End of November, Start of December

We started putting up our Christmas decorations in the week before Thanksgiving. We were ready this year! We were originally supposed to be on a cruise Thanksgiving week, but unfortunately, that did not happen. I think Anna and I were the most disappointed. The boys didn't really care and Kara was somewhere in the middle. But, we chose to make the best of it and Thanksgiving was nice. Kim and her family and Kevin joined us for lunch. We started the day with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Kim and her family arrived around 11 and Kevin around 12. We planned to play some games after lunch but ended up chatting instead. It was really fun to hear about Amanda's adjustment to college life and of course, we were all excited to hear about JD's mission in Japan. It was good to have them here.

In the week after Thanksgiving, we went to Disney twice. On Wednesday, we left work a little early and went to Epcot to enjoy Festival of the Holidays. We did the cookie stroll and ate from lots of food booths. Thomas and I let the kids get whatever they wanted, which is really unusual for us, but nice to do once in a while. We enjoyed the food, decor, holiday storytelling, and of course, some rides. It was the emptiest we have seen it in a while and we took full advantage.

I love when they love each other. It was a beautiful night!

Living with the Land had a great holiday overlay.

Friday we went to Animal Kingdom. Traffic was bad and we didn't get into the park until about 4:30. We did the Safari, but lots of animals were already in for the night. We also rode Dinosaur twice in a row. Dinner took a while, so we only had time to do one more ride. Majority chose Flight of Passage. The posted wait was 50 minutes, but we only waited 30. Like our Epcot day, the park was really quiet. We enjoyed the holiday lights and walking through Pandora after dark.

Luke had his last baseball tournament this weekend. I hadn't been to one in a while, so I decided to go for all his games. He pitched on Saturday and did really well. His team won both games by a good margin and were the number 1 seed going into Sunday. On Sunday they had to play a team that has beat them 3 or 4 times this year. And, they finally won! Then, they won the next game and were crowned the tournament champions. It was a good way to end the season.

Monday I went to Lakeland and took my dad to the doctor. We are moving forward with trying to get him into an assisted living facility. Hopefully, we can get everything done before he is released from the rehab facility (due to the hip replacement). Thomas is out of town, so I had to race home from Lakeland to meet the kids after school. The older kids all stayed after school for various reasons, so I had to grab Luke and then go get them. It was a very hectic day. I don't normally feel stressed, but lately work has been stressful. I don't feel like I am doing a very good job. I am very busy and sometimes it is overwhelming with work, my dad, and other family obligations. I know I will get through it, but I don't like feeling this way. Basically, like I am not giving 100% to anything at the moment and yet everything needs 100%. Does that make sense? I am thankful for a good supportive family or I would really be in trouble!