A Crafty Thanksgiving

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with Dad and Mary in the mountains this year.  It was the perfect way to spend our last holiday together before the baby arrives.  On Wednesday, we got the all clear from the doctor (no new baby progress since last week!) and drove through snowy weather on the way to Seven Devils.  Marshall drove very carefully along the icy roads up to the house.  The storm had passed by Thursday, and we enjoyed the cold Thanksgiving morning by watching the Macy's Parade and doing some crafting!  Dad was very excited to show us the mini owl house he made for us to hang on the tree decal in the nursery.  It made the cutest night light when we added a flameless votive candle!  He also made a real owl nest box, in hopes that a barred owl family will move in and raise some babies in it this spring.  We read that once an owl chooses a home, it stays there for life - even it's offspring will return!  So Marshall's project was to build his own owl house to take back to Charlotte to hang in one of our many tall backyard trees.  We have already heard barred owls in our area, so we're really excited to see if any move in to our owl box!  Mary helped me make my own Christmas wreath using greens cut from the Christmas trees.  I added pinecones, spray-painted gold thistles, some red berries and cardinals from Michaels, and a red bow at the bottom.  It turned out to be really pretty!  We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving meal, watched a lot of football, caught up on sleep, and did a little shopping at the Mast General Store.  When it was time to leave, we loaded up our mountain Christmas tree on top of the Explorer, and were excited to bring it home - our first real tree together in our new house.  We had a lovely weekend, and realized just how much we have to be thankful for.  We are truly blessed in so many ways!