Thankful

I am so thankful for my three little turkeys, with their homemade handprint turkey shirts, that they are not old enough to fight me to wear...yet :)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I ended up hosting at the last min. I cooked the turkey, that my mom bought, and the mashed potatoes. Everyone else brought the rest. I love nothing more than setting a beautiful table and entertaining. It's something we don't do as often these days, so I decided to go all the way. We had 26 people total including kids. I have a set of 12 Christmas dishes and my grandmothers set of china, so dishes were plentiful. The day before was my birthday and I spent it doing what I love most, playing with my kids and preparing for guests. Chris and I did sneak out for a late dinner. It was a glorious day.

The table was already set so Thursday morning was spent doing last min. preparing and cooking. Our family started arriving at noon. The smell of turkey filled the house, kids running about and laughing, cousins playing, family hugging...it doesn't get much better.

After a bit we filled our plates and all sat down (in our assigned spots noted by the little Indian corn name cards that my mom, Chris and I spent late into the night making :) and began enjoying the meal that many hands had prepared.

After a few mins, I moved to the end of the table to help the kids and that's when my day met perfection. I sat looking down at 24 feet of glorious table, 26 people eating, talking, and smiling. I was beaming. Chris caught my eye and knew then that even though it was more work, that letting me use china and making the long table made my heart smile. He quietly smiled a knowing smile.

Even the kids got to eat with china and stemware :)

The day lingered, people left to be with other family, but mom, dad, linds (sister), and syd stayed and enjoyed the evening. Matt and Carly (my brother and his wife) came back around 8pm with the kids and we spent the evening playing games. I couldn't have asked for a better day :)

And of course the day wouldn't have been complete without the trying-to-get-six-kids-ages 6,5 (almost),4,3,2,1-to-smile-and-all-look-in-the-same-direction

picture with Nana and Poppy :)

I AM THANKFUL!!!