a time.

Enough on that. Look at these photos!