Another Thankful Post.

Today I am thankful for….

* a husband who caved to my wishes and let me put up the tree early, so I now have decorations up for two holidays.  I am doing as much of the work of Christmas as early as possible so I can enjoy fun and reflection in the weeks leading up to the holiday.

* looking at our old Christmas cards and seeing how Ellie has grown and changed.  I have our first three cards framed, and I seem to be missing the 2012 card, so I'll be digging for that later today.

* coffee when a little girl wakes up at 5:25 am, and that is "sleeping in."

* plans to make a pumpkin pie this afternoon, just because I really like pumpkin pie.

* locating a big box of Christmas books that I'll wrap up (again) for Ellie as a daily Christmas read.

* the upcoming excitement of seeing family over Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is the big holiday for my extended family and I love when we get to join in.  My aunt asked me what Ellie wants to eat and I lied and told her my favorite Thanksgiving treat.  She was suspicious, but I think she'll make my favorite pumpkin squares anyway.

* Family Fall Foto Fest.  We have a family photo contest for Thanksgiving, with fun prizes and a lot of pride on the line.

* memories going through the ornaments.  My grandma bought each of her grandkids an ornament each year after Christmas for the following year's tree, and wrote our names on each box.  I still have a lot of the boxes.  We each collected a series.  My angels have a lot of wings missing but they are all on the tree.  I also found ornaments handmade by my next-door neighbor from when I was little.

* a little girl in glasses.  (OK, I typed that and she took them off.)  But a little girl who is wearing them without a major battle!  (Update: They are back on to watch a show.)

* plans to make Krinkles later today.  Shhhh, don't tell Matt.  But he doesn't check this blog anyway.  They are his favorite Christmas treat.  Family, I plan to bring them to share for Thanksgiving but I make no promises with Matt around.

* the Coca Cola Christmas music box from the early 1990s that my mom had in our house at Christmas and passed on to me.  Ellie loves it.  She spins around and dances.

* Ellie's new snow boots, purchased for an upcoming trip that will probably not feature snow, a change in the weather prediction since I rush-ordered the boots.  But they are super cute.

* Penguins of Madagascar holiday movie.  Ellie and I love it.

Have a wonderful weekend.  What are you thankful for this weekend?