Remember at the beginning of the year when I tried to do a weekly Friday post that recapped our week? I think I made through like February and then every single week I’ve had the intention of writing a post…and have failed miserably.
Well, here I am! I am on Thanksgiving break so my margins have increased and I am able to put together a post recapping our Thanksgiving break.
Favorite #1: Rest
Our primary goal this break was to get some rest. We are exhausted. Like, bone deep exhausted. This was me as soon as I got home from school on Thursday afternoon. I felt like I couldn’t even move. I wasn’t sleeping, but I sure was hibernating.
Favorite #2: The Parade
One of our local towns does a Christmas parade and our school typically has a float and a bunch of people walk in the parade. We’ve done it in years past, and it is so much fun, so we signed up to be there again this year! The only wild card is the weather. On this day, it was in the mid to low 30s, so totally manageable, although we did need to bundle up!
Favorite #3: Decorating for Christmas
Tera really wanted to decorate for Christmas, so I told her to go for it. Haha. I pulled out all the stuff and helped them put the tree together, but the kids pretty much did all of the decorating after that.
Favorite #4: Light and Fire
Although it was slow to arrive this year, the cold is officially here. But with the cold comes our daily fire (we try to heat primarily with wood) and the morning and afternoon light is just stunning. I am already looking forward to Spring, but I am not hating these cozy little blessings.
Favorite #5: Wednesday Hike
Our hike this week was long and so much fun! We wanted to finish a loop that we had started last week, and since we had plenty of time, we managed to hike a little over 3 miles!
Favorite #6: Thanksgiving with our Cousins
We drove about an hour away to Piqua to celebrate a Thanksgiving meal with Theo’s brother and sister in law and their 7 kids! Living an hour away is close, but far enough that we have to plan to get together and it doesn’t happen as often as it should! So it’s always a huge highlight of our week when we get together with them!
Favorite #7: Thanksgiving was SO boring and SO low-key…
…and I couldn’t be happier about it! We got up, ate breakfast, watched the Macy’s Day parade, ate some leftovers for lunch, played Ticket to Ride, Theo did a bunch of outside chores while I read my book, and then we had leftovers for dinner while watching a movie. That’s it. We didn’t see anyone, talk to anyone, get invited anywhere, or leave the house. Glorious. Exactly what we needed.
With Heavy Hearts: Geoff Smith
In the midst of our week full of abundant blessings, our friend Taylea unexpectedly and tragically lost her husband. It is the kind of loss that just sends shock waves reverberating through everything. So many of the things we did this week were covered in moments of deep grief and feelings of sorrow and unfairness that my life is normal when hers came to a complete and devastating stop. Geoff and Taylea are pillars of our community, and they are known and loved by so many. A go fund me has been started as a education fund for the girls so that they can continue with their education in the school they are already in. If you feel compelled to give anything this season, this family would be very deserving of it! Please cover Taylea and her girls in prayer as tomorrow is the funeral service for her husband of 20 years.
Our days are not promised to us, and this has been a stark reminder to not just be tritely thankful, but to truly stop and look around and count the blessings and what really matters. So much that I waste time and energy on truly does not matter. What does matter is the people and the life and the legacy that we are building. Those sound like big achievements, but a legacy is built in the small moments, the little choices and the daily habits that we build. Geoff built a legacy in 44 years through faithfulness, kindness and love. He truly ran his race with perseverance. May we all do the same.
