Our Thanksgiving Pics

Isn't it funny how once Thanksgiving is over (even if it is only a few hours ago) - it suddenly seems like it's really in the past - since the next day is all about moving on into the Christmas holiday season? Our family (the entire extended family) are really into Christmas - we ALL decorate a LOT for Christmas... rotating out artwork, taking down regular decorations to make room for the holiday decorations. The day after Thanksgiving is "Christmas Tree day" for all of us... so today is a big day for us.
But I can't properly move into the holiday season without sharing these great pics from yesterday. We traditionally spend Thanksgiving at my sister's in-laws (our extra in-laws) house in Malibu - every side of the family is there (though my in-laws were out of town yesterday), as my in-laws and my sis' in-laws have been close friends for 30 years. (Victory and I each married one of their sons, and thus brought the families from friends to relatives - I know, confusing)This year, for our after dinner sunset walk to the beach, we remembered to bring sleds for the huge sand dunes - which made for some great pics of the cousins, and the rest of us too - having a great time 'doing the dunes". (Yes, that is me, in my dress, getting ready to side down the sand hill) Plus, we pretty much have all of Zuma Beach to ourselves, so it really feels like it's OUR tradition.Our kids love each other so much, and our family is so close - you can see that in the photos. We love Thanksgiving.This year, we also had some awesome crafts displayed, and though we actually were able to fill out some "I am thankful" cards on behalf of the adults, the volume in the dining room was so insane with 7 (plus one more) cousins that we never even got to reading them. We've agreed
that next year, maybe the kids get to eat a little earlier so that the parents can have a civilized (and warm) turkey dinner. We love our family. Hope your turkey day was also filled with warm and happy memories, too!

I'm on iTunes!

okay, not really... my sister in law (Jen Ludwig) is, and my artwork is her album cover...
It was August this year when my sis in law, Jen, asked me if I'd consider doing a collage that would go with her Christmas album that she was working on. As we sat in my living room, I had an immediate image that represented what I wanted to say as she titled her album "Back to the Manger"... and here we are, a few months later - Jen's album is out, on iTunes and also at cdbaby - complete with my artwork on it's cover. Check out her album on itunes. You also can peek at her website and listen to samples there, too.
Jen has a beautiful voice and the album has some beautiful renditions of classics and some original songs. Jen both sings and plays guitar so wonderfully... she's the resident musician in our family. Even before she and I were ever introduced or became family, I used to go to events at Pepperdine (where she also was a student) and listen to her sing, now I have her in my family and also on my ipod.