Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was a fantastic day! The Kids actually spent last night at their Nani Kay's house, which was a change for us. It was a little strange to get up and not have them here, but it was nice to sit with Ched and have some coffee and quiet time together. We went over and got them from Nani's at about 9:00, with the idea that we were going to come home and watch the Macy's parade, but, as we were driving home, they asked if we could get out the Christmas movies instead...so we came home and watched The Grinch with Jim Carrey. I think this might be our new T-Giving tradition because, as much as I love the Macy's parade, everyone else loses interest in about .5 seconds!

We have a wonderful friend named Jan, an honorary aunt, who opened her home to us for a fantastic feast. Now, I LOVE having people over to our house, and that is what we did last year for the holiday. But, it is really nice to go to someone else's home to celebrate! I was in charge of mashed potatoes (which I do a really good job with, if I do say so myself!) and bringing canned cranberry sauce in honor of our friend Bev, whose tradition was jellied cranberry sauce, straight out of the can.WITH the ridges left on - you COULD NOT mix up the sauce, it had to be slid out of the can, onto a plate, still in its can-shaped form!! Bev passed away in 2000 and we think of her at every holiday meal as we slide the sauce from its can.

After Naps (another holiday tradition!), we packed up The Kids and headed over to the annual tree lighting and arrival of Santa at a local Utica Square, which is a high-dollar shopping center. They have all their trees bedecked in white lights and Santa ceremoniously flips them on, signalling the official start of the Christmas season. Deco's face was just priceless! His eyes got HUGE and he got this big grin on his face when the lights came on - it was so precious. This is the seventh year that we've done this and it's one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions. We always come home and have corn soup and breadsticks, which is a great dinner to have after a huge heavy lunch. Our friends Natalie and Stephen, and their kids, have joined us for The Corn Soup Feast for at least 3 years now. I love it that we're building memories not only with our immediate family but with our extended "family" as well.

It was a wonderful day and I'm almost overwhelmed with all the things that I have to be thankful to God for!