Brief recap of the last couple weeks:

We had Thanksgiving at at my grandparents’ farm in North Carolina as we usually do each year. They have about thirty acres and it is absolutely, without question my favorite place in the world to just go and relax. This was the first time in several years that the entire family (from my mom’s parents on down) has been able to be there, so it was fantastic!

With the help of family and friends, we threw a surprise 30th birthday party for Marie at our house the other night. Her actual birthday isn’t for a few weeks, but last weekend was the only one available, plus, it being a few weeks early increased the chances of actually surprising her. It worked.

I’ve started running almost every morning. Two miles right now. It’s been long enough now that I am actually enjoying it (mostly).

Watching: Christmas movies with the kids, which is fun! The current most popular in our house: Frosty, The Snowman; Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Listening: Lots of Christmas music – The Carpenters (a staple when I was growing up), Mannheim Steamroller, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mariah Carey, Michael Bublé and Burl Ives seem to be popping up a lot.

Other music: Shane & Shane – Pages, Desperation Band – Everyone Overcome, David Crowder Band – Remedy, Brooke Fraser – Albertine, U2 – Joshua Tree: 20th Anniversary Edition, Dave Matthews Band – The Lillywhite Sessions and John Lennon – Free As A Bird: The Dakota Demos.

Reading/Recently Read: Standing Next to History, Leadership, Reagan: A Life in Letters, What’s So Great About Christianity?, At the President’s Side and A Day in the Life.

That pretty much sums up the last few weeks. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.