family

It was great being with my family today in Cookeville. We usually have everyone down here, but since Dale and Julie moved into a new house last month they wanted to have it up there. Not a bad drive, about an hour and forty minutes, although the hard rain on the way back made it seem longer. The house is very nice, great open floorplan.

We got there just a few minutes before the UT/Kentucky kickoff. We were able to watch the first quarter before lunch started, and then watched the second quarter while eating. The food was very good, especially the smoked turkey. Mom's dressing and green beans were great. Julie made a peanut butter pie with a chocolate topping. I wanted some of the bride's pumpkin pie at lunch, but opted for the pb pie. I made up for it, because I just ate some pumpkin pie a few minutes ago. (There's not been much dieting this week, especially not at night.)

While the bride and Julie took the three girls to get their picture made together, the rest of us stayed behind and watched the rest of the ballgame. Dale loves UT football, but isn't quite as animated as the rest of us. When UT got behind, we were yelling at the screen. After a few more such plays, Dale had enough and went upstairs to play video games. UT went ahead for good with just 39 seconds remaining, but it was way too close for comfort. I almost dread the SEC Championship game next week against Auburn. It could get ugly......

Another short week coming up for me, just 4 working days. Last year the bride said she wished I had taken a day off during the week for us to get some Christmas shopping done, so that's what I'll be doing on Thursday. I've actually only got one full 5-day week the rest of the year.

So tomorrow ends our Thanksgiving weekend. Again, I've got so very much to be thankful for; so many things I take for granted. I mean, I'm sitting in the den in my leather recliner, watching two football games at once, blogging with a notebook in my lap, with a Christmas tree directly in front of me and a roaring fire about 10 feet from me. The bride is to my right on the couch reading a book. The girls are upstairs - Meg's both on the phone and on the computer IM'ing friends; Sara's on the PS2 playing Sims. We're all healthy, clean, and warm with full stomachs. For me or anyone in our family to ever complain about anything is ridiculous.....