Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving 2011 was certainly a blessed one. This year we celebrated at our house. Everyone was assigned something to bring, so all I had to do was cook a turkey then make potatoes, biscuits and gravy. Gravy, right? Right! Mid-morning mom and Paul showed up with Great-Grandma. Within an hour, Linda, Richard and Mike showed up followed another hour later by Mark and Tammy, then by my friend Becky. We ate appetizers and chatted while we searched with our noses for the first hints of roasting turkey. Devine! Avery's lemonade and tea stand by the front door was a success (she raked in $11.37). By early afternoon it was time to eat. Richard did his usual expert job at carving the bird. The boys sat in the living room in front of the Lions game, while the gals sat in the dining room in front of the fire. The meal, as expected was delicious. Although no one was hungry, a while later we were dishing out pie, dolloping whipping cream and sipping decaf. The Hawkses and Becky left late evening, but mom and Paul and Grandma took off the next morning. A couple hours later, we were out walking around the property, marveling at the warmth of the late November day. We were playing follow the leader through the woods, when we heard Grandpa Ron pull up with Buddy in his truck. He unloaded some venison, pickles and an enormous fruit salad. Buddy chased our chicken Meatball until she went airborne and then played with another dog we were watching, Reggie. I made homemade bread and used it to make hot turkey sandwiches. Grandpa stayed until early evening and we really enjoyed our time together. I hope our kids have good memories of our Thanksgivings, just like I do of mine. While I loved having everyone here, it was a little sad when everyone left within an hour after dinner. Last year we all hung out in the evening, then met in the morning for shopping and leftovers. I missed that, and after talking to mom about it, think we'll alternate Thanksgivings so we won't each have it at our house every year. So, with Thanksgiving being a day on which it's good to look about you and appreciate the things in your life you tend to take for granted, I realize I have several. I'm so thankful my children are who they are. They fight a lot and don't listen to their parents often, but I love them dearly. I know they'll grow up to be wonderful adults, despite all the times outs they have had as children (maybe because of them). I love my husband dearly, for who he is too. We started off our marriage not knowing one another very well, but we've grown closer, our love and respect for each other deepening with each season. I'm grateful for my family, and the fact that we live in Michigan so we can see them so much more often. Mostly I'm thankful for God, because I realize that without him and his blessings, I'd have none of it.