Our Little Family: Happy Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with my family this year and we had a great day. Just my little food assignment took all morning to prepare. I decided to tackle making a lemon meringue pie since I've never made one before. It turned out pretty well and was well-liked, but my meringue did get weepy. Oh well.

We had a large gathering of 27 people. My sister, Lynda, and her kids came down from Idaho, and my sister, Cheryl, and her husband had all of their kids with their families there; plus us, my brother, Mark, and my brother, Eric, and his family minus his son on a mission. S was very nervous with so many people there. The same was true the next night at a Pie Party with Nathan's family. We're used to the loud ruckus that ensues when our large families congregate, but it's still not something she's used to. Both times she warmed up after a while and played with the other kids. She's been wanting to see Aunt Lynda and got to spend some time playing/pillow fighting with her and had a great time.

My mom was finally able to move into the addition to her house shortly before Thanksgiving, and it proved to be a great place for all of us to eat and spend time together in (that was a major reason my parents wanted to add on to the house). We had a delicious meal, helped clean things up, and stayed and visited for the rest of the day. It was different not having my dad there, but it was busy enough and new enough that it wasn't as hard. I'm not sure that will be the case when Christmas comes.

I'm grateful for the peace and happiness in my life. I'm so grateful to be a wife and mother. I still give thanks every day that I'm blessed to be married and to have my beautiful daughter. Family always has and continues now to be the source of great happiness in my life. I've been richly blessed.