Thanks for Thanksgiving

The house is now quiet. Everyone is in blissful contentment, napping on the floor or couch, while the TV drones on quietly in the background. I am surrounded by the delectable smells leftover from cooking all day. I love Thanksgiving, everything about it! It is full of my two favorite things....food and family! It has still somehow escaped the commercialism of all the other holidays, and retained its pure intent. Sure, there's still the bustle involved with preparing mountains of food, knowing full well that it's way too much food for the number of people eating. But then there's the pure joy of sharing it with those you love, sitting crammed around a fancy table, knocking elbows, and piling your plate way too high. Then when everyone is full to the brim we can look around the table and truly be grateful for all our blessings.

This year Eric's parents flew up to spend Thanksgiving with us. It's been such a treat, especially compared to last year when we were by ourselves for the holiday. We've had fun shopping and getting our hair done together, and watching movies. Just being together is the best part!

The majority of today Terry and I spent in the kitchen. We had so much fun bumping into each other in my too-small kitchen, and comparing favorite recipes. We had our little mishaps too. I spilled a bunch of the turkey drippings as I was clumsily transferring it to another dish. Then before we could recover from laughing about that, Terry shook a container of corn starch and warm broth (meant for the gravy) and it exploded everywhere! We had cornstarch all over everything. We tried cleaning it up the best we could while laughing so hard, but kept finding it the rest of the day. It was dried onto our clothes, shoes, hair. I found a spot on my cheek like a beauty mark.

That must be part of what I love the most -- making new memories, reinforcing long-held traditions, and creating some new ones of our own. These are the things I remember for years down the road, long after I've forgotten what Aunt Jane got for Cousin Sue for Christmas. I am so thankful for the chance we have to create these lasting memories and give thanks for all that the Lord has blessed us with. I am thankful for Thanksgiving.

The cooks of the day!

Our beautiful table setting.