The Thanksgiving Post

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break.  

The only bad part is that Hubsy was sick the whole time but we managed to have some fun anyway.

Turkey

Rest

Movie

Walk

Christmas

Shopping

Decorating

Eating

Eating

Eating

Yep.  We did it all.

The festivities started on Wednesday with a trip to Dirty Ehrma's.

Nope, not a house of ill-repute....just a bar.  

With awesome wings.

We talked and drank and ate for 4 hours y'all.  It is an experience.  It had been about 4 years or so since we were able to go.  I think we made up for it though ;)

Dirty Ehrma's Cornerside Tavern

Love the Dirty Ehrma Sign (Ehrma reminds me of the character Maxine)

I want to waitress here just so I can wear this T-shirt....ha! Love it.

Oh yeah, that happened....more than once ;)

After we ate our fill and slept off our food comas...we woke up Thanksgiving Day to do it all over again.  It was such a beautiful sunny and fairly warm day.  So much to be thankful for.

Baked Onion Dip

My contribution to the meal was this Baked Onion Dip that I served with Ritz Crackers.  I got the recipe from this sweetie.  It was certainly a hit and I'll be making this one again fo' sho'.

We went to my Aunt and Uncle's for our actual feast.  Their house is ah-mazing!  My Aunt's style is so in line with my own.  So open and warm and welcoming.  And let me tell you ALL my aunts can cook.  Like really amazingly make-you-drool cook.  Not only was it an eventful day for my taste-buds but getting to spend time with family (especially when they do not live close by) is always a treat.  The boys had a blast playing with their second cousins.  And we took a family walk around the farm to stretch our legs and relieve the pressure on our stomachs ;)  We normally have to leave early to come back home because we traditionally do the Black Friday gig but we decided not to this year since Hubsy was able to find several deals on-line ahead of time.  I can't tell you how much I enjoyed not having to rush anywhere.  It was an ENTIRE day of relaxation and catching up with family.  I felt so blessed and had so much to be thankful for.

The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning and trying to finish up our Christmas decorating.  Thanks to my Dad I got quite the haul of natural items to use.  I'll show you what I did with them coming up soon!

My loot :) Several kinds of pine, wood, twigs, acorns, and pinecones.

Our "family" tree

Is there anything cuter than little hands decorating the tree?  I think many a mama would agree that watching traditions get passed on to your children tends to make you a sappy fool.  I love watching my little rowdies be all gentle with the ornaments.  And their squeals when they open up the ornaments sound just like mine.
"Mama remember this one!"...Precious.

"My" tree

We ended the weekend with a trip around the neighborhood to look at the lights.  We usually do this about 3 or 4 times a week during the Christmas season!  Wish we could leave them up all winter.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and a great kickoff to Christmas!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well!

Thankful people are happy people

You may think I have completely forgotten Thanksgiving with all the Christmas talk I've been doing.

Not so I say!

That's truth right there

I can't wait for some good ole quality family time this week, 

and I'm certainly counting all my blessings.

There are too many to list {Thanks be to God} but here are just a few...

~ Hubsy.  

Life is less scary with him by my side.  I'm free to do so many things 

I would never even attempt without him.  He is absolutely my rock and my sanity.

~ Home. 

The very fact that I have a safe-haven for my body, mind, and soul.

~ Mornings.  

Daily re-birth that let's me start anew.  Everything looks brighter in the morning.

~ Motherhood.  

Never have I been so challenged or so full of love.  My boys have taught me so much about
myself and the kind of person I want to be.

~ Email

I probably wouldn't talk to anybody with out it.  

(If you know me you know I hate using the phone)

~ Pooches.  

The love of a dog is like no other.
Endless, unconditional, silly, endearing, sweet, it all these and more.

~ Forgiveness.

Not only from my Jesus, but from everyone.
I am such a flawed woman in need of forgiveness.

~ Laughter.

My kids say such hilarious things that make me crack up.  Those moments are priceless.  I'm trying to get back to writing them down so I can have a record of them to keep.

~ Music.

It can lift me up like no other.
Give me a good beat and watch me smile as I start to jam, head-bob and all.
My E does it too :)

~ Giving.

Making a difference in someone's life, no matter how small, is such a blessing. I wish I could do more and am looking into more ways to do so.

~ Blog friends.

You're friendship has blessed me more than I can say.

And lastly in honor of the Thanksgiving meal...

~ Candied Sweet Potatoes.

The ones with brown sugar, pecans, and marshmallows on top. Can I get an Amen!?

Wishing you and yours a warm, loving, and pants-splitting Happy Thanksgiving :)

* Congratulations to Shawntel on winning my one-of-a-kind earrings 
designed for the  Dancing with Ashley giveaway!