I sat down to write this yesterday morning, but it never happened. So I’m up early today, watching the snow fall outside my office window, and reflecting on the fact that it’s December.

Whoa.

November was a crazy whirlwind. November is usually a whirlwind – finishing up wedding season, squeezing in a few family sessions (which I had to turn down this year, boo!), and getting ready for the holidays. But add in renovating our living room, adopting a puppy, and hosting Thanksgiving, and it turned in to quite a crazy month.

— We got to the part of renovation where we were painting – yay! It’s been a long, long journey to get here, and we still have a few things to finish before I can show off some before and after photos (built in bookcases, we’re coming for you), but it finally feels like we have a room in our house that reflects our style and personality. With no beige. And an overhead light. It’s the little things, you guys. My younger brother came up for a weekend and helped us out, and I have never been so grateful for family as I have been this past month.

— We adopted a puppy, which saw me laughing, and crying, these past two weeks. Lola still isn’t completely on board, but she’s coming around and there is more harmony in the house.

— The power went out! Except, it didn’t for us. It was a strange situation, since H works with a utility, to have power, but see him working long (and crazy) hours in order to get people their power back. I am in awe of what he can do, including working crazy overnight shifts, then waking up after only a few hours to help me cut down branches that fell in our yard.

— We hosted Thanksgiving for our entire (US based) immediate families. We had 12 people in our house for Thanksgiving, and while that probably doesn’t seem like a lot to some people, it was huge for us. And it went amazingly well, and we had a wonderful time. There was a moment, when we finally all sat down to the table, and I looked around to see all the people we love, who haven’t all been together since our wedding (four years ago!), and it felt amazing. Plus, I took my sister in law’s advice, and turned the leftover turkey into turkey enchiladas. So good!

— I was able to assist Matt Shumate at an Indian wedding last weekend, thus crossing a big wish off my photography wish list. The DJ was another WDS alum, and although I felt like sleeping for a week after it was over, I can’t wait to shoot one again. I must be a glutton for punishment.

What do you have planned for December? I’m looking forward to Christmas, to sending out holiday cards, to eating lots of cookies, and to more walks in the snow with my pup. I’ll be prepping for the January Bridal Festival too, which is January 9-10. November, you were good. December, let’s do this.