Happy Thanksgiving

Today and always, I am truly blessed.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Celebrating Our First Little Girl (Posted by Scott)

So, I didn't do the whole daily thankful bit, but I will today. On this very special Thanksgiving, I am so very thankful to God for sending this sweet, special gift into our lives 7 years ago today. Ella Grace, my first daughter, you bring so much joy into my life. You are the best snuggler on the whole planet. Happy birthday, and I love you!

Love, Daddy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Almost 30 of our favorite friends, family and neighbors spending the day together... a perfect holiday! We hosted Thanksgiving at our (very small, at least for that many people) house again this year. It seems easier that way, especially since about a third of the guests were kids under the age of 10. I got a few pictures, though not as many as I would have liked...

I didn't get a pic of my own family, but happened to take one of our Alabama family!

He looks much better in orange and blue than orange and navy  ;)

 

 Forgot to take the food pics until after people were eating...  didn't get any pictures of the desserts :(

 

Thanksgiving Recap... A Little Late!

I realized at the end of the day Thursday that the only pictures I took the whole day were of our Thanksgiving feast. Oops! So here is a little written recap of our day with a few food pictures sprinkled in.

We began our morning with sausage balls for breakfast while we watched the Macy's parade. I had done most of my food prep the day before so it was fun just hanging out with my family most of the morning instead of slaving away in the kitchen. Scott and I did some last minute cleaning up and then the cooking began.

As usual, there was way too much food but everything was delicious. Grandaddy smoked a turkey and ham; Grandma and Grandpa brought homemade dressing with sausage and mushrooms in it, cranberry and apples, and a blueberry dish that is one of my favorites... not to mention yummy peanut butter pie! Mima made green bean casserole and Cissy brought pecan and sweet potato pie. I made sweet potato casserole, corn casserole, crock pot mac and cheese and some fruit and veggie platters for snacks. Then yesterday Caleb and my mom made a homemade apple pie just for me! I feel like I have been eating nonstop since Thursday! I was so full on Thursday that I didn't even eat a turkey sandwich until Friday morning. I just couldn't wait until lunch!

So much to be thankful for and such a special time with family and friends... Thanksgiving is truly one of my favorite holidays. We are so blessed! We missed all of our loved ones who couldn't be here with us.

Ella wanted a cookie cake for her birthday so we decided to have it Thursday when all the family was here to celebrate. You can't beat the cookie cakes at Sam's! She wanted chocolate whipped topping on it. Here are a couple of pictures from our mini-celebration - thank goodness I remembered the memory card that time!

Why I Loved Thanksgiving This Year

Traditions
Holiday craft from Grandma and Grandpa; reading “The First Thanksgiving”; watching the Charlie Brown special on TV (while eating leftover turkey sandwiches!); lots of yummy food (and little hands to help you make it); seeing Santa and putting up the Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Family
I LOVED having Caleb home for a whole week. We got to lounge around in our PJs every morning and enjoy the days all together. We all loved having a long weekend with Scott since he didn’t work on Thursday or Friday. We did lots of fun stuff together. The house didn’t get cleaned, the lights aren’t up outside and the decorations are still in the attic, but it was well worth it! And, of course, the cousins had a blast together on Thanksgiving Day (as did the rest of the family).

Rest
Grandaddy hosted dinner at his house and everyone brought food, so I had it easy! Minimal cooking and cleaning meant I got to do other, more valuable things... like coloring centerpieces and napkin rings with the kids and just hanging out together.

Leftovers!
There is nothing better than a turkey sandwich the day after (or night of) Thanksgiving. And there is no better way to use up a ham bone than a big ole’ pot of pinto beans! Apple pie for breakfast ranks right up there for me, too - but unfortunately we didn’t have apple pie this year! Maybe for Christmas...