We had a nice, long fall, though I don't think I was able to enjoy it as much as I'd had liked. But now it doesn't matter, because it's under 20 degrees and there's snow and ice on the ground and people are driving recklessly on the slippery roads.

The family enjoyed our Thanksgiving. My parents came out for the holiday. It was also Jen's last opportunity to study and catch up with her semester work before finals leap upon her. Jen did a good job of stealing herself away to study and to come out to have fun quality time with the family. Meredith of course enjoyed all the fun grandparent entertainment.

For Thanksgiving dinner, I experimented by cooking a goose. I have limited experience with cooking turkey as it is, and I've never even tasted goose before. But I must say that it worked out very well and we made a wonderful apple stuffing to go with it.

Today, we got our Christmas tree at the co-op and put up the lights and decorations. With music in the background, we're trying to get into the holiday spirit. Meredith has a calendar on the fridge (which she uses stickers to keep track of days on) that features all the holiday fun we expect to encounter this next month--like visits to grandparents'.

Meredith continues to excel. She sings and talks non-stop. Meredith likes to pretend. She puts her stuffed animals "to sleep" and covers them up with blankets before waking them up suddenly. Meredith also likes to "cook." Last week she decided to cook some breakfast "for Grandpa Dave" several days before he was to visit.

Right now we're trying to get everything in place for the holidays--remainging work and responsibilities, gifts, cards, and packing. It will be a much anticipated break on our end.