Thanksgiving 2010

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
Psalm 136:1-3

The Lord certainly is good and has given us so much to be thankful for. I'm thankful for a God who cares for me, provides for me and forgives me. I'm thankful for a Savior who is my strength and my all. I'm thankful for the wonderful family He has given us and for the unconditional love they continually pour out on us.

Elizabeth, Kent, Jordan and Sophie joined us for Thanksgiving this year. It was so much fun having a house full of family. I'm thankful that Nana and Granddaddy are early risers and spent some time with Alison each morning when she rose with the sun.

I'm also thankful a little pampering and relaxation. Elizabeth graciously treated the girls to pedicures to get prepped for all of our Thanksgiving festivities. It was Alison's first time in a salon and she had a blast just sitting in the massaging chairs with us. The technician very sweetly did Alison's toes at the end, even throwing on some sparkles for her.

Thanksgiving day began with tea pastries and we watched the parade. Alison helped Aunt Sophie make some cookies while the Ben, Kent and Jordan played chess.

It was a beautiful day, so Alison and I headed outside to play in the leaves and "carve" our pumpkin.

We roasted the pumpkin seeds, made lots of yummy food, took some naps, played some games and got ready for the feast. Oh, and in the middle of all that, the neighbor's turkey fryer went up in flames in their back yard and we had help them out. Thankfully everyone was safe and there was no damage.

I'm so thankful for my princess. I'm thankful for her sweet spirit, endless hugs and kisses and passion for chocolate. We were getting ready for dinner and she asked if we could wear sparkly shirts and bracelets for the occasion. I love having a little girl to get dressed up with.

Alison asked to help decorate the table. She insisted the forks be placed backwards and was excited to have her very own special tea cup.

I'm thankful for my precious monkey. He's turned into quite the little ham and I'll take all the chubby smiles I can get. And I'm thankful for his first tooth that FINALLY came through yesterday.

Dinner was amazing and the food just keeps getting better each year. Our menu was: smoked turkey and ham, sweet potato casserole, Nonny's mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberries, creamed onions and pumpkin pie. Pecan pie and zwiebach were also on the menu, but we ran out of time to make them.

Friday we decorated for Christmas and exchanged some gifts. Alison has this cute fascination with decorating. She even asked to forgo the annual pizza cook-off so she could continue decorating the tree. I finished all the decorating yesterday and she keeps politely asking if she can move things to where she thinks they would look better.

She was so excited to help daddy put the angel on top of the tree and is counting down the minutes until we start reading the advent book.

Alison made Nana a special gift and wrapped it herself. I'm so thankful for grandparents who get excited about pink pieces of paper covered in pompoms.

I'm thankful that kids think the smallest things are the best toys ever. Elizabeth and Kent gave Eliot stackable cups-he's played with them for days on end.
I'm thankful for our simple life; full of drool, giggles and love.