Thanksgiving 08

The idea behind these blocks is to change them to reflect the current holiday. I made the mistake of placing them on 12 foot high shelf in our front room. It is quite an ordeal to balance on the highest rung of the ladder to rearrange the blocks. I finally changed our last message that read "It's a Girl" which had reigned since I was 5 months pregnant with now 2-year old Sophie. I figure that "We Give Thanks" can technically work all year round since we should always be grateful, right? I am not sure how soon I am willing to risk life and limb again, so I hope you like it.

For months Sophie has resisted any suggestion of potty training. She chose the day that I was elbow deep in roll dough and mashed potatoes to rip off her diaper and annouce she needed help on the potty.

The yeast got a little out of control, but not bad for a beginner, eh? (My hands were properly sanitized after the potty incident, for those who are wondering.)

The clouds cleared long enough for Wes and the boys to enjoy a six, yes six mile bike ride around Tempe Town Lake and Mill Avenue.

Thanksgiving is up there with one of my favorite holidays. For me it has always been a relaxing holiday because for 36 years there have been pretty much no expectations of me as far as meal contributions go. Plus there are no gifts or cards to give, no decorations, and no preparations even when you just sponge of the parents for the meal. So for the past couple years, I have decided it is high time for me to learn to cook. I realized that though my mom's rolls are nearly world famous, that I couldn't cook them to save my life. And I hesitate to admit that until last year, I had never even cooked a whole bird. The only poultry in my limited cooking repertoire is very sanitized and in plastic bags from Costco with no bones, fat, skin and certainly no organs of any kind. I attempted and conquered the turkey last year, so my focus this year was rolls and mashed potatoes. The ultimate goal is to be capable of cooking the whole feast by the time I am 40. I learned the importance of dehydrating the boiled potatoes after draining them and for the first time ever, my mashed potatoes were not the consistency of Elmer's glue. Plus abandoning all notions of low fat really helps the cause for both the potatoes and rolls. I added full fat cream cheese, real butter, milk (I just couldn't bring myself to use half and half or heavy cream), onion powder, season salt, and pepper. Yummy! The rolls weren't as good as mom's, but turned out as well, if I can be so bold as to brag. Baby steps. Maybe next year I will uncover the mystery of cranberry relish and pumpkin pie.

We opted this year to enjoy one family's festivities, instead of the rush to make it to both. We are blessed to enjoy a close and frequent relationship with both families, so for once it was nice to relax and enjoy a slower paced day. And since Ruth makes the equivalent of Thanksgiving dinner every Sunday, we knew we just had to wait a mere three days for another chance. We do feel bad that we missed the chance to see some cousins and extended family, though.

We enjoyed lots of laughs, good food, games at Grandma Karla's. The rain cleared up creating a beautiful day for the kids to get their usual 12 hours of needed outside play. They especially look forward to any chance to play with Kelcee.

We are truly grateful for our abundant blessings this day and everyday! Happy Thanksgiving, now let's get on with the crass commercialism of the next holiday!