Our Thanksgiving Break... in a nutshell!

When I left you guys on Monday I was planning to start {and finish} painting our upstairs bedrooms. That was all I thought we could handle over the Thanksgiving break. Little did I know what all we could get done in the span of 5 days! And by "we" I mean the little army I enlisted to help me get my house ready for the holidays!

Here's a quick overview of our accomplishments.

• Paint upstairs bedrooms {walls, trim, and doors}
• Rearrange furniture in the loft
• Decorate guest bedroom
• Change filter in attic {this is more time consuming than you think}
• Clean/Pick-up the house
• Cook the dish we were taking to my grandparent's house for Thanksgiving
• Sand and stain two dressers
• Unpack all the Christmas decorations
• Put up the Christmas tree and garland
• Restring the lights on the tree
• Buy new vanity for upstairs bedroom
• Order and pick up our Christmas cards

That quick overview hardly encompasses ALL we were able to get done this week, but if you stop to think about it, that is pretty hefty list to tackle all at once.

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent painting and moving furniture back into place once everything was dry. Wednesday afternoon we removed all the decorations from the wall in our loft so we could get up in the attic to get down the Christmas tree. However, once Kelly was in the attic, we realised our tree was still over at my parent's house! So, while he was up there, he changed the air filter, and the had to move some cables around to reconnect the internet in our study. {I didn't really understand what wires had to go where, so I left that job to the boys.} Oh, I guess I should give a shout out to my little army! My Dad helped me paint the majority of the walls on Tuesday and then my Mom joined in on the fun Tuesday afternoon and helped paint the trim. Kelly had to work Tuesday, so when he got home from work, he was enlisted to take over for my Dad. My brother, Joshy, came home from college on Tuesday evening and came over to the house in time to hang out and watch the Dancing With The Stars finale. Dad, Josh and Kelly moved all the furniture on Wednesday afternoon while Mom and I decorated the bedroom and got everything back in order. Thank you Army for helping me get my house in order!!!

Wednesday night Kelly's parents got to town. They didn't make it to our house until about 10:00 that evening, so we just relaxed on the couch after a long day of hard work. Thursday my parents picked us up to go to my grandparent's house for Thanksgiving, while Kelly's parent's went over to Kelly's aunt's house for the day. We all had a great day filled with wonderful food and fellowship with family!

Friday morning my mom and I woke up at 4:45 am to get a head start on our holiday shopping. We made a few quick stops and then headed to Canton. It was our first time EVER to experience the infamous Canton Trade Days, and I have to say, we made it out alive! There was so much cute stuff to see, I still don't know if we saw it all! Of course, we were there on the one cold and rainy day out of the year, but that didn't stop us from power shopping the day away! We made a few purchases for the house and headed back to town around 2:00 pm. We had a few other places to stop before I headed home around 6:00 pm. That evening, Kelly and I went with his parents to The Shops at Highland Village to watch Four Christmases; however, it was sold out that night, so we made a stop at Snuffer's to chow down on their famous cheese fries instead. OH! I almost forgot! The best part of the night was that our PUPPY was born! Abby, the mother, had the puppies on Friday night between 11:00pm and 1:30am. There were a total of 9 in the litter: 4 black, 3 yellow, and 2 white!

Saturday morning we took it easy and lounged around the house for awhile. Kelly was in charge of staining the dressers that go in our upstairs bedroom, so Mom and I decided to get the Christmas decorations out and put up the tree. {Kelly hates putting up the Christmas tree, so I think he was glad to have an excuse this year.} But let me back up for a second. While my Mom and I were in Canton, I got a phone call from Kel saying that he and his Mom were going to sand down the dressers and stain them before his parents left to head back to Lubbock. Kelly and I had been planning on refinishing the dressers at some point, so I was thankful that his Mom was willing to help him tackle that HUGE project! Back to Saturday... after Mom and I got the decorations in place, Kelly and I headed over to Jan's house, the puppies owner, to pick out our little pup! All the pups were absolutely adorable! They looked like little fur balls moving around! Kelly and I want a yellow lab, we just didn't know if we'd be getting a little girl or a little boy. Well, it turns out that we'll be getting a little GIRL! Here are a few pics from our first visit!

Kel and I are pretty sure we want the pup with the pink collar, but we are going back in a week to make our official selection. The white ones are beautiful and it makes it so hard to decide when you're looking at their cute little faces. Aren't they so cute?!

After leaving the pups, Kel and I made it home just in time to turn around twice and head back out the door with his parents to go see Four Christmases {for real this time.} We met up with Ryan, Kelly's brother; his roommate; his girlfriend {excuse me, the girl he is dating}; and Wes and Brandye. I would have to rate the movie a B, but the fellowship was A+! We headed home and crashed out on the couch. We were exhausted!

This morning we woke up and went to brunch with Kel's parents at Le Peep and then came back home to pack up their car so they could hit the road. A 5 hour drive home seems like a long car ride after the busy week we had! I've spent the afternoon getting the house in order and running a few more errands. I have to say, I'm looking forward to a relaxing night on the couch, just the two of us!

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Phew! All done. Thanks for reading this novel! Stay tuned for more updates on Christmas decorations and the puppy!