Thanksgiving 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrated our 4th annual "Thanksmas" with Ben's family this year.

Don't mean to offend anyone, but this was perhaps my favorite Thanksgiving ever.

Maybe it was because I wasn't sitting next to a toilet all day or stuck on the couch nursing a baby.  I felt like I could finally fully participate and enjoy the day.

Thanksgiving was kicked off by Alison's play at school, the day before.

 

She was the first speaker, with the most lines and did a fantastic job.  Alright, she spoke really fast and you could barely hear her, but she didn't cry or freak out, so to me, it was success.  A few years ago she would have never made it through those memorized lines.

Afterwards, all the girls got pedicures and the men finished some grocery shopping.

I've been going to this little nail salon with visiting family members for the last 5 years.  They have come to know our family and treat us exceptionally well.  I asked if Alison could just sit in my lap and get her toes painted at the end, but they gave her the full treatment, even adding some designs on her little toes.  I know she felt like a queen.

Thanksgiving morning we had cinnamon rolls and started to watch the parade...did you watch it?

We only made it a few minutes before we were greatly disappointed and turned on the 'Sound of Music' instead.  It was the best decision ever.  Everyone, including the kids, really enjoyed watching this classic movie and had fun singing along.

We had appetizers for lunch and played games all afternoon, while the kids napped.

Eli woke up from his nap slightly grouchy and needed a little coaxing to get into the Thankful spirit.

Alison's calling his friend Ross to talk about Thomas with him:

 

We all took a dish to cook, but Ben was the executive chef of Thanksgiving.

Ben is amazing and all of the food was spectacular.

We made real green bean casserole and will never turn back.  Half way through french cutting all the beans, the old recipe was looking pretty nice, but I can tell you that the extra work is worth it.

Here's the table, pre-dinner.

I love pretty tables and nice dinners...almost as much as I love Christmas movies and puzzles.

Dinner was so yummy, I didn't want it to end.

Neither did Colin.  Can you blame him?

P.S. You know you're a 3rd, when you still drink out of a bottle at 18 months.

As they say, all good things must come to an end, but I am still finding myself thinking about the things that I am thankful for.

I was really thankful for our health last week; thankful that we were able to host our family and really enjoy time with them.  Having strep the week before and barely eating for several days, really made me appreciate the food we had.  Although, did you know that antibiotics can make food taste funny?  I learned that new tidbit last week.

Most of all, I'm thankful that we were all together.  I looked at Ben several times during the day and just savored that he was home.  He was there cooking and laughing and playing with our kids.  He was there for me to hug and talk with and sit next to at dinner.

There was a small chance we wouldn't have that this year and I'm sure there will be a year that he will be deployed, so this year I'm extra thankful that we are all together.