A Day of Thanks...

Thanksgiving has long been one of my favorite holidays, and this year was no exception. It was a perfect day...the turkey was delicious (thanks for the recipe, Jen!), the side dishes were awesome (Michelle's corn souffle and mac-n-cheese, Kay's fudge, Mom's mashed potatoes and chocolate pie, Catherine's wine, Rhonda's hanky-panks, my dressing)...all in all, it was a smashing success. We ate, visited, laughed, ate some more, played ping-pong and Rock Band, ate dessert, drank too much wine and a little bit of coffee, then slouched on the couch and digested for a while. At any given time, there were children running amuck, adults texting teenagers with Twilight-themed messages, multiple conversations being had, girls and boys rocking out to the iPod in the kitchen...I think a good time was had by all! Thanks to all of our family and friends who made this holiday such a special one!

Oh, did you wanna see some pictures of the festivities?

I thought you'd never ask!

Isabel was a huge help, carrying up chairs from the basement, setting the tables, and making placecards for the guests. What would I do without this girl?

Out of all the pictures, I did not get a single one of Michelle and I together. Whassup with that? Here's one that will probably end up on her blog...

I couldn't resist getting this butter mold to set at the kids' table:

Kylee (and all the kids) loved it. Until someone cut off his head to put on their roll. Oh, the horror!

Gabe's little friend, Will, was also here for the fun. Kay was babysitting. Yep, on the holiday. She is a saint. That's all I'm sayin'.

Joe was the master carver of the turkey. He did a fabulous job.

It was difficult to pull Morgan (Michelle's youngest) and Elijah away from the video games, but the smell of the food and the promise of a tasty dinner did the trick.

I was sad that my big sis, Rhonda, couldn't stay for dinner, but at least they were able to come for appetizers before they had to drive to Paul's family.

My mom and Elijah. I love this picture.

The girls had so much fun playing Barbies and babies and kittens. I'm not sure what Catherine's girls were looking at, but it obviously wasn't the camera...

We had a whole table dedicated to desserts. Gabe took off running to the kitchen for a spoon; for what, I wasn't sure. Until I spied him looking like this...

Cool Whip, anyone?!


My MIL, Kay, and my momma. Kay had a (couple) glasses of wine to help her relax...can you tell?

These three were jamming to some tunes, singing along to songs I have never even heard. Michelle, you are one of the coolest moms on the planet, knowing this music and liking it!

I was thrilled that Catherine and Kipper could make it to our celebration, since they weren't able to go home to Texas for Thanksgiving. Catherine stayed and cleaned up the kitchen (thank you SO much!), then we actually had time to just sit and talk after everyone else left.

There was a little bit (or a lot) of Rock Band goin' on. I have decided that I am much better on the drums when I am at Lula's house, in Scotty's man room, after two (or five) Mike's hard lemonades. Just sayin'. These guys were rockin' it out, though. And you should see Elijah on the guitar...he amazes me!

By the end of the night, even Gabe was tired. I had Catherine take a picture of us...this never happens. Snuggling with mommy on the couch, actually saying the words "I'm so tired". Definitely a Kodak moment.

Hope your Thanksgiving was filled with great memory-making moments like these.

Next stop...Christmas!