Twas the Eve of Thanksgiving

    Twas the eve of Thanksgiving
    And all through the night
    On the road we did go
    It caused quite a fright.

    While others were dreaming
    Of turkey and stuffing
    Except for this poem
    We did absolutely nothing.

    It began with the traffic
    Continued with the snow
    It ended with rainfall
    To mother’s house we did go.

    We found ourselves blessed
    As the wind fiercely blowed
    Many unfortunate souls
    Off the unplowed road.

    We were greeted in Neenah
    With a hug and a kiss
    From our family to yours:
    Thanksgiving bliss!

      I Believe…

      My final semester of grad school has been very difficult. I have hit many obstacles and been disappointed by people again and again. This weekend my belief in the good of mankind has been restored.

      It always seems like things happen when Jesse leaves early to be somewhere. If you remember, he left early for work the day I got a flat tire.

      Yesterday he left early for a conference on the day it snowed 10″. Because Jesse’s family was in town for the weekend, I needed to go to the grocery store. I decided to get my exercise and shovel my half of the driveway. On my way to the store I realized none of the roads in my neighborhood had been plowed yet. It was very difficult getting to the grocery store.

      After I returned from the store, I decided to shovel Jesse’s half so we could be on time for Aubrie’s (our niece) birthday party. I had just finished the driveway when the plow came to place a waist high snowbank at the end of my driveway. I just stood and stared at him with my mouth open. With resignation I walked to the end of the driveway and continued shoveling. He made another pass to clear the other side of the road. When I heard the beeping a third time, I began to have hope. Sure enough, he plowed right into my driveway and cleared the entire snowbank in one pass.

      This man, in a very simple way, made my day! Thank you Mr. Plow Man, I believe again…

        The 15-Minute Meal

        We had the best dinner tonight…and I made it in 15 minutes or less! On my way home from working out, I called Jesse to boil water. When I arrived home, I put noodles on to boil for 8 minutes. I pulled Cavatini sauce from the freezer and warmed it in the microwave. Jesse chopped lettuce for a salad. At the last minute, I warmed up two crescent rolls, and we were ready to eat.

        When I proclaimed this a 15-minute meal, Jesse and I cracked up. The Cavatini sauce is not a quick and easy recipe, but we had some leftover the last time I made it, so I froze it for the future. We also had the crescent rolls leftover from a dinner this weekend. So basically, you could never make this meal in 15-minutes, but I was thankful that I was able to tonight!

          Visitors

          Jesse and I are notorious for traveling on the weekends. We love to visit our families and friends even when they live far away. This fall we are experiencing a change of pace. We are staying home and everyone is coming to visit US!

          It began last weekend when Larry & Cyndee came from Chicago to see the Sutherland family. It was a beautiful Saturday, so we enjoyed biking and playing outside.

          This past weekend my parents came for a visit. Because of MEA, I had Thursday and Friday off of school. My parents came Wednesday night from Neenah, and we enjoyed a long 4-day weekend. The weather was again beautiful, so we hiked the Minnihaha Falls area as well as saw the movie Secretariat and did some shopping. Jesse and my dad even fixed the brakes in one of our cars.

          Next weekend my brother and sister-in-law were going to visit, but my brother ended up having to work in Canada for the next three weeks. We are going to reschedule for December.

          In the beginning of November our good friends Scott and Melissa from Neenah are visiting our house for the first time. They have been in Florida for the last three years, so they haven’t been able to see our home.

          The next weekend Larry and Cyndee will return to celebrate Aubrie’s (our niece) 3rd birthday.

          We don’t mind driving, but we are certainly enjoying staying home. If only my house would clean itself…and wash all of the sheets and towels!

            Babyland

            Between the years of 2006 and 2008, we attended MANY weddings. In the last few weeks, we have gone from being friends with young married couples to being friends with young families.

            Five weeks ago my friend Amanda and her husband had their first baby Selah. We enjoyed a baby shower with them on Saturday. A few weeks ago my grandparents enjoyed the birth of their first great-grandchild born to Michael and and my cousin Kristi. Many friends of ours have called in recent weeks with exciting news…

            As excited as we are, it is also a bit sad for Jesse & I. Change is always hard, and we know that our friendships with some of our best friends will soon be changing. We also are feeling a bit left behind. We could certainly do something about that, but we aren’t quite ready.

            The conversation used to go, “What would you think about a baby?”

            “No way!”

            Now the conversation is evolving to, “Let’s have a baby…sooner than later.”

            In the meantime one of the funnest things about our friends having babies is more trips to Target…gift registries here we come!

              Update…

              Many of you have wondered about the progress of our lawn…

              After faithful watering, we are beginning to see growth. Whew! We were worried.

              New Growth
              Our New Lawn

                Fall Shopping Extravaganza

                Early this summer Jesse informed me he was ready for a new look. I quickly retorted that a new look required shopping, and he hates shopping. To my shock, he replied, “Okay”. To budget our money, we use the envelope system, so I started saving the money in the clothes envelope for a fall shopping adventure. I brought up our shopping trip many times, but Jesse kept putting it off. I finally threatened to spend the money in the envelope on new clothes for me, and Jesse agreed to go shopping.

                We began the afternoon going through our closet and sorting clothes to donate and clothes to trash. Then we each made a list of clothing items we wanted to add to our wardrobe. Jesse’s list included something a mannequin would wear.

                We left home and headed straight to lunch. I have learned that a hungry Jesse equals an I hate shopping Jesse. After lunch we began with a few successful purchases from The Gap. Jesse was energized and in a good mood (we found something straight off a mannequin)! Upon entering Macy’s, I began to see Jesse’s eyes glaze over. We pushed through and made it to American Eagle, Target, and Kohl’s.

                Seven hours later Jesse said, “I finally like my clothes.” Success!

                  One of those days…

                  This morning I woke up with high hopes of a productive and normal day. As I pulled out of the driveway slightly behind schedule, I heard “Thwump, thwump…” My dad and my husband would be very proud because I actually pulled over to the side of the road to check on my car. Of course, I had a flat tire. Of course, Jesse had to be at work early. Of course, I was running late.

                  In learning to drive, my dad actually made me learn how to change a tire. With AAA, I decided to let someone else do it. Sadly, someone else didn’t show up for an hour and a half! Thankfully, my co-worker kindly covered my class until I arrived (thank you Dawn!), but it certainly has been one of those days…

                    Full, Fall Weekend

                    Friday we traveled to Neenah for a Lashbrook Family Weekend. It’s never a visit home without doing it all! The only thing missing was my dad as he was traveling on business.

                    Saturday morning we slept in (this might be a first, but my mom is finally understanding my first life rule: do nothing before 8 am on a Saturday)! My mom made a delicious brunch of quiche, baked oatmeal, and a fruit medley. Then we headed to Oshkosh to visit my niece and nephew birds.

                    My Mom and Sookie

                    From there we headed to…

                    The Little Farmer is a fun place to do fall things like take a hay ride, pick apples, and eat caramel apples.

                    We had many butt shots of Eric in the apple trees, but I decided to spare him some embarrassment.

                    The main reason for our visit was celebrating Alaina’s birthday. We ended the evening on Saturday with a steak dinner, fun games, and a dirty bathtub chocolate cake (a creative cake for the cake maker).

                    Sunday before we left we did get to pick my dad up at the airport. Thanks mom, dad, Eric, and Alaina for a great weekend!