Black Friday.

Since this day did not hold, for me, the traditional holiday spending spree I will use it to mostly reflect on the day before-- the day of family and food that has left me full emotionally and physically. I doubt I could have wished for a better holiday. The day was spend with both Josh's and my family (minus my brother who went south with his girlfriend). We first went to Josh's family dinner which was held in Kirksville since it is the central location for most. Convenient for us, we ended up not getting out of bed until around eleven, then at one it was time to eat... Just the way I like it, sleeping in and then eating. Mmm. The food was amazing. My personal favorite being a medley of sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and homemade noodles. For the sake of space Josh's family holds their dinner in what used to be an old Christian school. This is good for the kids (and we older peoples who act like kids) because there is a huge gymnasium to run about it and yell and make echoes. After dinner we sat and visited a bit and then Josh and I went to pick up his nephew Heath, who would join us for the rest of the afternoon. He, Josh, and Brian (Josh's older brother and Heath's dad) romped around in the gym like the little boys that they are.
After that family dinner Josh and I trekked over to my parent's house for an nontraditional Thanksgiving supper of thick chili with tortilla chips and other fixin's. We then sat down to watch Because of Winn-Dixie while eating our dessert. The movie was my idea, because to be honest, I am rather obsessed with it at the moment. It is just so sweet and good, and innocent-- all the things I desire from life. It makes me laugh and get misty eyed. And it had Dave Matthews in it. It is a good movie.
Due to time and our desire to be able to sleep as much as possible Josh and I drove down to Madison Thursday evening so we could get up early and join his parents and Heath for a day of shopping in Quincy. Black Friday. Lets just say I will be doing most of my shopping online this season. Also, Josh's mom is a machine. Good land. We tried to keep up with her most of the day but there came a point when we had to find a bench and sit while her and Josh's dad visited another store in the mall. Heath sat with us, because his Pawpaw paid him a dollar to not whine. He didn't even make a peep, and he later used his dollar plus random change Josh gave him and money he already had in his pocket to buy football cards. On the way home he quizzed us by reading the back of the cards (using his cell phone as a flashlight). Despite wearing me out thoroughly the day was a good one. It was nice to spend it with Josh's family. And I got some Christmas cards from a outlet store. Twelve cards for $2.97! You just can't beat that. I tell you.