blessed beyond measure

When mistletoe and tinsel glow Paint a yuletide valentine Back home I go to those I know For a Christmas auld lang syne And as we gather 'round the tree Our voices all combine In sweet accord to thank the Lord For a Christmas auld lang syne When sleigh bells ring and choirs sing And the children's faces shine With each new toy we share their joy With a Christmas auld lang syne We sing His praise this day of days And pray next year this time We'll all be near to share the cheer Of a Christmas auld lang syne Merry Christmas everyone!

So a couple of years ago, I installed a small, simple clearance chandelier over our kitchen table. With guidance from Youtube, since I'm technically not an electrician. It took hours and hours, but the success of that venture lit a fire in me to try other DIY things. Well, maybe not a fire. A warmish charcoal briquette that took two years to finally smolder. The boys' bathroom was at the top of my list. Just altogether a pitiful space, and only partly because of the disgusting nature of a male-dominated bathroom. Two towel racks and a toilet paper holder that had been lovingly anchored to the walls fourteen years ago had long since fallen out, and took some nice chunks of drywall with them. I had cleverly covered the holes with little cartoon wall decals of cars, trucks, and planes. That were peeling off and matched nothing and were no longer interesting to my now-giant children. The honey oak single cabinet and ten-dollar light fixture screamed nineties. The mirror ...

Where on earth to begin? There's been a lot of life, with its many ups and downs, over the weeks-long blog silence. And at least the ups, I don't want to forget. To kick off an early Thanksgiving week, Mom and I headed southeast to see Nene for a few days. Oh what fun we had. Shopping helped us get in all our steps, and I got to experience the phenomenon that is Ikea for the first time ever. The Christmas lights at Busch Gardens were breathtaking and just made the season come alive. On a whim, we drove to the beach - through a terrifying underwater tunnel, I might add - for the best rainy oceanside seafood I've ever tasted. We warm fuzzied our way through the Mr. Rogers movie in a theater filled with full-size recliners, be still my heart. But most of all, we just soaked up time together, catching up, reminiscing, laughing. It was so wonderful. On the way home, Mom and I took a stroll through Williamsburg, one of my favorite places on earth. Our ...