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We had a great visit/Thanksgiving/Family Reunion. My favorite moments were watching my kids with their cousins. Dean became fast friends with another three year old and frequently I heard him calling out "Friend?" whenever he had lost his cousin, whose name he couldn't remember. Gianna was reunited with one of her cousins the morning after Thanksgiving and upon seeing each other they ran and hugged.

When we left Portland last week Gianna had a fever and a terrible, barking cough. I almost kept her home. Now the other three members of our family are in various stages of the same cold. The only thing worse than all of our coughing on the flight home was the whining puppy two rows over from us. While there were plenty of people that glared every time one of us had a coughing fit, I am thankful for the kindness of strangers in our travels who showed compassion by offering cough drops and free bowls of applesauce to us.

We woke up yesterday morning, back home from our travels, to flowers blooming in the rain and budding poppies. Look at that camellia! The anemone bulbs I planted a month or so ago have already sprouted. I hope they survive the frost whenever it arrives. It is still autumn, my favorite season, but I can already feel it slipping away. December starts this week. Vincent hung Christmas lights on our house this afternoon. Dean turns four in less than two weeks! Once his birthday is over we will put up a tree and bring Christmas inside.

My sister in law gave the kids Christmas books as a goodbye gift as we left for the airport on Saturday. I read one, A Wish to be A Christmas Tree, as our plane was taking off and tried (and failed) not to cry. My sentimentality gets the best of me when I am sick or sleep deprived. I was both that day. It's a very sweet book and I look forward to reading it again when I'm feeling better.

I am really looking forward to a hot cup of completely not organic Theraflu tonight. Zzzzzzz...