Just wanted to share this with you....: Gobble Gobble

Left: Aunt Michelle and Caden;

Below: Maddie holding Caden, Liz holding Elle, and Ryan on the end!

Thanksgiving. It was a looong drive and a fantastic trip overall. Good thing I'm not much of a planner, because my original "plan" which I am almost guaranteed to deviate from at any given moment, didn't pan out as expected. I was supposed to stay with Shellee in Knoxville at the half-way mark, but she had to drive back home to Kentucky last-minute, so instead of stopping Tuesday night for some rest and quality time with Shell, I powered up with some coffee and kept on goin'! The drive was surprisingly great, especially through the middle of the night because there was little traffic to speak of. (You can see below that Wendy and Carly travel well, alternating between the seat and the floorboard.) I was definitely functioning on coffee (and a Red Bull late in the game), but also I think on adrenaline and the excitement of getting home. I rolled into Mom's driveway right at 4am and stumbled up to bed. My mind and body had every reason to be tired, but because of the excess caffeine consumption I stared at the ceiling of my childhood bedroom for another hour before falling asleep. I woke up early, too - go figure - and spent a loungy, lazy morning with mom, before taking a noon-ish nap. Later, Mark, Marie, and Caden came over for Thanksgiving on Wednesday night. The food was terrific (Thanks, Mom!), and it was great to catch up with Mark, Marie, and of course the little guy. What a good baby!!!

After dinner and some down-time, Mark, Marie and the baby went home and I drove to Sidney to meet Christy at...the Moose?!?? Thank the Lord for GPS because I had no idea where I was going. At any rate, exhausted, sleep-deprived, and running on coffee, I made it there and visited with my former partner in crime for a while. I successfully managed to discreetly pour my second Maker's and Coke in HER cup without her noticing (we were drinking the same thing), but she caught me on my 3rd drink which I had resisted in the first place. I was driving, AND sleepy! Regardless, the time visiting with Christy was great and grand as always, but always too short. We've already powered up for Christmas, when there's more time to make the "rounds."

You can see a few pictures taken at Mom's, including one of the flat, vacant Ohio farmland, and the wide open yard, field, and woods behind the house. It's so peaceful out there. Actually, when I pulled up to the house on my 4am arrival, I sat for a minute and looked at the sky/stars - breathtaking! I love that about growing up/living in the country.

Caden was such a good baby - almost 4 months old - being passed around to each family member. Amanda was holding the little guy at the kitchen countertop, and at this point in the night he hadn't had much of a nap all day, and was still in good spirits. So glad I got some quality time with the nieces and nephew! You can see Maddie and Izzy on Thanksgiving day in their Holiday dresses, and baby Elle on the couch with her Mom and Dad (Ryan and Liz) in another picture. After Thanksgiving "Lunch" on the extended Francis family size, Maddie and Izzy were extremely curious about my camera, so they did a little photography of their own! (See below.) The Francis Family Thanksgiving was HUGE, as always, and I caught up with lots of the aunts, uncles, and cousins, though there is never really enough time to talk to everyone. I felt like I told the same blazing-fast story only to start all over again to the next family member that walked up. Makes for lots of talking post-dinner! Chatting, Spicy Bloody Mary's, and kids running wild, it was just another typical Francis get-together! The exciting part was there were 4 pregnant family members there, and 4 babies under the age of 4 months. Rapidly growing family!

More to come later, and my apologies for the disorganized photos. My computer is...acting up? I don't know. Something needs fixed on the ole laptop, but I'm not about to tend to it until after finals. Check back for more photos later, and enjoy!

Aunt Amanda and the little guy