giving thanks

We spent a great few days celebrating Thanksgiving with my family last week.  It was lots of fun with lots of family and lots of food.

Rachel and Rebecca had the best time playing with their cousins and grandparents.

Unfortunately I don't have much in the way of pictures.  We were too busy enjoying ourselves to take them, I guess.  Here we are during Thanksgiving dinner:

My husband and I got to see a movie and do a little Christmas shopping, and I even got to shop with my mom and aunt, something we used to do every year on Black Friday, but hadn't happened in years, so that was fun. 

Rebecca and Grandpa playing dominos:

I can't believe that with Thanksgiving over, we're already in the throes of Christmas preparations.  It seems like it's SO early this year.  I have a huge chunk of my shopping done, which is a good feeling.

Monday night we had our Girl Scout meeting at the community center so that the girls could climb the climbing wall there.  Rachel was pretty afraid, and there were tears involved at first, but I was really proud of her for continuing to try and each time she got a little bit better.  She still couldn't climb up near the top like a few of the other girls (she told me, through tears, that it was because she doesn't eat enough meat, so she's not strong enough!), but she stuck with it, improved, and she ended up having a great time, which is progress for Rachel, who is fearful of new things. 

Here she is: