Thankful for Thanksgiving..

Joe and I both love Thanksgiving for so many reasons! This year was particularly wonderful as it provided a true vacation!  When we travel to Maryland we're able to truly relax and take a break for the regular world. The kids have so much fun with their cousins and we soak up the fabulous hospitality my parents offer.

Not only was it good to be together with everyone healthy and happy- many many things to be grateful in our home this year!  We also enjoyed a number of great activities! We mixed the Works Civil War theme into the trip with a trip to Gettysburg and also a stop at Ft. Necessity (French-Indian War) as that tied to the 4th grade curriculum!  We shopped locally, ate crab cakes, raw oyster and other fine Maryland fare, tapped into our creative talent with gingerbread decorating!  We also visited the house where I grew up, taking Matthew and I back to life at 909 Forrest Drive!  What a treat! We're very grateful for the home owners (childhood family friends!!) for giving us the opportunity to visit and unlock happy happy memories (and find inspiration) for today's house!!  I've enjoyed doing this with here on Newark-Granville road and it was interesting to be on the other side, the person visiting.

The time away also allowed our wonderful painter to finish the work we've started on Newark-Granville Road!  For years we've wanted white wood work and brighter colors on the 1st floor.  We came home to just that....the rest of the fun will continue with updating fabrics and furniture!  Being the planners we are it is kind of odd this sort of just happened.  We probably needed a change of pace, something fun and exciting to lift our spirits after Sparky's death.  The peeling and cracked ceilings were calling too much attention so we hired someone to fix those.  That led to the need for a painter and that led to needing to remove wallpaper, and that led to painting three rooms and if we were going to do that it was time to do what we'd wanted to do since we'd moved-in....white woodwork and bright colors.  I'll keep you posted as we progress and finalize the front rooms changes!