Giving Thanks

I was so busy with Thanksgiving and my broken computer, I didn't get a chance to sit down and blog about the wonderful Thanksgiving week that we enjoyed. Nathan had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off, so he took Monday and Tuesday as vacation and we had an entire week to enjoy him. My kids didn't go to school at all that week. It was parent-teacher conferences, and they had half days Monday through Wednesday with no school on Thanksgiving and Friday. Their cousins were here from Wyoming-- cousins that they used to get to see all the time and that they miss-- so, I kept them home the whole week. I even missed my parent-teacher conferences, and I don't feel guilty either.

We spent most of the week here with Nathan's family, but I never seem to have any pictures. Mostly we cook, eat, do dishes, visit and start cooking the next meal. When we're all together, meals seem to be the focal point of our time together. On Wednesday we went to my mom's house. My sister and David were there.Jojo and Ben had fun on the slide despite the cold.The older kids helped set the table for dinner. My brave mother used the real china with the grandkids there. (My china is still packed, and I'm not unpacking it until we can get through a meal without someone dumping their entire glass of water on the table.)Grandpa kept the kids entertained with a game of T-ball. It warmed up enough that Ethan thought coats were optional.

And, of course we ate.... too much.
And drank lots of the traditional green punch. Nathan killed the punch bucket with the ice pick getting it slushy. It was perfectly slush and yummy.Our family came home that night and the following day (Thanksgiving Day) Nathan's family celebrated with the Spanish branch since his dad is the Branch President. Nathan and one of his brother-in-laws were sorely disappointed though. The Spanish branch ladies brought pasta and potatoes and stuffing, but no tamales. Not an enchilada in sight. Sigh. I didn't take my camera. Double sigh. Daneen bought cheesecake just for me. I gained back all the weight I lost this fall.

On the weekend, Janae and I did crafts. That's always my favorite part of these get-togethers-- visiting over craft projects. Janae blew out her knee a week before Thanksgiving. She tore the ACL and the MCL. I have one picture of her from the weekend, sitting on the couch in sweats, no makeup with her knee propped on a pillow. Because I love her, I won't post it on my blog. :)

This Thanksgiving I am grateful that we were here, and very grateful that we didn't have to drive 10 hours to get here. I'm grateful that even though everyone has had one kind of cold or another, for the most part, we're all healthy. I'm grateful that Nathan was off for the holiday and that we got to spend so much time together. This has been a trying year to say the least, but we still have the things that matter most. On Thanksgiving (and every other day) I keep reminding myself of that.

On the way out the door, my mom snapped this photo of Nathan and I. It's the best picture of us we've taken in awhile. (Please disregard my chipped fingernail polish.) Of all the blessings in my life, he's the one I'm most grateful for.