Thanksgiving

     We made the trek down to Sturbridge, MA, to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Lennox was perfect on the trip down, probably because his Daddy was in the back seat with him while Grady totally passed out  kept me company in the front seat. Aidan was the only other person in the car to stay awake during the entire trip. He amazed me with how many variations of "are we there yet"  he could come up with.

     Once we made it down, Benjamin and I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few things I needed to cook the next day and, for the first time ever, we were together without Lennox. My parents insisted he stay home with them since it was so cold outside. It was a wierd feeling, being without him. He's been within 20 feet of me since he was born. It was amazing to take our time looking things over in the grocery store and holding hands and snuggling like we used to before one of us always had  baby in our arms, but we both later admitted to each other that something was missing without him there.

     The next day was busy. I volunteered to cook Thanksgiving dinner for 14 people, plus I made appetizers and desserts. I really enjoy doing that stuff, so it was actually pretty fun. Grady and Aidan were really well behaved and Benjamin spent the whole day snuggling Lennox, except for when I needed help moving the 25 pound turkey around the kitchen. Then we had to pass him off to Grandmoms and Aunts that were more than wiling to take charge of him. Dinner went off without a hitch and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

     I think Ben had high hopes for Black Friday, and when we finally rolled out of bed at 9:30 we both decided we could care less. A lot of the things the boys have asked for, I've been able to find deals on already. So it just wasn't a big deal to miss out on shopping at 4am to save five dollars on a video game. We did end up braving a gigantic mall in Connecticut, but the whole experience was uneventful aside from seeing a shoplifter get taken down by mall security.

     Now it's 1:30 in the morning and I'm being an irresponsible parent by letting the boys stay up and play video games with their grandfather while Lennox snoozes on my chest. Benjamin is asleep upstairs and was expecting me to wake him up four hours ago, but I'm pretty sure that when you love someone and have a baby with them, the best gift that you can give them is sleep. So I hope he is having plenty of sweet dreams.

     If you had told me a year ago that this is what my life would look like, I would have laughed in your face, But I am so very thankful for the way things have turned out. I have three handsome, sweet boys, and a fiance that loves me and my sons like no one ever has before. This Thanksgiving has reminded me that I have a lot to be grateful for.