thanksgiving surprises.

yes, this is late, but i hope you had a pleasant holiday weekend. ours was full. full of thankfulness (we have so much to be thankful for this year), family, food, and surprises.

i've always loved thanksgiving.
okay, i love thanksgiving because it means that christmastime is here (once it's over, that is). and i really love christmas. i always have. i get pretty excited about it. and can tend to be impatient waiting for the fun and festivities to start.

but even in my impatience, i didn't expect it start so soon.

friday afternoon, nick and ben went out to run errands and left with a cryptic "i need to work on something, so we might be awhile."

away they went, and awhile they were. awhile full of thwarted online christmas shopping efforts and a sick, teething (read: ornery) toddler. as nighttime approached, i even got a little worried (yes, sometimes i'm a worrywart).

they got home just fine. they meaning nick, ben, and this little face.

our reaction? coen was thrilled. i was confused. we had decided that a cat would be much more inline with our lifestyle for this season than a dog was/would be. we also decided that we would wait until the new year to start looking. obviously, that decision was to keep my kitty-loving heart at bay. as in, allowing me to be free from looking at shelter websites for hours on end.

tycho is perfect for our little family. he's fitting right in. and i'm over being shocked. now, i'm in love.

____

saturday afternoon, two of my dear friends showed up with this (minus the decorations):

it's so humbling, and yet so wonderful to have people in our lives who care so much they even think to bless us with a christmas tree, let alone actually buy one for us. and it's a bushy, plump beauty. it's lovely.

what a wonderful start to our christmastime.