For the First Time in Forever...

...I have a computer that really works! ;)

Okay, I know those aren't the real lyrics.  I just had to get a "Frozen" reference in there somewhere. ;)

It's so good to be back!!  As many of you probably noticed, I did have the chance to change my header here and on Jane Austen and Unicorns a couple days ago, but the computer was still having issues, so I wasn't able to do more than that.

Hubby has finally worked out most of the problems with our computer, so I should be set now. :)  I'm also over my upper respiratory infection, and while Middle Gal and Little Gal are once again fighting colds, at this point they are fairly mild and the cough syrup we've been using is helping them sleep.  So for now, things are definitely better than they were.

I did learn a few things this past month. :}  First, it's very easy to be kind and have a great attitude when things are going well.  When everything seems to be falling apart around you, it's a lot harder to remember to glorify the Lord with your actions.  Okay, maybe that's a lesson I relearned...I already knew I struggled with that. :}

Second, you don't have to be stoic all the time!!  Having a few pathetic breakdowns in the midst of difficult situations can actually be helpful.  Not only do you get rid of all of that bottled up emotion, but crying really hard helps you sleep...provided you don't stuff your nose up too much.  Plus, when you completely lose it, your family tends to realize how much you really need help, or a break, or maybe just an afternoon nap, and they make things happen. ;)  (Thanks Hubby, Mom, Mom and Dad-in-Law, and everyone else who came to my rescue this month!)

Third, God is there, even when you've completely lost sight of what's important and are wailing to Him on the couch about how you need to finish decorating the living room and shopping for Christmas gifts. :}  I'm so thankful He's patient with us. :}

Fourth, never tell a nine-year-old that if she'll just stop coughing in the middle of the night, you'll pay her $10 in the morning.  Not unless you want to be $10 poorer.  Honestly, I have no regrets...she stopped coughing, and I got three more hours of sleep.  Best $10 I ever spent.  I'm sure not going to make it a habit, though. ;)

I probably learned a few more things, but I think you've heard enough for now.  :)

So, what have I been up to, besides napping, coughing until I felt I was going to turn myself inside out, and waiting to talk to all of you lovely folks?  I'm glad you asked. ;)

I realized that I never shared with all of you about my Thanksgiving.  (That was before the computer problems but got lost in the shuffle amid all the sickness.)  The girls and I were all feeling pretty awful on Thanksgiving Day (I was on cold two out of three, and I'm not even sure where the girls were at), so we had to spend the day at home with just the five of us.  Hubby had to work for a few hours in the morning, so the girls and I flopped on the couch and watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I didn't have very high expectations for Thanksgiving.  We didn't have a turkey, and I wasn't feeling up to putting out a lot of effort in the kitchen.  But Hubby had other ideas.  He made a quick stop at Walmart and brought home a mini Thanksgiving feast. :)

He had a little prep work to do first, so he started by making these appetizer trays for the girls. :)

Seeing him hard at work in the kitchen put the girls and I in a festive mood.  I found a placemat and a few little Thanksgiving figures to decorate the table:

Middle Gal made a pumpkin picture to add to the decorations.

When Hubby was done, we had a delicious spread...much better than my original plan (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or ramen soup). ;)

We had a little rotisserie chicken (which Hubby carved up like a turkey)...

...baked potatoes...

...homemade gravy and croissants...

...olives...

...carrot sticks... 

...cucumber and pepper slices...

...and green beans.  

Everything was wonderful.  I was so thankful that Hubby took the time to make the day special, even though we couldn't be with our extended family.

Middle Gal remembered our Thanksgiving tradition of passing out beads and sharing what we were thankful for.  Without any prompting, she collected some of her favorite beads and passed them out.  Then she passed around a custard bowl, and we all put our beads in and shared what we were thankful for that Thanksgiving.  It was so precious to see her applying what we'd taught her without any hinting or instruction on our part. :)

We got our tree up and decorated the following weekend. :)

The next big event after Thanksgiving took place in December, when we got an incredibly deep (for our town) snowfall that lasted for a couple of days.  It came at a time when I was starting to feel a little better, so I managed to sneak outside for a few photos. 

The snow came at night.  Usually when that happens, it's gone by the morning.  The girls were so worried there wouldn't be any left by the time they woke up!  They were all recovering from colds, though, and I didn't want to send them out in the chill air right before bedtime.

Thankfully for all of us, the snow was still there in the morning.  It was the deepest snow we've had in the past several years!  Hmm..."Frozen" is released, and we suddenly get the biggest snow we've had in a long time.  Coincidence?  I think not!  Elsa must have somehow escaped the movie to cover our land in a...two...day...long winter. ;)

Our beautiful backyard. :)

I took a break for a while (had to warm my toes and all) and then decided to get just a few doll pics.

Tess and Maggie needed a new header, after all. ;)

I thought I was done for the day, but as I put Tess and Maggie back in my room, my Disney Store Frozen dolls caught my eye.  I realized this was a very unique chance to take pics of them in real snow.  It was a chance I couldn't pass up, cold or no cold. ;)

I'm so glad I did...the pictures turned out amazingly well. :) 

I also had a rather major doll restringing session in preparation for Christmas.  I'll share more about that later (probably after Christmas).  I will say, though, that after putting off the restringing for a few months, I finally made myself get it done and was thrilled when all three of my restringing jobs turned out nicely. :D

Oldest Gal's Josefina has been one-legged for a while now...

She was overjoyed when Josefina was returned in one piece. :)

I took quite a few detailed pictures of my restringings, which I hope to share in a later post (again, most likely after Christmas).  I also need to restring one of my mom's dolls, so I was thinking about possibly doing a restringing video on my YouTube channel, just for fun. :)  We'll see how it goes, though.

I have several posts in the works.  I'm not sure how many I'll be able to crank out before Christmas (since it's only a week away...YIKES!!).  I really want to focus on getting Belle's Bulletins officially wrapped up and getting Jane Austen and Unicorns back into the swing of things, so it may be a bit quiet at Never Grow Up for a while.  Rest assured that I'll have plenty of interesting things to share next month. :)

Thank you so much for your patience these past few weeks as I've been MIA.  I hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday season with your families, whether you celebrate Christmas or not.  Talk to all of you again soon! :)