While I avoid turkey crafts in my classroom, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Actually, I love the entire season from November to January! I love the crisp feel in the air (once it finally gets cold in GA!), the energy and excitement of the holiday season, and time with friends and family.
I recently read a blog post written by my former small group leader, Kristen. She writes about family traditions and that "being weird" is good! It's a blog about parenting, and while I don't have kids, I started thinking about the traditions our families do that make the holidays so special: Movies on Christmas day; cactus contest and game; non-traditional meals; traditional, southern meals... This Thanksgiving Brian and I have a lot to be thankful for...
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I have been asking (aka nagging) Brian if we could make a trip to the mountains to see the fall leaves. Our usual undergrad college group trip to Burt's Pumpkin Patch didn't happen this year. Mainly because I was too busy with conference! Meaning, I hadn't had a chance to see the leaves! This past Sunday we had planned to go rock climbing, when our friend Tom invited us to go to the mountains instead. This was early in the morning, before I had even gotten out of bed. Brian didn't even have to finish his sentence before I agreed! After picking up Subway for a picnic lunch and getting stuck in some random traffic in Helen, GA, we made it to Brasstown Bald! We were given two choices at the gate: take the shuttle or walk the trail. We should have taken the shuttle...! To be fair, we were warned "the trail is paved and only 0.6 of a mile...but it is steep." Hiking with three Shaolin students who train 3-4 times a week did not prove to be beneficial to me. I was totally out-hiked and definitely not in as good of shape as I had hoped! We finally made it to the top - the highest point in Georgia! It was a gorgeous day; we had the perfect weather! We at our lunch and spent some time at the overlook. Unfortunately, the leaves at the top had already turned brown; but we enjoyed the view anyway. We made the - much quicker - walk down the mountain to head back to Atlanta. Thankfully, the leaves going down the mountain were much brighter and more vibrant. We made a stop on the side of the road and took lots of video as we drove. We ended the day with dinner at a favorite spot of Tom & Jackie's. It was delicious! All in all, it was a great day with good friends. Gorgeous views, good conversation, laughs, a little exercise, a yummy dinner = a happy Amber!
We have never been ones to dress up or really celebrate Halloween much. This year was a little different! It started with a cookout at our friends' Dave and Laura's followed by "haunted" walking tour of Norcross. The tour ended up being more historical rather than haunted, but it was still fun! Good food and time spent with good friends! We did a quick costume for that party. (aka Amber was making things at school, while her students worked...shhh! Don't tell!) Can you figure out what we were? The following weekend, we went to two Shaolin family parties dressed as the Ninja Turtles. We had the shirts, hats, masks and socks! It was a fun night of carpooling, hanging out, dinner, and avoiding loud children with our close friends Aaron and Jeff. We have had a busy but fun October! Can't believe November is already here! Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before we know it!
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December 2017
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