Give Thanks

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with our family, thank you. I successfully baked a from-scratch stuffing (Amazing! Thank you, Barefoot Contessa.), some twice-baked, stuffed sweet potatoes, and a homemade chocolate custard pie. Plus I made a homemade Colby and sun-dried tomato cheeseball and this fantastic pumpkin spice latte that you make in the CrockPot. I tell you what, life is good when you can make all that FROM SCRATCH, keep your house clean, do laundry, and corral three kids plus all the food to a second location without a single spill, all while staying relatively mellow despite the fact that overnight guests are coming in for a visit that day instead of the next, as (mistakenly) thought.

(It helps that my husband is okay with being bossed from time to time. I love you, baby.)

So the point of all this is that, once we coupled my culinary creations with my mom's, we had the most amazing food ever, and that we had a great time eating, laughing, talking, and lounging with my parents and my sister and her husband. Before we ate our fantastic feast, we took a moment to give our personal thanks (in ten words or less, because the dishes were getting cold, folks) and then lift up a prayer to the Lord again thanking Him for our tremendous blessings. Just hearing everyone's individual testimonies to God's goodness made me realize just how much has happened to our family in the last year, and how, despite any uncertainties, any disappointments, any human failings, we have been brought together to celebrate the unequivocal grace and bounty that God continually provides us. (Amen.)

A walk is a traditional part of our Thanksgiving celebration, and so while Mom and I stayed home to watch the baby and clean up the kitchen, Stephen, Candice, Joey, my Dad, the boys, and the dogs went on a short jaunt. Stephen took some fantastic photos of Jack and Baylor experiencing a late fall afternoon.

Baylor and Uncle JoJo

Jack

Oh, my heart just melts for this little gnome.

Getting to know the puppy.

My parents have two massive golden retrievers (seriously, like over 100 pounds each, no joke) who are just beside themselves with excitement and delight when children get within 20 feet of them. The upside to this is that Baylor and Jack think dogs are the greatest things God ever invented; in true toddler fashion, either boy will point out any one dog to us no less than seventeen times in a single sighting. Needless to say, I think both canines and boys were in heaven on this particular outing. We were glad to fulfill such innocent pleasures.

I will close now to rest and talk with my husband, who is thrilled that all three kids have settled down to sleep before our bedtime. May God grant you His peace and grace during this Advent season. Thanks be to Him for His goodness!