I'm a Big Girl Now

You know those "rite of passage" type events that truly make you an adult?  Well this past weekend we experienced one...we cooked our own Thanksgiving turkey! 

I was slightly stressed at the thought of that cold, naked bird waiting for me in the refrigerator, but in the end it turned out quite well. 

I am officially a grown up!

Of course last Thursday brought us Thanksgiving, but it also brought the 4 month mark of my dad's passing.  I am sure eventually I won't be counting each passing month to the date (actually, I really have no idea if I will ever stop doing that), but having it fall on a day that would was going to be hard regardless made it just that much more bitter.

If Dad were still alive I still most likely wouldn't have spent the holiday with him, but his absence was still heavily felt in each of our hearts.  Thankfully, each of us were with people we love who helped to ease our sadness even just a little bit.

We also missed Elder Hansen and are eager to speak to him as we enjoy the next big holiday as a family.  From the letter we received today it sounds like Jace's first Bolivian holiday was spent cooking his companion some gourmet spaghetti while swatting away the mosquito's. 

This year truly brought a brand new type of Thanksgiving for all of us!

So while the day was indeed a hard one with a completely different set of emotions than we are normally used to experiencing on the day of thanks, we still found LOTS to be thankful for.

And in no particular order, here are just a few of them:

The best company (and help) that one might find this side of the Mississippi.  Brian and Shelley made the trek from Connecticut to spend the Holiday with us (and maybe so Brian could attend a certain Big 10 Rivalry game); and Uncle Taylor traded the Blizzard of 2010 for a cold, rainy weekend visiting his favorite Ohioans (okay, maybe he was most looking forward to the game as well).


I may be speaking for both of us here, but I think Shelley and I enjoyed our time in the kitchen more than either of us expected.  Wednesday night and Thursday morning were spent chopping, peeling, and baking up a storm, but with non-stop conversation and laughs it made for a great time.
Plus we got to use my shiny, new Christmas gift which resulted in some delicious rolls and a new item being added to Shell's wish list.

 

Thanksgiving 2010 brought another special guest to our table- the nicest dishes I own and had never before used.  They really aren't anything too special, but it was fun to try and fancy up my table with a little gold trim.

Too bad our seating arrangements aren't entirely conducive to large parties or having more than four plates on our table at any one time. 

We made it work though and, most importantly, we made it look pretty while doing it.

Um, of course I couldn't not mention the food.

Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?  No?  Right, it is about being thankful and as I have mentioned I have so much to be thankful for, but for me one of those little blessings just happens to be food.

I really like to cook and I really, really like to eat.

As being one of the only two cooks for this year's feast there was a lot to do, especially because I was tackling homemade everything.  Homemade rolls, stuffing, green been casserole (with a cream sauce made from scratch), desserts, jello (does that count?), and potatoes of every variety.  Last but not least we can't forget about the main event- the two hour, buttered brown bag turkey.

We were so proud.

While the constant adult interaction did do my soul quite a bit of good, our little babes still stole the show.

Stella and Thad had fun sharing toys, germs, and a few tears; none of which were surprising considering two little ones spending 4 days straight with one another.

The only surprises came from Stella in the form of one very late Thanksgiving eve night (read an eventual bedtime of 4:30 am) and an attempt to scale the stairs.  She is officially EVERYWHERE!

Football was experienced from both the comforts of home and a packed stadium full of over 100,000 scarlet and grey clad football fans.

Somehow a few extra Ohio State vs Michigan tickets were scrounged up allowing all of the boys to experience "The Game" firsthand.

We are thankful (albeit not surprised) that they won and should be heading to a BCS bowl game rather soon.

While all the conversation, food, and sports were absolutely wonderful, the best part of this Thanksgiving was experiencing it for the first time with our little Stella Rose.

Of all my many blessings I think I am most thankful for these two.  Simply put, my life would not be nearly as complete without them in it.

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!