Thanksgiving

This year was different.  We've always sort of "gone home" for Thanksgiving.  At least for most years, we went down to Mississippi to be with Peter's family.  When we weren't able to, we've spent the holiday with friends.  As everyone is getting older, it made me realize this year that it was time to create some of our own family traditions for our own children as we move towards a time when they will begin to "come home" to our house.  I know that that is still a ways off, but it is just enough time to make some traditions of our own for them to look forward to and to carry on in their families until they reach a point where they will move on as well.
Our family didn't have the opportunity to travel this past year due to the pregnancy and birth of Bronwyn.  As Thanksgiving drew near we decided to do our best at enjoying a family time from home and work on making some memories/traditions as a sort of vacation.  We started with a family movie night on the evening before Thanksgiving.  We put together a bunch of appetizers and snack food to eat in the basement for dinner while we watched.

I can't remember the last time that we all sat and watched the same movie all together, me included.  It was fun.  We watched Hugo.

Amelia did the cheese and pepperoni on crackers for a snack on Thanksgiving day all on her own.  :)

While I was enjoying a nice, long, catch-up-on-our-lives conversation with my sister, JoAnn, Cecily was helping me cut out the rolls.

I think she's going to be a baker.  She's natural.

The weather was ideal.  It was crisp, but sunny.  Peter and the boys enjoyed a nice, long segment of football.

Peter is discussing the play he's going to run with Samuel.

Here you can see Sam running it.  I love the sun slanting through the trees.

Bronwyn refused to cooperate to get a Thanksgiving day picture.

I, for once, was happy to pose.  I was thoroughly enjoying my day.

Having fun, Peter took this self-portrait of us.   

I haven't made my own turkey in too long.  I didn't get it very browned!  But it felt so good to cook that bird and all the traditional sides to go with it.

Amelia and the others were enjoying a group of Thanksgiving books throughout the day. 

Almost ready.

The kids all worked on decorations for the dining room.  Sam made this sign.

The turkey was Ben and the cornucopia was Calvin.

Millie colored the lower "Thanksgiving" picture and Cecily did the Indian girl.

Sam laid out gourds, squash, pomegranates and leaves to decorate the hutch.

"To the King of Kings and Lord of Lords...."

Will's contribution was the place names.

Happy mom.  We had a leisurely time at the table and reviewed the different things that happened over the past year.  Then we went around and said which of those things was our favorite and we were most thankful for.  We talked about the coming year and what it might hold.  We discussed coming together again next Thanksgiving to see what had actually unfolded.  A sweet time. 

Time to get ready for bed before pie.  Enjoying a quiet moment with the baby.

Pumpkin pie and whipped cream and then bedtime.  A very good day. 

(I will add that Peter likes to say that every day around here is like an epic, filled with every kind of drama.  This day was no exception.  When you see a post like this, you miss the part about Peter having an allergic attack and sneezing and blowing his nose constantly most of the day and Elijah getting sick to his stomach right before we served dinner and having to go to bed and missing the whole thing, among other things as well.  Real life is a work of art with the bad creating contrast so that we can tell what the good is.  :))