We're still here!

And we're trying our best to celebrate the season despite a non-working kitchen.

The industrial-sized fans and dehumidifier have since left the building, so now we're just waiting on the contractor to give us some estimates for the repairs.  I have resigned myself to the fact that our kitchen will look like this until long after Santa makes his appearance.

As Will has to sometimes (daily) remind me, no kitchen is a First World problem, which I promptly remind him that I am a First World girl.  Didn't Madonna make a similar proclamation in the 80s?  I bet she had a fully functioning kitchen though.

If you'd like to see something to celebrate, just look at these two smiling faces on Santa's lap:

It is official--2013 is the first Christmas that neither child cried for Santa.  I am still in shock at how easy it was this time around.

With all that has been going on here, I still can't believe I haven't been able to write a post about our Thanksgiving weekend, which was also a celebration of my mother's 70th birthday.

Photo courtesy of the great David Hamilton (top right), the only family member that is almost as tall as Will.

Almost everyone in the family attended (except for my oldest brother, Johnny, and his family who came down with the flu and kindly kept the germs in their home.  You all were missed terribly!).

Frank hosted the party at the beautiful Cloverlea (where we had Thanksgiving last year, too).  I will never get tired of this view of the Blue Ridge mountains.

Frances and George played non-stop with their cousins.

Another Dave Hamilton picture (Frances, Maggie and George wearing Frances's furry vest a la Sonny Bono).

Maggie, Claire, and Frances

And Frank hired a surprise opera singer to serenade his beautiful bride.

Nana holding baby Claire after realizing what her surprise would be.

The singer!

It was as magical as my mother's expression suggests.  I'm not sure it gets much better than hearing "Some Enchanted Evening," "Old Man River," and other beautiful songs live on the piano.  There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Nana opening her presents with a few helpers and surrounded by so much love.

Happy, happy birthday to my mother and to Frank (whose birthday was Thanksgiving Day!)  And a very special thank you to you all for enduring my scattered post and my glaring absence from writing.  I hope to get things back up to normal by 2014.  Of course, a nice, new, and even bigger kitchen would certainly help - can you all help me convince Will of this?

Happy Friday, everyone!