I've been wanting to post these great pics of the fall colors here in Austin.

For the second year we went to The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's evening of Illuminations. Three thousand luminaries light the paths of the center. Music, holiday treats, and beauty make this a wonderful holiday tradition.
We also enjoyed the company of Dana, Colin, and Baby Addison this weekend. Rhett cooked a delicious dish of chicken pancetta and the kids exchanged gifts. It was a wonderful evening.

December 21st-First Day of Winter

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.- Edith Sitwell

Quick Update

1. Zoe can sing The Twelve Days of Christmas.
2. It's freezing in Austin tonight!
3. I'm hooked on Showtime's Dexter. I can't wait for the final episodes!
4. Some how I'm reading Twilight and loving it.
5. Amanda welcomed a very tiny baby boy, 4lbs 9 oz, the day after Thanksgiving. Celebrate!
6. Henry is still the world's cutest baby.

Zoe's Kitchen

Rhett took off early and headed to Lost Maples State Park for a little hiking on Friday. We took this opportunity to have a girls night. Well technically there was a very little man present but it's as close to girls night as we can get.
I was overjoyed to pick up both of the kids knowing I was about to catch-up on my Z and H time over the next 48 hours.
We invited Hannah to join us at a new little restaurant not far from the house. It is called Zoe's Kitchen and my little Z has been very eager to check it out. I wasn't in love with the food but the company was delightful. It was a wonderful end to a crazy work week.

Something I wasn't expecting

Our school is having a small Veterans Day event tomorrow. We've asked students to bring photos of family and friends who have served. We're hanging them in the breezeway along with their names, branches, and where they served.
So I came home this evening knowing I wanted and needed to do my own searching to honor the many people in my family who fit into this special group. This led to lots of flipping and flipping through the many photo albums that have been collecting dust at the top of my closet. Prior to the digital age of sharing photos, I took LOTS of pictures and neatly organized them all. This would, of course, be prior to having my children as well.
I kept smiling as I rediscovered so many favorite pics that brought back good memories with friends and family. There is one of me with my papa and memaw holding a birthday cake they surprised me with one year. I think I'm 18 or at least too old to be excited about a birthday cake from your grandparents. But I was excited. In another we're playing The Christmas Game. This is a rockin' board game from way back that I would do anything to track down, which was a family tradition for many years with my mom's side.
Of course there is page after page of faces that are so permanent in my life now that I often forget how far we do go back. Cliche but true. Pictures of Amanda and I swimming at a pool in Memphis. I came across so many pics of Rosemond and I hugging, giving cheesy smiles I lost count. One last one I'll mention still seems so real and present to me. It is a picture of Taylor climbing up a sign along the highway. I can feel myself standing there in the tall grass watching him. We're only 17 I think and we're on a road trip over spring break. What the picture doesn't show is a large (I mean large) statue of a bull and Ang and Bob contemplating how to climb it.
I'm so much about trying to enjoy the present, be mindful in the moment, that I may forget to relish the past. I think it is important. Especially with those people for whom our memories have been sealed.

Christmas in November

My mom will be very happy to know we finally used the food processor she bought us for Christmas last year. Rhett reverted to his former self and chose several more labor intensive meals this week. The first endeavor was grilled shrimp and white bean bruschetta. Yum! We have made the white bean spread before. Using our old ,very tiny food processor to make this recipe would take a while. The capacity was about 2 cups, the spring for the button would keep popping out unless you were holding it down and the machine made the worst high-pitched sound you can imagine. The new processor is BIG and quiet. We love it!