HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

"Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers."-  Edgar A. Guest, Thanksgiving

Daughter Kelly, son in law Kerry and grandson Knox hosted our Thanksgiving dinner again this year. Their hundred year old house has plenty of room for [most] of our clan.

There were 15 at the dinner this year ~ two tables ~ no waiting

My brother in law Don is a most excellent cook and made the turkey gravy like my mom used to make it ~ in a heavy cast iron skillet ~ it was delicious

Laughter is always a by-product of our get-togethers ~ niece Sarah, daughter Holly, granddaughter Shelby and niece Julia ~ wonder what they’re laughing about

Don’s gravy and my sister Jane’s to-die-for sweet potato casserole

Our Thanksgiving Feast ~ my sister Ann makes awesome dressing and broccoli casserole ~ Don slow roasted that delicious turkey ~ I made garlic grit casserole and fruit salad ~ Holly made her yummy deviled eggs




Kelly is a blur in this pic, on the move ~ I’m sure she and Kerry are totally tuckered out after all their preparations for this dinner

At the “kid table” ~ grandson Knox waiting for some food, Sarah, Julia, Shelby and grandson Elijah

In our family, this is the meaning of “stuffing”

They all did look up from their plates long enough for a nice group shot ~ okay, you can go back to stuffing your faces now, thanks ~ around the left table: brother in law Terry, sister Ann, sister Jane, hubby Neil, brother in law Don and son in law Jerry. Around the table on the right: daughter Holly, grandson Knox, daughter Kelly, son in law Kerry, niece Sarah, niece Julia, granddaughter Shelby and grandson Elijah

It’s no secret that Holly’s favorite part of the turkey is the leg

She totally destroyed this one and thought nothing of it because it was so good

We ran out of clean forks so Ann used the next best thing ~ one of Knox’s baby forks ~ it got the job done ~ by the way, we enjoyed some great desserts ~ Shelby made a killer caramel apple Snickers pie

Like mother like daughter ~ Kelly probably didn’t think I’d post her selfie ~ we were either singing or yelling for help

Sitting around the table, talking and laughing, after that enormous meal ~ I don’t think anybody could move

Sarah found a comfy spot and so did Knox

The clean-up crew ~ you’re a good man, Kerry ~ thanks for all your hard prep and clean up work

When we finally forced ourselves to move away from the tables, we bundled up and went for a cold walk around the neighborhood ~ the girls thawed out in front of the fire when we got back ~ there was snow in our forecast and the overcast sky did spit a few flakes at us

Don asked his daughter Julia to bring him a “small” piece of pumpkin pie ~ be careful what you ask for

When we weren’t eating or watching football, we played some games like Apples To Apples which is always fun ~ and then we ate some more. A delicious good time was had by all. I’m so blessed to be a part of the best family on the planet and thankful for the time we got to spend together today. Thank you again, Kelly and Kerry, for hosting our amazing feast! And as always we give God the glory for His rich blessings, today and every day. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

"I ate too much turkey,
I ate too much corn,
I ate too much pudding and pie,
I'm stuffed up with muffins
and much too much stuffin',
I'm probably going to die.
I piled up my plate
and I ate and I ate,
but I wish I had known when to stop,
for I'm so crammed with yams,
sauces, gravies, and jams
that my buttons are starting to pop.
I'm full of tomatoes
and french fried potatoes,
my stomach is swollen and sore,
but there's still some dessert,
so I guess it won't hurt
if I eat just a little bit more."
-    Jack Prelutsky, I Ate Too Much