What happened to November? It certainly flew by, and December will go even faster with all the Christmas preparations.

We had a terrific Thanksgiving. Of course, some football was watched. Tom watches A LOT of football. Some did play the Apple To Apple game. It’s a good game for our family because Sara and Amanda are able to play it, too. Did any of you play board games? In the past, we have gone outside and played basketball.

Emily and I did go to Kohl’s on Black Friday. We met Bart, Lea and Christina. The store was packed with long lines. I only bought one gift, so will probably make more of a dent this week. I’d like to get our tree in the middle of the week.

~~~~
I received a contract this week for my Whitney in Charge novel, but I didn’t accept it. I realized the publisher wasn’t the right fit for my story for several reasons. I have multiple submissions of Whitney at other publishers and feel confident the right one will give me a contract.

Many years ago in a small hospital in Ohio…

Dr. Diller hesitated outside the hospital room of his patient, Mrs. Laoma Wilson. A nurse had warned him that Mrs. Wilson wanted to be discharged. She’d given birth to a healthy baby girl, but he didn’t feel comfortable in sending them both home so soon. Mrs. Wilson was forty-five years old. She needed to stay longer in the hospital.

He sighed, knowing he’d probably fight a losing battle with his patient. He entered the room and said, “Good morning. How are you feeling?”

Mrs. Wilson gave him a brief smile. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m fine and I want to go home today.”

With her tired gray eyes staring at him, he frowned. “I don’t think that’s possible. You just gave birth on Monday and this is only Wednesday.”

“Dr. Diller, I can’t stay here and miss Thanksgiving with my family.”

“I can’t send you home yet. You should stay a few more days.”

With a frustrated look, she said, “I had home births with my first four children. If you hadn’t insisted that I had a hospital delivery this time, I’d be home right now.”

“At your age I didn’t want to risk a home birth.”

She shrugged. “Well now, the delivery is over and it’s time for me to go home.”

“Do you promise to take it easy?”

She nodded. “I won’t have to do anything. My daughters, Jean and Lois, are going to take care of me and the baby.” She grinned. “And I promise I won’t milk any cows.”

He laughed. “That’s reassuring. I couldn’t believe I had to tell you to stop milking while you were pregnant.”

She fingered her sheet. “Well, my husband carried the buckets for me. I hated for him to have to milk them by himself.”

“If you agree to go home in an ambulance, I’ll discharge you tomorrow morning, so you can be home for Thanksgiving.”

“Thank you.” She gave him a broad smile. “I’m so happy I’ll be able to take our new baby, Diane, home for the holiday. I have so much to be thankful for this year.”

~~~~
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE! Enjoy the day with your loved ones!

I’m going to have two posts today because my pictures always take so long to download. I’ll try to figure out why sometime but for now will put photos on each post!

Tom and I went away for my birthday which was Friday. No, I’m not going to tell you my age but some of you already know. Shush, don’t tell.

We went to Salt Fork State Park which is close to Cambridge, Ohio. It took us over 3 hours to get there but was worth the trip. It is one of the nicest state lodges, and the area is pretty with the hills and lake. We’re going to go back in the summer when everything is green and take some of the family with us. We’ll rent a cabin or cottage the next time. It really put me in the Christmas mood with all the lovely decorations throughout the huge lodge. We ate at the lodge’s restaurant and on my birthday evening I had crab cakes. I couldn’t believe they had a dinner with crab cakes - one of my favorite things to eat.

I wish I could say we slept fine the first night but we didn’t. The people next door were loud and kept their TV on all night. I don’t know why a beautiful lodge would have thin walls with no insulation. The walls were wood instead of plaster so that might have contributed to hearing everything. I asked to switch rooms, and our neighbors for the second night were quieter.

Tom gave me an earring and necklace set and had my watch fixed.

I took this from our balcony at Salt Fork State Park.

I can’t wait to use the chocolate fountain.

Balloons made me feel like a kid again and young!

We arrived home from Salt Fork on Sunday, and I was surprised to see a dozen balloons in the living room. April got the balloons, flowers, and a birthday cake for me. She made dinner for the whole family and it was delicious. She made a large amount of food, so I had leftovers last night. It was great not having to cook again. Christina got me a pumpkin scented candle which I’m going to burn on Thanksgiving and a chocolate fountain. Bart gave me a gift card to Applebee’s. I love to eat at this restaurant. Lea made wonderful Christmas stockings for all of us. Emily will be coming home today from college so she didn’t make the trip on the weekend. Amanda had me hold some of my balloons and wear a princess birthday crown but I’m not posting that photo. I look even more dorky than usual. Amanda and Sara gave me a Princess b-day card - of course, Amanda picked out the card. Amanda took lots of photos and she’s actually pretty good at it.

Christina and April watched our two daughters, Sara and Amanda, with special needs all weekend. Christina had a basketbal scrimmage so April took the first night to stay with Sara and Amanda. I really appreciate everything they did. Christina took her sisters to church which is not an easy task. They never want to get up on Sunday morning, and she also took Amanda to her basketball practice.

I have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving - what a great family I’ve been blessed with!

WHAT I’M READING: PLAYING FOR PIZZA BY John Grisham
I’m enjoying this book. Grisham gives great descriptions of the food and people in Italy. I like the main character, Rick, who’s a quarterback for the Italian pro team after losing a big football game for the Cleveland Browns. Rick’s agent convinces him to leave the country. His football career has been full of big errors on the field.

I have a free short story up at LASR! I’m honored that they selected my story, “An Accidental Meeting” and the timing is neat since my birthday is tomorrow.

I bought a few more Christmas gifts yesterday and wrapped them. Amanda wants to know when we’re putting our tree up, and I reminded her that we need to celebrate Thanksgiving first! Each year she’s anxious to get the tree and decorate it.

I won’t be posting on Friday. I’m celebrating my birthday! Have a great weekend. I’ll be back on Monday!