Let me come right out and say we celebrated Thanksgiving this year in the presence of our Christmas tree. The snow-covered trees outside had me yearning for holiday cheer inside so the weekend before Turkey Day we went for it. The tree went up and Emerson decorated to her heart’s content. For a whole week I enjoyed the dirty little secret Christmas tree before turning the lights on for all to see.

Next on our to-do list was to wait in suspense until Meggie and Mimi arrived! Lucky for us they came an entire day early and Emerson was in heaven. We hadn’t all been home together since last Christmas so it was a pretty big deal to say the least.

And even better was that they arrived with Scratch cupcakes!

As if it isn’t nice enough not to have to travel for the holidays to be with family, it was even better to split some of the cooking with my mom this year in the comfort of my own home! I love living a few blocks away from my parents. Lots of food and photos made for a fun Thanksgiving.

The cherry on top of a great week was having everyone over for dinner before my sisters went back to Iowa City. I’m thankful every day for the special people in my life and am looking forward to a lot more holiday fun beginning next week! Time flies when you’re Christmas shopping!