Thanks!

"Our Father, fill our hearts, we pray, 

With gratitude Thanksgiving Day; 

For food and raiment Thou dost give, 

That we in comfort here may live." 

~Luther Cross, Thanksgiving Day

Daughter Kelly and sister Ann loading up their plates with our Thanksgiving feast.

Daughter Holly, granddaughter Shelby, and grandson Elijah 

Kelly and her hubby Kerry hosted our dinner once again this year. Thanks, you two! Everything was really nice.

Bro-in-law Terry pointing the way to the macaroni and cheese he made. It had double doses of every kind of cheese known to mankind. Seriously. And bacon! Yum!

Son-in-law Jerry says Hey while my hubby Neil is either ready to give him a big hug or showing him just how big the turkey is.

Shelby and Elijah digging in. And that plate full of food right there belongs to Holly who never met a turkey drumstick she didn't like.

Thanksgiving Feast. Turkey, dressing, ham, deviled eggs, grit casserole, potato casserole, mac and cheese (with bacon!), green beans, fruit salad, broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole, and of course, cranberry sauce.

"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

Dessert! Pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and chocolate pecan pie (hadn't made it to the table yet). After that meal, nobody had any room for it but we ate it anyway.

Shelby putting the finishing touches on her signature dessert ~ Candy Bar Caramel Apple Pie (not sure if that's the official name) made with Granny Smith apples and Snicker candy bars and (I think Cool Whip) and drizzled with caramel. It is my fave dessert, and it was totally decadent. 

We all enjoyed this fantastic feast and sitting around the table after we were stuffed, talking and laughing (mostly laughing) and never wanting to see another bite of food ever again.

Thanks to Kelly, Kerry, and Knox for hosting a great dinner and to everyone who made all that delicious food.

So thankful for those of us who could gather together this year and missed those who couldn't join us.

Thankful for so many people and so many things that bless my life every day.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 

for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Psalm 107:8-9

"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

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY 2015

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The 4th of July is a cherished tradition in my family. Every year we get together in my back yard, laugh, talk, eat great food until we’re about to explode, then eat yummy desserts until we finally do explode, play corn hole, take lots of pictures, go for a walk around the neighborhood and pretend that’s going to burn off the mass calories we just consumed, then eat homemade ice cream while we enjoy a spectacular fireworks show, all the while thanking God for blessings too many to count ~ freedom, family, friends, food, fun and of course fireworks, just to name a few. This year, we did all these things and got to do it all outside ~no rain! ~ plus we also got to enjoy the awesome fireworks show our town provided ~ we’ve really missed that these past few years. Thank God for Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness! Happy Independence Day from the Ranft/Myers/Kimbrough/Foy/Sissom Families!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I truly enjoy Halloween. To me, besides the fourth of July, it’s the most fun holiday on the calendar, and I LOVE spending it with my family. They get a kick out of finding the perfect costumes, which makes Halloween even more fun. I carved my pumpkins this afternoon and found a heart inside this one. Who knew pumpkins have feelings, too? Well, they have seeds, anyway.

Making chili for an undetermined amount of spooky peeps. I always make chili. I started this tradition when my kids were little. We’d always eat chili before going trick or treating.

Halloween candy for an undetermined amount of spooks who may or may not come knocking at my door this wet, cold and windy Halloween night. [Actually, we had quite a few, even past nine thirty. I didn’t have much of this candy left by the time it was all over]

I carved two pumpkins this year.

I always carve a traditional jack o lantern face. I think it’s a law or something.

The past year or two, I’ve enjoyed stringing up orange lights. This year I added some purple.

Added some to the dining room, too, this year. Fun stuff.

Grandson Knox dressed up like Tow Mater in the Cars movie ~ one of his fave things right now.

Kimbrough peeps ~ Kerry, Knox and Kelly

Hubby Neil dressed up like the serial killer Dexter.

Would not be Halloween at the Ranft house without sister Jane and bro in law Don.

Kerry in his glo-stick glasses

Knox’s friend Addelyn came over to go trick or treating ~ she was dressed as Elsa from the movie Frozen [which it certainly felt like out there tonight]

They were ready to get out there and gather candy

Knox brought his wagon for the ride through the neighborhood

Trick or Treat!

Hand in hand

They got back to the house with buckets full of treats. Knox really enjoyed the Halloween experience this year.

Niece Julia was the cutest bunny I’ve ever seen [her sister Sarah made the costume for her]

Cotton tail

Niece Sarah was decked out in pink braids and a dress that had bunnies and kittens and unicorns all over.

Granddaughter Shelby reminded me of Helen of Troy in her Greek goddess costume. [She and Julia froze to death trick or treating. There is snow in the forecast here tonight.]

Grandson Elijah was the Winter Soldier from Captain America

Friend of the family Anthony was just plain scary

Daughter Holly was a lovely purple haired witch

Chili for a chilly Halloween night

Daughter Kelly with her good friend Kelly and their kiddos

Shelby, Holly, Julia and Sarah

Shelby, Holly, Julia, Sarah, and good friend of the family, Katelyn who dressed up as a deer

Goddess and ghouls

Dexter with his bloody machete

Son in law Jerry dressed in camo and werewolf mask

He lives to scare people on Halloween and does a good job of it, too ~ set up his duck/deer blind in the front yard and frightened trick or treaters half to death when they came over to look inside. Boo!

“She looks like a deranged Easter Bunny,” was the quote of the evening when Julia got her hands of Dexter’s machete

Witchy Woman and a cup of hot apple cider

Bunny, goddess, deer ~ oh my

Hey, it’s me pigging out on candy corn. I had such a good time tonight with my Halloween peeps. Looking forward to doing it all over again next year!

Happy Halloween!!