Friday, November 28, 2008

Thanksgiving

"Thanksgiving is a time of

quiet reflection upon the past

and an annual reminder that

God has, again,

been ever so faithful.

The solid and simple things of life

are brought into clear focus."

- Charles R. Swindoll

(Partial shot of the Thanksgiving Dinner. Aren't the water bottles a festive touch?! I don't think Martha Stewart would think that it was 'A Good Thing!')


I have so much to be grateful for, and I thank the Lord every day for everything He has blessed me with. The most important blessing I'm thankful for is my family. I am so fortunate to have been raised in a very loving, thoughtful, and caring family. My family is small, but we are very close-knit. I guess that over the years, I just took it for granted that most families interacted and cared for each other the way my family did. But once I became a teacher's aide for emotionally-disturbed middle and high school teenagers 11 years ago, I saw first-hand how tragically untrue that really was. But anyhow...... (Jessica baked three pumpkin pies for the occasion! )

Jessica came over Wednesday night, and offered to help me bake the pumpkin pies. She has never made a pie before in her life, and doesn't have much experience in baking, but I showed her how to make the pie crust the way my mother taught me when I was young, and guided her as she mixed up the ingredients for the pumpkin filling. She was an excellent student, and her 3 pies turned out absolutely perfect! She was sooooooooooo proud of them on Thanksgiving Day, and she deserved to be...they were delicious! On Thursday morning, I made the traditional turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and steamed broccoli. My sister helped me out by bringing a fruit salad, cauliflower salad, a wonderful cranberry relish that our grandma used to always make for the holidays, and dinner rolls. We had such a nice Thanksgiving day here...it's so nice when our family gets together.
(I wanted a picture taken with my children...can you tell they're 'less than thrilled' when the camera comes out???!!!)

Of course, I usually like to get the camera out in the afternoon and take pictures, and my kids are always 'less than thrilled' when that happens. When I ask someone to take a shot of them with me, they reluctantly stand next to me with 'can we just get this over with' expressions on their faces (as you can see in the picture).

(My dad posed with 'his girls'...My sister Mary Beth, Myself, and My Daughter, Jessica)

I like how this picture turned out. That's my dad, my sister, myself, and my daughter. Dad is ninety-one and a half years old, and is still quite a character. I am truly lucky to have such a great family!

"An open home, an open heart,
here grows a bountiful harvest."
- Judy Hand

1 comment:

Kim Rae Nugent said...

Pumpkin pie looks yummy Jessica! Love your new hairdo!