Thanksgiving

We joined 9 other families from our ward to celebrate Thanksgiving. About half the families were smaller making the effort of baking a huge meal not so appealing. We joined efforts and pulled off an amazing meal. Our brined turkey and turkey gravy were a huge hit. I tried a new brine this year, adding some spices to the brine: bay leaf, rosemary, garlic, thyme, savory, broth, and salt water. The gravy was good enough to drink all by itself. Dinner was ready to go by 2:30. Phillip has a low tolerance for prayers longer than 5 seconds. He yelled, "All done" at the 5 second mark. Justin and Amelia really helped out with the cooking. Justin cleaned up after my messes and played sous chef for a while. After dinner we stayed around until 5 pm talking and enjoying the company. It was worth the effort! No pancakes after all.

Today we changed around the decor for the Christmas season. I worked all through Phillip's nap, once he woke up the little guy was amused for the rest of the day exploring all the changes. Amelia loved decorating the tree. She kept saying, :"Oh Mom, do you remember how much I loved this snowflake/ornament when I was a baby?" We sang Christmas songs and had a merry time. We all helped Justin put up some Christmas lights outside. It was not toooooo windy or cold, quite the luck considering the cold spell of late. I am dead tired now. Between cleaning the kitchen and dining room then decorating for Christmas...then some sneaky Christmas shopping at Walmart (by myself), I did not get a chance to rest until 4:30 pm. Those busy days make you grateful for your health.