Thanksgiving 2012

I'm a little late with this because I apparently hit my picture limit and have been working on how to fix that. IT pro I am not.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. How can you not love a day where you're expected to eat too much and then be lazy? Throw in some good company and I call that a great day. I'm finally getting around to getting some pictures up. We go over to Mother-in-law's house for Thanksgiving lunch...and this year stayed so long that we had dinner too! And it was yummy the second time around.

Eating at the table like a big guy!
(with Mama & Grandma snapping away with cell phones)

Grandma's house = playtime (and who doesn't need to play after a turkey dinner?). Ok, Grant's two so everywhere equals playtime. But at Grandma's house, he gets to play with more than boring ol' Mama and Daddy. And he gets to ride his tricycle inside...which he no longer gets to do at home.


How dare I stop playtime for pictures.

 

When I ask him to smile, I never know what I'll get :)

Moving on to dessert. I forgot I had brought the camera so I didn't take pre-playtime pictures. Behold the dessert table:

Look at that sugary goodness!

A kiss for his turkey cookie

 

Loving some Ho-ho Cake (Thanks for the recipe Mel!)



And playtime is resumed.



Grant loves to play with Aunt Debbie!

Sugar high! (Bandaid because he bumped his
head and only a Spongebob bandaid made it better)

 We headed home thoroughly stuffed and desperately in need of stretchy pants. But there was one stop before we went home. There is a house not far from my in-law's that lights up their Christmas lights on Thanksgiving. To say they go "all out" in the understatement of the year. The decorate every inch of their yard and house for Christmas. Some would call it tacky...I call it impressive (Happyland Christmas Lights if you want to find them on facebook). They had posted that they only had 75% of their decorations up.



Nothing says Christmas like Santa in an outhouse...



...or a T-Rex with a candy cane.

These pictures don't even do it justice. And I can't wait to go back after he's done!

I hope your Thanksgiving was as great as ours! 

Thankful

I have had little ambition or opportunity to blog, so I've been taking a little break. I have plenty to write about (and pictures I want to post). But we have one computer and it's generally occupied. So I usually take that as a sign that I should be working on one of my many unfinished craft projects, watching something that's filling up the DVR, or reading.

But I saw something the other day that I wanted to share. I saw it on pinterest and at this time of year I find it especially important. Growing up, our family used to go around the table on Thanksgiving and we'd all have to say at least one thing we were thankful for. This reminds me of how thankful I am and should be.


 The past few years has been tough on my family. But as much as we've been through, I still know how lucky we are.

Although I no longer have either of my parents, I am thankful for the way they raised me and I hope that I'm becoming someone they would be proud of. And even though Grant will never know my parents (Nana and Grandpa to him) in person I hope that I can help him know who they were and how much they wanted to meet him. And I'm so thankful for the family I have that that can help me make my parents a part of Grant's life.

I'm thankful for health. Mine, my family's, and my friends. We've had had a year full of various sicknesses (mostly Grant) but, for the most part, it's all been pretty minor and I'm thankful for that. I know that there are so many people taking care of very sick loved ones and I'm thankful that all my loved ones are happy and healthy (Including Aunt Bonnie who had a procedure done yesterday and is now home resting. We're hoping that will take care of some recent problems for her).

That leads me to how thankful I am for my family friends. I'm so lucky to have a supportive husband, a sweet little boy, and loving family and friends. And I don't know where I'd be without all of them. They've all gotten me through so much.

I'm lucky to have the life that I have and all the people in it. People who love me and support me and make me want to be a better person...and some who make me see the person I don't want to be. I'm lucky that every night when I go to sleep it's in a warm house and in a comfy bed with a full belly.

I try to stay positive. It isn't always easy when you see people taking for granted all the things they have and hearing them complain about the most minimal things. But I try to stay thankful every day (not just at Thanksgiving) because, in spite of what the past two years have been like, I see something every day that makes me thankful for what I have.

Thanksgiving Continued!

My sister, Shauna, sent me a ridiculously long text about everything that Thanksgiving reminds her of and I thought I'd share. Some stuff I didn't remember, some stuff I still don't remember but it all made me laugh.

She reminded me that we used to hope not to get stuck sitting in the chair next to the wood stove vent because it was hot we'd sweat through the entire meal. And that every time my dad said grace we would laugh the whole time because dad was usually crying. My mother would always roll her eyes and say "Oh, put it in your journal Brian!" which would make us laugh harder. Shauna says she remembers AJ and Nick getting into fights...but I don't remember that. After the meal our Gram would do the dishes in water so scalding hot it's baffling that she never had to go to the ER for third degree burns (which is hereditary because I now have a tendency to do it). Then when the deck of cards came out, we'd play 31 and Gram would cheat. It was something everyone expected and yet everyone always acted surprised...when Uncle Charlie would call her out on it. Uncle Charlie used to talk to us in what my sister calls "gibberish" (seriously...who knows what it was). Shauna says she used to act like she knew what he was saying...but I'm pretty sure I always just stared at him. For some reason, my sister used to like to style Aunt Bonnie's hair...and Aunt Bonnie put with it. It always looked painful and by the time Shauna was done she had used roughly 5 pounds of mousse in her hair.

And lets not forget my mother cooking a retarded amount of food (like the time she cooked a 26 pound turkey with all the fixings - and then some - for six people). She would do this while drinking her Busch beer out of her "fancy" glass that she only ever drank out of at our family get-togethers. And, knowing my mother, she had probably stolen the glass from some restaurant. Petty thievery was a hobby of hers.

Anyway, that text made me smile remembering all the wonderful - and usually humorous - family holidays we've had over the years. It makes me sad to think that we won't have holidays like that anymore but I thank God for the memories that we have. And I look forward to the holiday traditions that Husband and I will be starting with our own family :)

Being Thankful

Every year on Thanksgiving my family used to go around the table and say what we’re thankful for. When we were kids we were always thankful for our (unbroken) toys, when we were teenagers we were thankful when our parents stayed out of our business, and when were a little older and no one was remotely serious about it anymore we would say whatever would make everyone laugh - like being thankful for Aunt Bonnie’s little turkey cookies or being thankful that someone labeled the ham gravy so Dad wouldn’t put it on his turkey again (that didn’t go well). So this post is in the spirit of the Thanksgivings that I used to have.

What I’m thankful for:

• My healthy baby boy and my husband
• All my family (even the ones I’m not so crazy about – or the ones that send hate mail)
• Great friends
• Our dog, Brodie, who will sometimes get mad at me but usually forgives me after a treat
• A roof over our head and food in our bellies
• Having a job I don’t mind going to in the morning
• That lack of “need” in my life (hopefully I eventually learn to “want” less)
• My sense of humor and being so easily amused
• My inner child (even if he is chubby…and sometimes a little bit lazy)
• My happy childhood and my great memories

I know I’m leaving some things out. I have a lot to be thankful for. Family holidays make me reminisce and I wish I had some pictures from our Thanksgivings to share but cameras seem to have been absent at those gatherings.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!