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I'm back from Thanksgiving break. It's "back to school, back to school"..Yesterday was my birthday. I love that even though I was going to be on the road for most of my day, my mom made sure to have cinammon rolls ready with candles in them and to have my brother and dad sit and share a "happy birthday" tune before I left. I was so naseous in the car though, so JP had to drive the whole way. He was such a sweetheart. He kept tickling my arm while he drove to make me feel better. He is a multi-tasker...haha. Today I went to work with more thoughts about money stuff and found an unexpected card in my mailbox from my boss who had shared her Christmas bonus amongst her employees. It was small but so thoughtful and sacrificial. Once again, God blessed me when he knew I was worried about it. I had such a fun time at home, despite feeling icky. I got my bridesmaid dresses picked...finaly (as Sharon would say), invitations ordered, and was able to celebrate my birthday with JP downtown Chicago. And again, on Thanksgiving, I was reminded why I love my family. We never have an ordinary celebration. When most families fight over the last dinner roll and have sparkling conversation, we are in an uproar about Christmas celebration plans, playing musical chair and limbo, and watching the little kids make a mess! I LOVE IT! Then we decorated our Christmas tree, which insisted be done while I was home for break. Although it was our first fake tree as a family, it was special to do it together in our new house and made me excited to continue the Griswold/Elton tradition by cutting down my own tree with JP next year. Tradition never dies....