Now where did I leave off? Ah, yes, it was Wednesday and we had already spent two fun days in Georgia helping mom decorate her tree, going to the theater, and playing games. Wednesday morning we ate breakfast, swung by a farmers market to grab some collard greens, and made a quick pit stop at the infamous Iron Horse on our drive to Nannie’s house, or “the farm” as we called it growing up. Nannie has some acreage and it’s the most peaceful place. She used to have an impressive garden, but at 89 and living on her own (amazing!), it became too much to keep up with. She still hosts Thanksgiving every year though, and for that we are so grateful.

We showed up midmorning and, per usual, Nannie had already started on measuring out everything she needed for her Thanksgiving dressing, the pumpkin pies, and more. Still, it’s fun for us to show up and help. My Aunt Lynn joined us, but unfortunately my cousin and her two kids had the flu and weren’t able to be there. We sure missed them!

Mid-afternoon we headed back to Mom’s house to relax and chat, eat a homemade taco bar, and wait for David to show up, which he did by 8:00. Such a road warrior, as he had been from North Carolina, to Tennessee to build a fence around the hot tub to keep the bears out, and then down to Georgia. I was glad to have him there!

Thanksgiving morning we headed over to Nannie’s after breakfast. My bro and my nieces arrived when we did and the cousins giddily took off into the woods to build a fort; they were thrilled to finally be together! The adults got things cooking in the kitchen and over the next hour or two, family trickled in. My cousin brought homemade pickles (delicious) and we sipped wine, filled our plates with southern goodness, ate pie, missed those that were sick, and gave thanks for all our many blessings. Gosh I love this day.

By early evening it was time to hug everyone farewell. From there, David, the girls, Finley, and I headed to South Carolina to my in-laws house, which fortunately is only about a 2 hour drive. We arrived by 7:30 to big hugs and hot tea and spent the evening catching up with Mema and Grandpa.

Friday morning David and I worked out in the morning and were back before noon to welcome his brother and his family. My kids are in awe of their “big cousins” (ages 17, 16, 14, and 12) and always take a few minutes to warm up. They are such sweet kids though and before long they took off to play chess and start bonfires. We watched the US tie England in the World Cup, then spent the afternoon and evening taking a walk, watching the dogs wear each other out, sipping wine, playing cards, and catching up.

Saturday we exercised in the morning, watched football (Kaitlyn and I were the only two cheering on the Dawgs in a house of Georgia Tech fans) and went on walks in the afternoon. I got to play with my nieces’ hair with my . I felt like the cool aunt when they loved the results on what they swear is hair so straight it won’t hold curl.

Hailey and Kaitlyn brought their piano music and Mema is an accomplished flautist, so we spent some time putting on a mini concert. We ate roast and potatoes in the evening, finished a Charlie Brown puzzle, and played Samba until late into the evening. It’s such a cozy time catching up with everyone!

Sunday morning we ate breakfast and packed our things for the trek home. We stopped in Traveler’s Rest for lunch, then at the store for groceries, and finally arrived home late afternoon. It was such a whirlwind of a week, as it always is, and definitely my favorite week of the year. There’s nothing better than spending time with family.

I hope your week is off to a good start! Yesterday was spent doing laundry, cooking, doing math and writing, cleaning out Kaitlyn’s room from top to bottom, getting some exercise in, and now I’m feeling back on track. Let’s do this, Tuesday! 🙂 Have a great day!!