The One About Thanksgiving

Backing up to our Thanksgiving weekend...

Our kids invited us to come to their house in Kansas City for the long weekend. We eagerly accepted. (All four kids are currently living in the same house, so it makes visiting pretty easy!)

Our daughter, Megan, and daughter-in-law, Amanda, put together a very yummy Thanksgiving dinner.

Charley (Megan and Zach's dog) got in on the celebration with a Pupcake to celebrate his third birthday.

Charley also enjoyed watching the dog-show on television. Grin.

The week before Thanksgiving, I hunted around on Pinterest (yay Pinterest!) to find an idea for a craft we could all do together. I found some directions for a folded fabric star. In my head I thought, "Fabric? I can do that!" This craft didn't cost me anything! I cut and pressed the fabric strips at home and packed everything up to take along with us. I wasn't sure everyone would want to participate, but we all sat down around the table and dug in. It turns out that the directions weren't very complete, but between all of us, we figured it out (and had some good laughs along the way).

I really loved how they turned out. I gave the red/white candy cane one to my mom to hang in her room. I've since made several more stars in different fabrics to give to people over Christmas.


The day after Thanksgiving did not find any of us out shopping. None of us really like messing with the crowds of people. (Although, the hotel Hubby and I stayed in was next to the Country Club Plaza shopping area and there was a big turning on the Christmas light celebration there that weekend and that made the hotel very crowded with people, so we didn't avoid the crowds, totally!)  We did, however make a little road trip over to Lawrence to go to an arts and crafts show going on there. Several of Hubby's relatives were selling their creations and we wanted to see them and their goods.

Month of Thankfulness - Day 28

A couple of other things about our Thanksgiving week away. (Just for my own memory.)

Our Friday night meal at the family reunion was pizza. This is a tradition in the family. Hubby's aunt (the one in the adorable vest and boots) always made homemade pizza on Saturday nights. She makes THE best homemade pizza. I've watched her make it, but it seems to be one of those secret things that can't be passed on.

There were fifteen pizzas like these in the photo. A bunch of us moms helped with putting the toppings on.

It was delicious.

We talked that night about a cousin of Hubby's who has passed away and how he just loved that pizza. He could eat a whole one all by himself. Good memories.

Saturday we drove to Columbia, Missouri to spend a day shopping in a town with real stores and to eat pizza (yes, again) at one of our favorite pizza places. We lived in Columbia for a number of years and I always enjoy going there and remembering when the kids were little-bitty.

Sunday we drove back home and five minutes after we arrived our son and daughter-in-law pulled in the driveway! Yes, we knew they were coming. They were on their way to the Twin Cities and stopped for a night along the way. Sooooo fun to have them here for a bit. We shared stories about our Thanksgivings and just had a lot of fun together.


I spent today still catching up on laundry. Being gone from home for ten days sure does create a ton of laundry! After I put this last load in the dryer, I'll be done! Well, except for the fact that we keep taking showers here and we keep getting clothes dirty.  

SIGH.

It's never really done, is it?

I've also been working on catching up on sleep. Last night I slept for ten and a half hours! It felt so good! I know the "experts" say you can't really catch up on sleep, but then why do I feel so much more rested today after that looong night's sleep?

I am thankful for...
...good memories from the family reunion
...a whole ten days spent with my hubby (the withdrawal is never easy)
...laundry that is all washed and dried and all put away
...homemade spaghetti sauce in the freezer that makes a yummy quick meal
..sleep

Month of Thankfulness - Day 26

I know, I know.....

 I should really call this "Month of Thankfulness Minus One Week."

When I set out at the beginning of the month to write daily about things that I am thankful for I didn't think through that we would be gone for a good part of a week. And that we would be without any phone service or internet.

Thus my silence for the last week.

As I wrote about before my week off, we had a marvelous long weekend hanging out with our kids the weekend before Thanksgiving. As we were driving out of their town, I told hubby that I was so excited that the fun wasn't over. Where were we going? To a family reunion! This was a reunion of my father-in-law's family. There were a total of 59 family members and some extras. It was a wonderful time. My father-in-law has five siblings. They were all there, but sadly my father and mother-in-law were not able to make it. They are struggling with some health issues. (Father-in-law had surgery today to remove a superficial cancerous tumor from his bladder.) So Hubby and I represented that part of the family.

Here is a photo of the five siblings (ages ranging from 68-84). One sister is reading from their mother's journal. They sat here for quite a while reading the journal and laughing and telling childhood stories on each other. Such a treasure. The brother second from the left lives in Argentina. I haven't seen him since 1994. I so enjoyed listening to them and taking photos.

We gathered at a church camp that a cousin is the director for. Perfect location for a huge gang. Lots of housing, big dining hall, a kitchen to fix oodles of food in and several people who love to cook for crowds.

Thanksgiving Dinner consisted of something like three roasted turkeys, two smoked turkeys, some deep fat fried turkey nuggets, six turkey breasts, and a ham. Oh and a little tofu turkey. All that and sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, corn, 40 or so pies and rolls.

The Post Thanksgiving Dinner Coma:

It was such a good time with family we don't see often. People were there from three countries, and nine different states. The ages ranged from 4 1/2 months to 91 years. So awesome to have everyone together.

I must end this with a picture of Hubby's 81 year old aunt. She is so styling. She knit that long vest herself. In fact she made up the pattern herself!

I can't decide what I like the best, the vest, the necklace or the jeans tucked into the boots.

I am thankful for...
...family (even the one I married into)
...good cooks
...yummy food
...a wonderful weekend of fellowship

Day 24 of Thankfulness

I have just a few minutes to get today's post in. We had such a good Thanksgiving Day. The best part was having everyone here. We started off with a nice, lazy morning with a Cinnamon Struesel Bundt Cake for breakfast. Yummy!

The day consisted of playing with Charley.... (Caleb with Charley in the backyard.)

 

(And yes, it was nice enough out to not have to wear a jacket, believe it or not!)

We also were treated to some piano playing:

(Someone sure likes being in on the action...)

The Big Feast was in the middle of the afternoon. It was a success. I ordered a fresh turkey from the grocery store and was pleased that I didn't have to worry about defrosting it and fighting around it for days in the refrigerator. No photos of The Big Feast. Once I got through the last minute prep frenzy and plopped down at the table, I had no thoughts of my camera.

After The Big Feast everyone pitched in and helped clean up.

I just sat at the island and directed traffic. :)  And took pictures. :)  (Notice that dog is quite interested in the turkey that Zach is carving.)

The rest of the afternoon consisted of the traditional Lounging Around And Feeling Stuffed non-activity. Oh, and there was some Wii playing and book reading.

We enjoyed our pie while watching the season's premiere viewing of Elf. Love, love that movie! (Buddy the Elf, What's your favorite color?)

I am thankful for...
...spending time last weekend and earlier this week preparing some of the dishes ahead of time so I didn't have tons and tons to do today
...having all the kids here
...Hubby being so willing to pitch in and be in charge of clean-up

...that everyone wants leftovers for breakfast (pie, rolls, sweet potato casserole, turkey)

Day 23 of Thankfulness

I am thankful for......

....and the rest of the family is on their way!!!!!

Day 22 of Thankfulness

I have one thing left on my To Do List for today (aside from the load of towels in the washing machine). That last thing I need to do is to write my Blog Post of Thankfulness for today.

At the risk of sounding predictable, I am thankful for the Pilgrims that came to this continent in 1620. Specifically, I am thankful for William Bradford. He was the second governor of the Plymouth colonies. Why does he interest me? Because of the fact that he is Hubby's nine times great grandfather! How cool is that?

(Click here or here to read a bit about William Bradford.)

I admire that Mr. Bradford and the Pilgrims wanted to make the trip across the ocean in order to be able to worship God freely. I have been to where the Pilgrims sailed from in the Netherlands and where they landed at Cape Cod. Both times I remember thanking God for the obedience of William Bradford and the others.

I am thankful for...
...William Bradford sailing to the Colony of Virginia
...because of that, I have my husband
...how mind boggling that is

Our Thanksgiving Vacation

I want to post a few shots from where Hubby and I went for the Thanksgiving weekend. We loved the warmer weather and how it didn't really seem like winter. (Right now it's 15 degrees and we're waiting for a snowstorm.)

Here's the view from our bedroom.

We rented a unit in this house-looking building.

We had a very enjoyable, relaxing weekend. We loved the weather. No coats needed.

The Thankful List

 1. God's mercy and grace. I don't even want to think about where I'd be or what my life would be like with out Him.
2. My Hubby. He's my best friend in the world. He works hard at his job and is a great provider. He loves me. (and that's an amazing thing)
3. My Son. He has such a great sense of humor. He loves God and his wife. It is such a privilege to watch him grow as a man of God.
4. My Daughter-in-Law. She loves God. She's a great medical student and will make a great doctor someday. She is the sweetest person I know. I adore her.
5. My Daughter. She desires to honor God with her life. She loves her husband and made a GORGEOUS bride. She's a great student of Pharmacy. I marvel at her smarts in the realm of science. She's a great cook.
6. My Son-in-Law. He has a desire to serve God. He's a man of integrity. He's a wonderful cook. I love how God answered my prayers for a husband for my daughter.
7. The ability to get away over this Thanksgiving weekend. (Both kids made their own plans -- time with other family and time with each other.) We escaped a bit farther south and to relatively warmer weather. Today it's 15 degrees warmer where we are. Yesterday it was closer to 50 degrees!
8. A charming Thanksgiving meal. Just the two of us. (Thankful for pre-made mashed potatoes and stuffing! I made the cranberry sauce at home. Hubby loves it.)

9. Wonderful pizza with wonderful friends tomorrow night.
10.There should be an even 10 things I'm thankful for, but I think the pumpkin pie and/or a nap is calling me....