A Great Thanksgiving

We have had such a great Thanksgiving! It began as a crazy week and has ended as one of the best Thanksgivings ever. On Wednesday I ended up cooking and preparing all day and into the evening. We finished just before my niece, Lyndi, arrived with 3 of my darling great-nieces and great-nephew. It was so much fun to have them stay with us. Ally and Abbi instantly retreated to Ally's room. Gabe and Payzli hung with the rest of us. It was so great to start the Holiday with company in our home.
On Thursday we ran to the church (yes, a church, we had 48 people coming) to get things set up. Then ran home and found Nancy had arrived. We then got 15 lbs of potatoes mashed and all the pies, treats and potatoes loaded up and headed back to the church.
It was so great. ALL of the food was amazing! There was so much to choose from that my plate looked like a taster's plate. I wanted a little taste of practically everything. My favorite dish is always the Candied Yams. The kids' favorite is always "Timmy Rolls". My brother makes unbelievable dinner rolls. Yummy!!!
Not long after dinner, that Jolly ol' Soul came bouncing in. A complete surprise for the kids. After a little singing the kids got to sit on Santa's lap and whisper their Christmas Wishes. With a bit of prodding the older kids even sat on his lap too. Santa finished his visit with a little song and dance and was on his way. Since some of our family has to travel quite a distance we decided to have our family Christmas party on Thanksgiving. It was a great way to start this wonderful holiday season.
Dustin & Carrie were in charge of the Christmas party this year. They did a great job. After Santa left the adults got busy playing the White Elephant game while the kids began their fun picture books for church. Once everyone was done we then watched a portion of The Nativity Story. It was the perfect way to usher in the Christmas Holiday. It's always a great idea to remind everyone of what Christmas is all about.
Once everything was cleaned up we all headed for home. On Thursday night Nancy, Melissa and her friend Jodi stayed with us. It was so much fun to come home and get to just relax and visit. I just love having company stay with us. Especially family that we don't get to see very much. It was a real treat.
On Friday Melissa and Jodi headed to the airport and the rest of us just lazed around until about 3:00 pm. We finally got ready and headed to the Pizza Factory for yummy bread twists and amazing pizza. We topped it off with a trip to Farr's Ice Cream (thanks Aunt Nancy!!!) We then went to Mom & Dad's for a while.
On Saturday we got up and when back to Mom & Dad's and helped them get their Christmas tree and decorations up. It was fun to 'deck the halls'. The kids all were a huge help!!! Nancy, Alexa and I then headed into town to enjoy the crowds! We did find a few great deals but mostly enjoyed our time together.
It has been a long week, but such a wonderful one! I feel so blessed to have been born into my family. We are definitely not the perfect family, but we love each other and love being together. Thanks to everyone for making Thanksgiving so special this year!