Oh, so THANKFUL!

Our family had a wonderful (but quick) trip to Vancouver, WA, to celebrate Thanksgiving. And oh, do we have many reasons to count our blessings! God is sooo good. (I'll have to take more time at another time to compose the many things that have transpired over the past few weeks regarding our move to Texas.)

We had to get back to Roseville for Nutcracker rehearsal on Friday morning, so we drove 630 miles on Thanksgiving Day or rather T-giving Night... Thankfully, there was no snow on the mountain passes. And we did manage to find a few gas stations and at least one restaurant open, despite traveling on a holiday.

I don't know if you have noticed, but the past several posts have been more of a pictorial update -- light on remarks/content, heavy on images. That's just the way things are with this impending TX move. There are things I'd like to comment on, but I am short on time. At least the photos do tell the story...

That must be a spud from neighboring Idaho!

Chef Millie slices and dices everything in sight!

Ready and waiting...

Now doesn't that plate look appetizing?

Most people take photos of a perfectly browned turkey waiting to be carved. Not me! I decided to take a photo of the carcass as evidence that the fowl flesh was succulent -- all 23 lbs. of it. ;-)

After dinner, we took a walk to burn off some dinner and to make room for PIE!

The Birds -- Jay and Robin

Molly and her grandparents

Grandpa found another way to get around the neighborhood. Did we see him do the Bunny Hop and a 180? I'm not tellin'.

The "almost annual" Annalise and Liesey photo is a great one!

Liesey decided to fly back to Sacramento with her aunt and grandparents instead of making the road trip with us. This allowed her to have an extra day in Vancouver to visit her friend Shelby.

This is the only place that we could find open on T-giving Day. Yep, it is a Burger King, and no, they were not serving up turkey burgers. That Whopper Jr. tasted pretty yummy. As an added bonus, the restrooms were clean! Yet another reason to be thankful... :-)

And so the Nuttiness Begins...

It was a beautiful, yet chilly, day at the Fountains in Roseville where several pieces from The Nutcracker were performed on the community stage. (It's a concrete stage, so pointe shoes cannot be worn during this performance. Oh, well!) This public appearance was to promote the upcoming Placer Theatre Ballet production. The audience gave the dancers a warm reception, so the goose bumps were somewhat reduced by the applause!

All Smiles

It took a total of four years to get this smile (Phase 1, headgear, retainer, Phase 2...), but it was worth the
l-o-n-g wait.

Moments before the tin grin was eliminated...

Dr. Otto and his staff rejoiced with their patient.

Everyone is pleased with the results -- especially the 15-year-old.

To celebrate being brace-free, the first thing that Liesey ate was a big, crunchy, juicy apple. YUM!

More signs...

We are amazed that our home sold in less than a week. We'll attribute the speedy sale to our amazing Realtor. :-) The deal will be done by the end of the year, and we'll be off to Texas. What a roller coaster ride we are on!

Having a Ball

The Masquerade Ball this weekend was a HUGE success! Analiese found the perfect little black dress and mask for the evening. Her daddy presented her with a single red rose wrist corsage and drove her to the ballroom dance studio, which is only 1.5 miles from our house. This event was almost in our backyard -- high school students from Roseville, Rocklin, Sacramento, and Yuba City came to the ball. :-) Thankfully, it was not a ballroom blitz!

The photos tell all.

Adding the finishing touches...

Daughter and Daddy

Masquerade!
Paper faces on parade.

Masquerade!

Hide your face, so the world will never find you!
Masquerade!
Every face a different shade.
Masquerade!
Look around -
there's another
mask behind you!

What a beautiful/handsome group of kids!

'Tis the Season for Apple Butter

Even though we have been busy with getting the house "show" ready, we managed to whip up a batch or two of apple butter in our spare time. This year, Miss Millie was my helper. The results are tasty -- perhaps a little heavy on the cloves, but still quite yummy. We have determined, through careful and; repeated taste tests, that this year's product is tastiest on toasted sourdough bread. Actually, it tastes good on just about anything! ;-)

Millie got to use her great grandmother's sieve to separate the cooked peel from the rest of the apple goo. This is the one time each year that this kitchen utensil gets put to use. I am sure it is an antique, but it still works great.

A Sign of the Times?

There may be smiles for the photo, but there were a few tears when that sign got planted in the lawn today. Raleigh Court just isn't happy about this new development.

It's a BOO-tiful Night in this Neighborhood...

...A beautiful "night" for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?...

Are you singing along? I am! I can almost hear Mister Rogers singing this modified version of his well-known opening theme song. ;-)

Now, where was I? Oh, I remember. Neighbor!

Our Raleigh Court neighbors gathered 'round the firepit to enjoy one another's company. Liesey & I were late to the unofficial All Saint's Eve neighborhood bash, due to a Ballet Rejoice engagement. Her Christian dance company got to "perform" at a Fall Carnival at a local church along with Paradosi, a professional ballet company. There was a lot going on this evening!

We had a great time hanging out in our 'hood. We love our neighbors! There is a lot of laughter when this group assembles. :-) Naturally, we had to perform (repeated?) quality control tests on the treats that were being handed out to Trick or Treaters. We also watched the first "Pirates" movie at the Raleigh Ct. Garage Door Theater. The entire court contingent was out late, since we were promised an extra hour of sleep. (It would be nice to add an extra hour of sleep every weekend!)

See the pictures, complete with descriptions:

Sydney, Alyssa, and Millie awarded prizes to the most creatively carved gourds on the court. The first place ribbons are certainly creative, too!

Janet & Katie

Larry & Bobbie

Mitchell & his scary looking friends made an appearance.

Charles & Janet

Referees Jeff & Paula and their lil' football

The gentlemen of Raleigh Court

The Girly-girls

We will certainly miss the genuine camaraderie of the Raleigh Court residents, but we are hopeful that we will find good neighbors in Texas.

Ah... there is news from the Lone Star State that I should share. In the afternoon, we received a call from our Texas Realtor, Al. He shared with us that our counter offer on a brand-spankin' new (yet-to-be-built) home in Keller was accepted. No tricks -- just treats!

We are amazed at how the details all came together -- further evidence that God is in control. The earnest $ has been sent, and the builder (Drees) will be sending blueprints for review & other paperwork for us to sift through. A lot of the preliminary "stuff" will have to be accomplished long-distance. We hope to make a trip to TX within the next month to begin the process of selecting cabinets, flooring, paint colors, lighting, & other options. The house will not be completed until July 2010. All of our furniture will be stored until we move in the new house. While we wait for the house to be completed, will be living at a good friend's home in Keller -- yet another amazing blessing! We will have plenty o' room for visitors in the new house. Hint. Hint. Start making plans for a Texas trek.

The REALLY hard part comes next -- planting a "For Sale" sign in our yard will make for a difficult/emotional day. :-( We hope to get our CA house on the market within the next week, or two. There are sooo many little details to attend to, but we are checking things off of the list one by one.

Stay tuned for more updates.