Is it really December already?

Where to begin? You notice how time slips right through your fingers the moment when you flip the calendar page over to November? You catch your breath again in January when you are packing away the final box of Christmas decorations.

There was all of this, the days before Thanksgiving...


Which in turn led to lots of this....


Food and family. What more could you ask for?

We have so much to be thankful for, and the family I so love dearly (both those present at Thanksgiving and those far away!) tops my list.

A few days later it turned super cold and we got a little of this...Love it.
Unfortunately that was all we got and it melted off that day. It has stayed pretty cold since then. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more!

Saturday night was the Christmas Parade here in small town West Tx. A friend invited us to ride in the parade in the covered wagon with him.
How fun was that? It was cold and bumpy and charming and heart warming all at the same time.

The parade route took us around the square. The end.

It was big time! Crowds lined the street and we waved and shouted Merry Christmas.
I loved watching the towns people smile and enjoy the parade. Simple.
This fantastically adorable store opened about 2 months ago on the square. I just can't get enough of it."Hi Mason Jar! Mmwwahh! I love you!

I was so excited, looking forward to getting some cool night time pretty lights shots with my camera. I even took it off automatic and had been playing with different settings in anticipation. However, a jarring ride in a wagon is not ideal for night photography. Most of my pics ended up looking like this...
I don't know how Laura Ingalls got good shots, her Canon must have been much more fancy than mine.

After the parade we took our shivering selves to the coffee shop (which I might add is remarkably hip for this small town), also on the square. It was almost like an out of body Mayberry experience. There were people milling around the square, greeting friends and enjoying the pretty lights on the court house.

It seemed so Norman Rockwell like. It made me smile. This big city Houston girl has fallen in love with this small town and its people.