Memory Lane

We took a trip to Atlanta on Friday to say goodbye to the man God chose for my father.  It is a story I would like to tell...but I am not quite ready to tell it.  One day I will be ready with the words.  Today is not that day.

While we were there we took a little trip down memory lane and introduced the girls to the very spot their daddy asked me to marry him.  

 I'm so glad he did.

17 years of pure bliss....haha, well mostly!

 As we were leaving I spotted this sign.  

(Gotta love the big city.)

 We camped out on my brother's dining room floor.  His family just moved into a new house so this was our temporary guest suite.  

(So thankful for a place to lay our heads.)

My sis-in-law makes everything homey and festive.  She treated us to an evening of fancy cheeses, crackers, olives, and fig jam.... and a morning of gourmet coffee, blackberries, and cheesy grits.  I am thankful for our friendship.  It is sweet to my soul.

And my brother isn't so bad either.

These three are trouble when they get together.

Then it was off to shovel manure at my uncle and aunt's place in North Atlanta....

our annual pre-Thanksgiving adventure on the farm.

The kids get a mini-lesson from Aunt Marie.

Which includes riding and grooming and feeding the horses.  

It is always a grand ol' time!

This is my momma's brother... my dearest and sweetest Uncle Stan.  

He calls me his favorite niece.  (I am his only niece.)

Thank you, Aunt Marie, for loving my girls and giving them such confidence on a horse.  (It is something I have never known.)

 We left their house and journeyed up the road to a little town I haven't been to since college years.  We surprised the girls with a spontaneous family overnight in a hotel and a day of adventure and what I like to call "piddling".  (So thankful my hubby knew it was a necessary "diversion from everyday life" for all of us.)

The little town is so quaint and charming 

and full of the most refreshing of sights and sounds.

There were vintage linens (be still my heart)...

... a chocolate shop with a spicy chai tea...

...and an abundance of happies.

How fun is this!

Sometimes in life, you just gotta piddle...

...and everything looks a little better.

So grateful for the one who makes my heart sing.

"Thanksgiving has attained its rightful place in us, only when it is part of all our days and dominates all our experiences."  (J.R. Miller, 1912)