Sunday, December 1st, 2013
My dearest brother,
What a fantastic Thanksgiving we had this week! It was
probably one of my favorites so far. The anticipation leading up to Thursday
was very exciting and kept things moving quickly. The kids just about died from
the excitement of mom and Kayden coming home on Tuesday. I tried hard to
distract them and we spent the afternoon at the park on Tuesday but it was
still all that Abrielle could talk about. Alyssa and I made dinner for them
when they got back and we got together and enjoyed each other’s company. Mom
brought them all very cute little stuffed animals and ornaments for their
trees. They love them and Abrielle can’t set her “Rainbow Dash” pony down!
We got the turkeys all set in their buckets on Tuesday night
and then stayed up late Wednesday watching Deep Space 9. It was so nice to not
have to worry about getting up early the next day.
On Thursday we got the turkeys all rinsed and covered in
butter and spices and stuffed and packed away in their bags and roasting pans.
We dropped them off at Grandma’s house in the ovens and then we dropped
Abrielle and Nathan off at Jake’s parent’s house so that he and I could go to
the gym together. We have never gone to the gym together before so it was a
wonderful experience to visit and have a good time getting our sweat on!
We got the kids and put them down for rest time while we got
cleaned up at the Dunford’s house and helped Grandma get ready for Thanksgiving
dinner. We had SO MUCH DELICIOUS FOOD! We made 2 turkeys (as usual) and then
Matt & Alyssa brought one that they smoked. I think I was full from snacking
and snitching before we ever sat down but I still managed to get a large plate
done that kept me full for the rest of the day!
Mom, Alyssa, and I all left for Black Friday shopping around
7:00 pm. We had to wait in line at Wal-mart for a long time but other than that
we pretty much mozied around each store and laughed and had a great time. We
got a ton of great deals and there were hardly any people out in the earlier
morning hours. By about 3:00 am I was pretty beat – we had already been out for
8 hours! I stuck it out until 7:00 am but by then I was hurting so badly in my
legs and pelvis from walking and standing for 12 hours that I just wanted to go
home. I felt bad that I was the “party pooper” but I crashed so hard when I got
home that I think that it was the best decision for me.
I was pretty out of it for the rest of the day on Friday. On
Saturday we went to see the new Disney movie Frozen that just came out.
It was SOO cute and the music was amazing! It is definitely one I want to own.
After the show Jake and I raced downtown to see Savior of the World. My
friend, Sam Bostwick, was a shepherd and Cleopas on the way to Emmaus. He did a
great job and sang beautifully. I love to support my friends in the things that
are important to them. We got dinner after the show before picking the kids up
and then spent the rest of the evening making cheesecake from scratch. It was
really good but definitely not worth the effort so I don’t think that I will
make it again.
I can hardly believe that we are at the end of the semester.
I have a full arsenal of classes this week and then just my evening classes on
Monday and Tuesday next week. I am so close to being done and I am very
grateful. It has been a good semester but definitely a long one and I am ready
to be finished.
I love you, dear brother. I am getting extremely excited for
you to come home in just 18 days. I created your Facebook homecoming event so that
everyone can start to plan and prepare to be there to support you. We are going
to do dinner at Grandma Sue’s house afterwards so that everyone can visit with
you. I am sure it will be very overwhelming and yet very wonderful for you. J
I love you so much!
Love Always, Shayla
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