Thanksgiving

Yikes - I just realized that I have so much to do around the house before we leave for Indy on Monday. I'm hoping to get our Christmas tree up before we leave, but in order to do that, we have to clean this house first. (Geez - I'm turning into my mother. I always hated that we had to clean before we put up the tree, and look at me now...) We need to pack for our holiday week in Indy, but before we can do that, I have to get the laundry done. Does it ever end? I wish I could just hire a maid to do my laundry and dishes for me. That's it - I can handle the rest. It just seems like those are the two jobs that I do all the time and yet they still need doing!!! Drives me crazy...can you imagine how nuts I will be when we have kids? All those little clothes to wash and sippy cups to clean? Ugh...

So - we're going home in a few days. I'm pretty excited. It's been a busy fall at the office, so I'm glad to get some time off. We're leaving Monday after work and heading for Noblesville, IN to spend a few days with our friends Jeff and Julie and their kids Sarah, Anna, Elizabeth and Daniel. This is the rockinest family you'll ever know, and we're completely excited to get to spend some time with them. We've known them for years - Jeff was the pastor at Center (our home church), and then a few months before we got married, he took a church in Evansville where we lived. It was great. It was like having family there in Evansville to help with our transition. God really knows what he's doing, doesn't he? Now Jeff is at a church in Noblesville (north of Indy). Anyway - ever since we lived in Evansville together we have had Thanksgiving together every year. They really are like family to us. I think that's what I'm looking forward to most about this week. We always get to see our families when we come home, but we don't get up to Noblesville very often. It's going to be so good...

Wednesday is Noodle and Pie night at Mom's. For those of you who don't know about my family's crazy tradition, well...I'll just have to tell you about it another time. I'll try to post some pictures from it when we get back. Suffice it to say that it's a very messy, very loud, very special time and there has not been a Thanksgiving in my life without it. It's fabulous and I love it...even though I always make myself sick at my stomach by eating raw noodles...oh well - it's worth it!

Thursday morning we're having a Thanksgiving breakfast with Matt's family, then we're heading up to my cousin Lisa's for dinner with my mom's family. Matt is actually coming back to Wilmore Thursday night since he has to work Friday morning. I'm going to stay though, so I can go shopping with his mom and his sister. They're those crazy people out at 5:00 am the day after Thanksgiving fighting for Tickle-me-Satans...er...uh...I mean Tickle-me-Elmos. It should be fun...

All of that to say that we're going to have a crazy busy week! But it will be great to be home visiting friends and family, making ourselves sick by eating too much. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about??? I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and that you get to spend it with many loved ones. May we all remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves and be thankful to God, who blesses us richly.

Be His,
Katie

P.S. Praise God for the birth of little Hannah Barnett. She was born this morning around 3:45 and Mommy, Daddy and Hannah are doing well. Thank you Lord for a perfect delivery!!!