Our week-long Thanksgiving Break from school came and went, but a lot happened over the holiday. Per Keisler family tradition, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was a day of service. Dad came home from work a few hours early on Wednesday so that we could clean-up the yard. Chris and I helped mow the grass and blow the leaves so that they house looked nice for the holiday. Wednesday night, we all volunteered to serve meals at the Rescue Mission the night before Thanksgiving. This year, Nathan joined Christoper and I at the Mission on Pacific Avenue in Long Beach. We helped to put out the place settings, serve plates of food to our guests, and to clean-up after our shift. Christoper was the bread boy this year and put rolls on every plate. We didn't have a long shift but it was a good reminder about all the blessings that we do have, and how good it feels to help others. Later that night, Grandma Paula and Grandpa Mike arrived for the holiday. We had Thai food, played board games, and read the Indian in the Cupboard before the big day.
We spent Thanksgiving Thursday at home again this year. Mom and Grandma had lots of cooking to do, so we stayed busy. Chris and Grandpa built Ninjago Lego sets that he got for his birthday for about 3 hours. Dad and I cleaned-up and put away the soccer goals for the season so that they wouldn't get rusted out and destroyed. Later, we took a bike ride and played catch with the football. We watched football, played board games, and ate Thanksgiving Dinner in the afternoon. Later, Dad read the Lincoln Thanksgiving Proclamation from 1863 that established the holiday (boring). The Armstrongs came over for dessert. Since Grandma made 4 pies and Michelle made a cheesecake, everyone was full and tired by the end of the day.
Starting Friday, the Thanksgiving holiday was over and the Christmas Season began. Per tradition, we put up our lights and got our tree the day after Thanksgiving. This year, the trees in Long Beach were mostly burned brown from the heat wave that hit the previous few days. We had to go to three places before we found our perfect Nordman Fir. To our disappointment, the tree lights from last year didn't work that well so we had to wait until Saturday morning to get new strands. Since it was Grandpa Mike's birthday, he went out to dinner with Aunt Kelly and Grandma Paula visited her old school friends while we put out the Christmas decorations and watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
On Saturday, Dad went to the Notre Dame vs. USC game at the Coliseum. I wasn't to happy that he left me behind but I was happy to see USC bounce back from the loss to UCLA and crush Notre Dame 49-14. Jackson and Emma came over that night so their parents could go out to dinner. We all had a sit-down dinner together and talked about our favorite Christmas traditions. To continue our week of Thanksgiving and service, Jackson and I helped Mom work her volunteer shift at the YMCA Christmas Tree Farm. After Sunday School and Choir practice, we spent a few hours helping people to pick out their Christmas trees. Jackson and I put the rubber stoppers on the stands so that they wouldn't scratch people's floors. We used Daddy's truck to drop some of the trees off. The money that we raised went to YMCA programs and services for kids.
All-in-all it was a good week of service and thanksgiving. When the rains came Sunday, we hoped it would also bring some snow to the mountains around Long Beach. Christmas Season has begun!
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