We all agree that Thanksgiving 2012 was one of our most special yet...
I had the wonderful privilege of joining Emmy for a Thanksgiving lunch at Mom's Day Out on the Tuesday before Turkey Day. She shared her one-of-a-kind artwork with me over some cheesy potatoes, ham and cookies. I cherish our time together...
Kris and J.P. and their babies drove in on Wednesday, and were welcomed by a reaction from Emmy befitting of lottery jackpot winner. Within the hour, the kids were squabbling like siblings. The "polite" period is getting shorter with every visit.
Seated around our fully extended table, we collectively devoured three pizzas for dinner before retreating to fire up the fire pit. Andy commented how he'd never seen a campfire before, let alone roasted marshmallows over one. I feel so blessed to be able to share "firsts" with my beloved niece and nephews in spite of our usual geographic separation. After bathtime to rid the babies of the sticky remnants of s'mores, we began the torturous bedtime proceedings. Clairey graciously declined Hannah's room, so that Hannah might sleep in her own crib, in favor of crashing with Andy in the bonus room. Emmy was in her room (MUCH to her chagrin) and Jacob aptly slept like a baby in the guest room with Kris and J.P. Emmy felt very left out of the party; which was only compounded by Clairey dictating that Emmy mustn't come out of her room, inside of which they both were standing. Just after the clock struck 9:30, there was no sign of wakeful children. The boys hung out by the fire and Kris and I baked some pies, and dove into other Thanksgiving meal preparations.
Thanksgiving was all about the parade, playtime, football and cooking. I've come to believe that making Thanksgiving dinner is like the final exam in an advanced time management course. The pass or fail grade relies on every dish being the appropriate doneness at the time that everyone is ready to eat. It took a few years to iron out the kinks, but I would say that this Thanksgiving meal was the best yet. Our friends/family the Andrjeski's and their precious babies joined in for the fun. We had three tables worth of mouths to feed, which absolutely did my heart good. With 9 children literally making laps around the kitchen; it was kind of like a fast-moving parade of our most cherished blessings. :-P There was no shortage of excitement during out meal. :)
Friday, Kris and I decided to make a run for it under the guise that we would partake in Black Friday shopping. Of course, neither of us claustrophobes would touch that madness with a ten foot pole, so we opted to go to the least densely populated establishments in Clarksville. As we were leaving the house, Clairey approached Kris and very innocently asked who was going to take care of them in our place. I'm still laughing every time I think about it. Nick and JP more than rose to the occasion. In recounting the details of their park adventure, they mentioned the bizarre looks that they got as they each chased the older kids while toting the littlest ones in Kris and my feminine Ergo baby carriers. Super Dads, those two. The uninterrupted sister time was blissful. Spending three hours just the two of us filled up our buckets. Not a moment was taken for granted, we made sure of it.
Saturday arrived and the Sacksteders departed. It was time to change gears. My good friend, Sara, and her sweet Claire had come to Clarksville for the holiday while her Ranger hubby worked in Florida. In an effort to re-live our good old days, we had my girlfriends, Molly, Kristy, Lindsey and their families over for a little dinner. It was so wonderful to be under the same roof once again (even though there are many others who've moved away that we were still missing.) Times have certainly changed since all of us military wives first came together. We have been busy multiplying over the years; the nature of our gatherings is a little different now (they start and end earlier and far less wine is consumed,) but I am grateful to say that an awesome friendship remains.
Come Sunday, we were getting a little party-weary, but knowing that our incredible church group would be coming over was excitement enough to rally. It was such a relaxed night, complete with an entertaining talent show from the kiddos. We feasted our eyes on a couple of "ABC" renditions, Taylor Swift cover songs and some sweet dance moves. Nothing like ending a long holiday weekend with some quality belly laughs.
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| My lunch date at Mom's day Out! |
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| Sissy got to eat lunch with the big kids in the one year old class! |
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| Our "campfire" |
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Clairey with her inaugural roasted marshmallow.
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My girl skipped the marshmallow and graham cracker and went straight for the good stuff.
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The beautiful Sacksteder family!
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| EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT THE CAMERA!! |
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Hannah ate her weight in mashed potatoes and string beans. I should also note that she spent about two hours in her high chair while we finished up the final push before serving Thanksgiving dinner. What a TROOPER!
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| TWO kids tables! |
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Hannah's first taste of pumpkin pie...She's been ruined forever!
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Viewing the "Elf on the Shelf" movie under the watchful gaze of Henry, our elf.
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The first realization that Henry showed up during the movie.
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| Saturday night! (I stole these photos from Sara. I am KICKING myself that I didn't take any! UGG!) Kristy, Luke, Molly, Willa & Mr. Conlin |
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| Mrs. Conlin cuddling Hannah and dear Claire cruising. |
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| My Nick, Claire and Mr. Henderson. |
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| Sunday night! We found that the very quickest way to evacuate a room full of children is announce that ice cream is on. |
The big kids helped the little kids put on a highly entertaining show! :)
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| Dancing to "Call Me Maybe" |
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| Hannah doing what she does best....Spreading the love. :) |
