November

November was a Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad, No Good month, not gonna lie.

No need to go into details but my monthly checklist is a pretty good indicator that I pretty much gave up on life entirely for a bit (or on marking it, anyway).  

 On a side note: I promised myself that I would treat myself to a massage if I was able to complete 3 exercise days per week all year long and I missed my goal by two weeks and poor record keeping at the finish line  (SO STINKING CLOSE!  And now no massage for me...*sniff*) 

But even still... there were much-needed haircuts turning wombats into handsome menfolk, beautiful pomegranates (and learning the ACTUAL way of opening them... wonder of wonders!), saddleback potatoes by Andrew, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, warm day walks, a Thanksgiving feast that I didn't host,15 years of service recognition for a hard-working hubby, fingers tickling ivories and a kitchen chalkboard chock full of "thankfuls".   Moses actually cried when it was time to erase the "thankful tree" in December, saying "Mama!  We CAN'T erase it!  I have more THANKFULS!"

There are, indeed, many things to be grateful for... 

not the least of which is that NOVEMBER IS OVER.

Annika's Bridal Shower

Those trays truly were filled up with food- I just spent the first half hour or so of the shower taking photos without a camera card in the camera!

By the time I retrieved one, snacks had dwindled.

*These cookies were made by the Mother of the Bride and sister of the bride.  Not by me.  Why?  Because I don't know how to make beautiful cookies like that.  (But it IS on my bucket list...) 

They were not only beautiful but outrageously good.

Millie created all sorts of entertainment and fun for the shower, a real feat given that she was out of town for nearly the entire previous month!

I purposely darkened this photo for discretion of the lingerie that was presented to the bride-to-be. 
But Jesse's and Ineke's expressions kinda say it all...

Corynn found the whole ordeal hilarious but the joke is on her.  Embarrassing presents are in her very near future...

Like Mother, Like Daughter...

as well as... Like Mother's Mother

This is me trying not to let her go.  (It didn't work.)

I hosted a bridal shower back in late September/early October (who can remember?!  Not I.) for one of my favorite people.  The sweet girl that I watched grow up hand-in-hand with my own Sweet One.  

So many, many smiles that day.  

It was a happy day despite several VIP's (including the Bride-to-be) swooping in from a trip to Iceland less than 24 hours before.  And the embarrassing presents (Annie was such a good sport and handled opening unmentionables with tremendous grace.) And the lack of sleep.  And the emotional strain of letting go of someone that you just can't seem to fathom letting go of.  

There were lots of smiles on that day... but lots of tears today as I look back on it.  What can I say?  

I really miss the girl.