Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, my sister Abby and her husband Casey were the only family on my side that were in town. So Abby & I decided to cook our very own Thanksgiving feast for the very first time ever. We weren't exactly sure how to go about it, especially the turkey since we had never cooked one before. But really, how hard could it be? Turns out, really not that hard. In fact, everything turned out amazing, despite the fact that we had made enough to feed about 18 people rather than just 4 adults and two children who eat like birds half the time. The hardest part was cooking everything to be ready at the same time. Abby had to cook a lot of things at her house and then bring them to my parents' house (were we decided to eat since their kitchen is the biggest). Abby was in charge of the stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and headed up the turkey. I did the cranberry sauce, gravy, rolls, loaded sweet potatoes, sauteed green beans and apple pie (which turned out to be moldy by Thursday...thanks a lot Costco) and vanilla ice cream. We also had sparkling cider to drink. It turned out incredible and we all ate ourselves sick. To reduce the amount of dishes, we got festive paper plates from Target. It actually made a huge difference. This is how you do Thanksgiving:

David had taken the boys earlier to his parents' house so they could play with their cousins and he could visit with his family. Miles stayed with me and "helped" me cook the dinner. Dave returned with a beautiful gift from my Mother-In-Law: a tree skirt. She had matched the colors to my living room colors exactly and I could tell she put so much thought, time and love into it. It is just beautiful!

I love it!

...And I love this chubby guy too:

The night before Thanksgiving, Dave and I were up late talking about how blessed we are and how all our dreams have come true. From ending up with each other to having three amazing little boys. We have been so blessed in our marriage and continually see the Lord's hand in our lives. It occurred to me that Dave and I have always tried to do what the Lord has asked of us, no matter how hard it may be. Dave leaving for his mission was a tough two years for the both of us, but we knew the Lord would bless us with what would make us happy if we were willing to put it all into His hands. Choosing to have children before we were done with school and with very little money was something that seemed crazy to so many people, but when the Lord asks you to do something, you do it. And because of that, our lives have been blessed ten-fold. Every day, through the kids destroying my house and making more noise than my head can take, I always remind myself that I truly am living the dream. Because the trials and difficulties in life are so insignificant when in comparison to the blessings and miracles we witness on a day-to-day basis. And for that, I am so thankful.