Too much of a good thing, and a war wound too

When it starts getting dark round the clock here, like in November, I keep telling myself "If only it would snow, everything would be so much lighter".


This year, though, I think the snow fairies have gone a bit overboard. We've had snow for months... and on Wednesday it started snowing again.



I shovelled the driveway Wednesday night before I went to bed.


And in the morning, there was another foot out there! Soon our mailbox will disappear!



Not to mention that the roads in the neighborhood hadn't been cleaned, so the kids and I "snow surfed" in our car to get out to the main road.


On another note, little Nick fell on the ice at daycare the other day and got a pretty impressive gash in the skin just below his eye. There's nothing worse than a phone call from your child's teacher that starts like this: "You have to come and pick your child up and take him to the hospital".


Which I did.

And they glued his little face back together. He was a brave little guy through it all. But he was tired and cranky when we got home.

I'm thankful it wasn't anything worse -- his eye, his teeth, his brain. And Nick is now thankful on a daily basis to tell everyone he meets "I fall! Boom! Ouch!" and point to his band-aid of the day. Today it's Winnie the Pooh. (See, he's wearing the t-shirt his grandma and grandpa gave him... he colors it himself every time he's going to wear it... the ink ran this time though from all his crying....)

And then there was....

Thanksgiving in Chicago... the home of my childhood and the place I refer to when I ask other Americans around me "When are you going back home?"

And, much to your astonishment, I'm sure, I spent those days in Chicago without the kids and without my loving hubby.

I can tell you that it was beautiful, relaxing, happy (not that my time at home in Sweden isn't)....

And I was thankful.

For the prep work and the life in mom's kitchen. Why is there no place on earth like your mom's kitchen at Thanksgiving?

For the chance to share that special holiday with my amazing parents

and my wonderful brother who can always make me smile

and my loving sister-in-law

and my adorable nephew

and my bubbly, beautiful niece.

And grandpa. Do you realize how much I adore and respect grandpa? He's my hero. I'll need to write a whole blog on that topic alone.

Need I mention the food? Two months later and my mouth is still watering.

And today, after watching the news on what's going on in Haiti and hearing about Jamie, a Peace Corps volunteer who is a best friend of a colleague and has been in a terrible car accident while serving those less fortunate... today, I am so thankful, still, for all of the amazing blessings that fill my life.