Give Thanks in All Things

This year for Thanksgiving, we decided to try something new.  We had dinner at our house; just the six of us!  Thanksgiving has traditionally been something that we do with a big group of family, but for some reason this year, it just felt like small and intimate was the way to go.    We had a great deal of fun on that day, and I have to say that the best part was that there weren't any time constraints on us.  Dinner started when we were ready and we didn't have to wait for others to come; and no one got up and left during dinner.  Not that these are total dealbreakers, but let's just say the contrast was nice.  The kids were able to help with meal preparations quite a bit, and we all had a fun day.

The girls were most excited about the table decorations.  I don't blame them.  One of my favorite memories of childhood was sleeping over at my grandma's house the night before Thanksgiving.  The next morning, as food was being prepared, I got to help with mashing potatoes, setting the table and making sure that everything was ready to go when the time arrived.  We found a fun project from Family Fun and had a great time making our turkey centerpiece.  The girls also made sure that we were using Great-Grandma Homer's table cloth and accessorized with some nifty placemats and wire pumpkins they picked out from Wal-Mart. (We are high class.)

Well, high class or low, the food sure was tasty.  We brined the turkey we made, and cooked Lion House rolls.  We tried a corn casserole with cream cheese and peppers (so yummy) and the sweet potato casserole was like dessert for dinner.  We also had veggies and homemade pies.  And of course, sparkling cider to drink.  We had some great conversation with the kids and really enjoyed the day.

After dinner we went over to the new Megaplex Theaters in Centerville and saw the Muppet Movie.  Soooo much fun.  Came home and headed to be early, because for once, the girls actually convinced me to go shopping on Black Friday.  Not sure that I'll do that again, but they loved it.

In many ways, it was the perfect day and was a great start to the weekend.  So thankful for all of these people in my life and for the joy they bring me daily.  Grateful to spend our day of thanks together.