Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is always the biggest holiday of the year for Eric's family, and Christmas is the biggest for mine, so we normally head to Greenville in November and Camden in December. Except we'll swap next year, because we're heading to Mexico on a cruise with Eric's entire family over Christmas to celebrate Gram's 75th birthday and Pap's 80th! We're excited already!

This year we made the long drive up for Thanksgiving...we HAD to drive because with all the wedding gifts we got last year at home, we didn't have room to bring our Christmas tree home that I bought on after-Christmas clearance! So off we went to get the tree, because it MUST go up no later than the weekend after Thanksgiving Day in the Ferri household.

Autumn at Eric's parents' house is always so beautiful...their property is set back off the road with a pond (the Floridians must have water nearby), and the beauty of nature that time of year just puts it over the edge.

Eric's sister and her husband were able to join us this year, and Eric and I got to meet our nephew for the first time! The weekend was very low key, which was just what I needed after finishing the semester of classes and preparing to gear back up for exams the following week.

There was a lot of coffee drinking and lounging....as you can see above, I didn't even put down my cup for a photo. We were chilly for sure coming from the 70's in Florida! I hit the stores early Friday morning for some Black Friday shopping with Eric's mom...but I'm an early Christmas shopper so all I really had left to buy were gifts for an elderly man we "adopted" and new work clothes that Eric needed. Even though they weren't Christmas gifts, I still got some great deals on them!

The man in a state funded nursing home in Florida that we adopted had one "wish" on his list...a button down cardigan! How precious is that! Made my heart warm, and I wish we would have gotten to meet him instead of just sending our gifts in...the thought of the smile on his face makes me happy anyway :)  He also got a few other outfits, socks, a fleece throw, some candy, and cards from us!

 On Saturday, we headed back north!  We stopped by my Nana's house on the way to pick up our Christmas tree and a few other decorations she wanted to send back with us!  While we were there, we put up her live tree which smelled divine and officially got me in the Christmas spirit.

3 generations!

My brother and I with my sweet Nana and Papa

It was so nice to see them for just a bit...and my darling 4-legged child, Polka Dot, who lives with my mom!  After I studied abroad in college, she got way too attached to my Mom's dog, Candy, to come to Florida with me! As busy as we are, it's a blessing...my mom loves her and Polka Dot adores my mom and Candy. I'm so glad she's happy...and well fed, as you can see in the picture below. My mom is getting an early start on spoiling "grandkids."

Candy (left) and Polka Dot (right)...clad in her pearl necklace, of course

Eric and I drove halfway on Saturday night, stopped at a convenient Hilton off the highway, and then onward home the next morning to put up our own Christmas decorations.

Oh and to the Cracker Barrell we stopped at on the way for breakfast, that had a lovely fire going and seated us right in front of it...bless you. You made my weekend.

Not my photo...it was even more lovely than this.