A Time to be Thankful Together

On Thanksgiving Day Mike and I prepared a feast - roasted turkey that a neighbor's grandson won in a local turkey shoot after Mike gave him $12.  (Free turkey for us, fun for the young man, and a donation to a local charity.)  I cooked southern-style dressing, divided the recipe into a couple of parts and added oysters to one part for Mike.  We had home-canned green beans, scalloped potatoes, apples from a family member's orchard, and cranberry salad.  Yummy!  Then, we stored the leftovers in the fridge together, loaded the dishwasher, and waddled into the den for naps in front of the TV.

Friday, I went to Mom's to meet the family for a pot-luck lunch.

We had loads of food for a huge feast.

I took corn casserole, deviled eggs, and cranberry salad, my grown children brought food, my sister brought food, my grown nieces brought food.

We ate till we groaned.  Then, there was a bit of fun to be had as well.

A multiplication card game was popular for a while.  Yes, sometimes we are nerds.  Lillie was the expert for this game.

Bryan made the  littles (and one of the nerds) do a bit of giggling.

Adam sharpened Mamaw's cooking cutlery for her.  I think he  is anticipating another feast about a month from now!

There was lots of talk and a bit of advice passed along from the parents of toddlers and parents of those parents to soon-to-be-parents.

Then, it was  outside for a bit of exercise.  The kids played a little basketball.  The adults checked on the furniture shed, worked toward wintering cattle waterers, took a walk, and Corey did a little Armadillo reconnaissance.

The wild bunch went on an ATV ride.

I tracked this bunch down just as I was leaving and rescued Jessica, Madalyn, and Megan by giving them a ride to the house.  J, M, and M enjoyed a piece of quiet as they strolled back up the driveway!  I think it is safe to say that we recognized things we should be and are thankful for and for things and those we have given up since our last Thanksgiving.  Hope your holiday was filled with smiles and giggles like those oozing from the photo above!