We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I hope you did too. When I think of Thanksgiving, what always comes to mind is food, family, and football. We experienced a lot of each, and I’m so very thankful for all of our blessings.
The Food
I tend to be very traditional when it comes to the holidays, so for our family that means the traditional Thanksgiving fare, including turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, etc. When I was a little girl, I truly had no idea what was involved in the process of preparing that delicious feast. I just knew that it was super yummy! I also knew that the grownups who were participating in the preparation were generally busy, distracted, sometimes a bit grumpy… Now I know why!
Goodness! In the past few years that responsibility has fallen upon me, and I really do enjoy it…mostly. 🙂 I think that my twenty years of teaching, helped me in so many ways that I’m still just beginning to realize. Through teaching I became, like most teachers, a master of planning, organizing, and prioritizing! All of these skills definitely came in handy last week. The truth is that I might not have survived if it weren’t for the beauty of H.E.B. Curbside Pickup! It’s truly changed my life. If you hate to grocery shop as much as I do, then check it out. If you don’t live in Texas, then I hope you have something like it in your area!
While I did the majority of the cooking, my oldest son and daughter-in-law provided some delicious homemade cranberry sauce and pies. My youngest son and his girlfriend baked some amazing chocolate chip cookies. They used a recipe from Joanna Gaines cookbook called Magnolia Table. It is a great cookbook, by the way. Those were the most delicious cookies! You can get the recipe HERE.
I have one final thought about Thanksgiving food, and that involves the sweet potato debate. This is where I veer away from tradition. When I was little we always had the old standby sweet potatoes covered in sticky, melted marshmallows. I never ate them. Then I discovered this recipe, and now sweet potatoes are my very favorite thing! I have included a link to my sweet potato recipe HERE!
Joana Gaine’s chocolate chip cookies… Mmmm!
Family
My family is the most important thing in the world to me. Luckily for me, they are people that I not only love, but I actually like and admire! They are people that I would choose to spend time with even if they weren’t my family! That’s not always the case, and I count my blessings daily.
One of the best things about spending time with family is the fact that we share a common history. That means we always have lots to talk about. We spend quite a bit of time reminiscing about holidays and experiences past. Most of that reminiscing involves tons of laughter. This year was no exception!
One truly special and unexpected thing happened this year. We began a brand new tradition thanks to my youngest son’s amazing girlfriend. She is a super thoughtful young lady, which is one of the things that I admire the most about her. When she and my son arrived at my house on the night before Thanksgiving, she presented me with a wonderful gift!
It was a Turkey on the Table. It is just the cutest idea. Basically, it is an adorable stuffed turkey that comes with laminated paper feathers. The idea is that each year, each member of your family records what they are thankful for on the feathers and adds them to the turkey. We officially named the turkey Charlie, and I LOVE HIM! That sweet girl introduced a new family tradition, and I am so excited about it! You can see more information about it HERE.
Football
In our house, no Thanksgiving would be complete without football! Some things never change. When I was growing up, we would gather at my grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving. The day would pretty much go like this… food preparation, Thanksgiving feast for lunch, and then an afternoon of napping and watching the Dallas Cowboys.
It is a tradition that has continued in my own home. No Thanksgiving would be complete without the annual Cowboys Thanksgiving game. Sadly, the Cowboys managed to crush my soul again this year with yet another loss. Better luck next year I guess!
Thanksgiving Blessings
I’m already looking forward to next year’s Thanksgiving holiday. I can’t wait to get Charlie the turkey back out and share our blessings and gratitude. I truly believe that when we are thankful and grateful, blessings tend to come our way. Blessings to you and your families!