Ahhh, November

I love the month of November. The weather is perfect: not too cold, not too hot, not too humid, with the occasional snow flurry to make everything pretty.

Thanksgiving happens in November. This year we are celebrating at my mom's house. Sam actually managed to get the day off from the firehouse, so he'll be joining us! Because he will be home we get to participate in the Adopt-a-Sailor program. We fill out the application and on Thanksgiving day go down to the Subase to pick up the sailors who want to join us for the festivities. We have had as few as one and as many as five come in the past years!

The other wonderful thing about November? Everything is done. The garden is harvested and picked over. The animals are all bred (well mostly). The cow has been put into the freezer. The hay is in the barn. The goats have all been dried off. Fair season is over. Even my Christmas shopping is already 80% done!

And so because everything is done, November is the time when we get to invite our friends over for dinners and board games. We love getting together with our friends, enjoying a meal together and then relaxing afterwards with a rowdy game of Scrabble or Boggle. In November the "Community Puzzle" comes out. This puzzle is one chosen for its extreme difficulty and is put out on the coffee table in the living room. Everyone is invited to place pieces while we drink our coffee (or tea) and visit.

Also in November we prepare our hearts for Advent. Every evening in November we read a devotional together about getting ready for Christmas. This really focuses our thoughts on the real reason for December 25th and gets us looking forward to Advent! It's advent for Advent!

November is the month where we relax and enjoy the fall colors, weather, meteor showers, sunsets and sunrises. Did I mention I love the month of November??