A D.C. Thanksgiving

We broke tradition this year.  For thanksgiving, we opted out of spending it with family and went to D.C. to spend it with some wonderful friends.  

The day was crazy hectic.  We had to get out of the house for Aunt Debbie's cleaning lady.  Then David had to submit a urine sample for a drug test, and I had to drop my car off to get a small repair done.  And we had to be on the road to the airport by 2.  Oh yeah, and all the packing since we were headed to out of Aunt Debbie's house for good the day after we got back from D.C. 

The result was that David and I didn't eat anything after about 8 am, when we had breakfast.  The result was that we ended up at the airport STARVING.  Not a good place to be starving.   

We paid way too much money for Chili's food and horrible service.  Riley, chowing down on some chips.  

This photo is dark but you can see David's mouth hanging open.  Riley is passed out on his chest.  Hannah happily stared out the window for the entire hour and a half flight.  I did school work.  

We lost no time, and got right down to business.  With a pumpkin cappuccino and a vanilla latte.  And then a bottle of wine.  

And then the hot tub.  The wonderfully anticipated hot tub.  

These pictures need no words! 

Thanksgiving morning dip with Hannah.  

This is Liberty and George (as in George Washington).  George is younger, by about a year, he's the one sitting on the other dog.  

The girls watching Brave during our Norton blind taste test.  

Here's Josh, lining things up for us.  

The Norton grape, according to DeLong's Varietal Table.  

The 

Norton

was

AWFUL!!

Most of the wines had been sitting, properly stored, for about 2 years.  Our conclusion is that Norton wines are not designed to sit because Josh and Leah would not buy wine that tasted this bad.  And it was bad.  Like take a sniff and gag bad.  

All the bottles we tried.  Not one of us had the equivalent of 1 glass of wine.  The 2nd 3rd bottle from the left, Chrysalis, was the only wine we determined we would all drink.  

However, no one wanted anything to drink after that.  So we took pictures and laughed about what happened instead.  

Snack night on Friday. 

Which also included an intense game of Risk, then Monopoly.  Josh beat David at Risk in under 10 minutes, then David beat Josh at Monopoly.  

Hannah and Liberty, out geocaching.  

Saturday we went to see Cinderella at a local theater.

This was after Cinderella, at Il Pizzico.  The food here is phenomenal.  Hannah, Leah and I ordered a few dishes and shared them all.  We had ravioli with mushrooms and pistachios, risotto with prosecution and peas, and gnocchi with gorgonzola and truffle oil.  It was all fabulous.  Really, really fabulous.

Hannah with George and Liberty.  Boy did she have fun playing with them.  

The visit was great.  It was incredibly relaxing, especially for a holiday that is normally not relaxing.  It was nice to sit around the table and catch up with Josh and Leah.  It's a reminder of how we, as in people in general, need to make time for the people close to them outside of their family.  

What I'm Thankful For

It's a day late but still relevant. 

1)  My church family.  The support they reached out to David and I while we're were going through Riley's hear surgery was nothing short of amazing and comforting.

2)  My husband, David.  There is not another person who supports my hopes and dreams like David so unselfishly.  He puts his family first, and values his time with us.  And he likes to have fun with us, sometimes he's a bigger kid than our kids.

3) My kids, Hannah and Riley.  Hannah has the sweetest, most caring heart.  It kind of amazes me because I don't see that in myself or David, at least not to the extent that Hannah has it.  And Riley has amazed me with her recovery.  She came through something so major so quickly.  Less than 3 weeks out you would not know that she just had heart surgery.

4) My sister.  Casey and I have always been close, even when we were younger.  Don't get me wrong, we had the "mom, can't you get her to stop going in my stuff" fights but we have always been close.  We don't look alike and we certainly don't act alike but over the years she has become so much more than a sister to me.  I love her and miss her so much but am so happy for her.

5)  The rest of my family, to include all the Cernock's.  My mom and Art, for never failing to be there regardless of what is going on.  My dad for being the strongest man I know, even if it drives me nuts most of the time.  Amy and Tom for love and support that extends driving across half the country (practically) many times a year to be with us.  Bob and Susan for dependability and help in times of need.  And Bob specifically, for being an outlet for David.  I could go on and on.  Our family reached out to us this year in such a heartfelt, caring manner.  I have no doubt that I could've called any one of you for help and our needs would have been met.

6)  There's a handful of friends I call close.  Those of you that know what I'm thinking and feeling when I'm not being honest about it.  Thank you for being my checks and balances.

7) Elizabeth, my therapist.  I've been seeing her consistently for a year, but overall for almost 2 years.  She has helped me through the hardest times in my life.  I believe that every breathing person could benefit from talking to a therapist.  Who I am now is not the person I was  year ago and a big part of that is her.

8) My home, the structure and the place.  I complain about living in Fayetteville a lot but there are benefits to being here.  I think it's pretty awesome, and convenient, that Michelle leaves less than 2 miles from me.  Most of my family is within a 10 minutes drive.  We're close to the beach.  I see the community trying to evolve and it's neat to watch areas change and grow.

9) Our medical community.  Our pediatrician for catching Riley's heart murmur within hours of her birth.  This is VERY uncommon.  Her cardiologist for the time he spent with David and I.  The doctors and nurses at Duke (with the exception of one person).  They saved my baby.  And did an awesome job of it!  The nurses in the PCICU were so caring.  The whole experience was frightening but bearable because of the caring and attentive staff.