Mister Potato Head...

This lovely young lady is Rachel.

Rachel is my oldest daughters best friend.

She joined us for Thanksgiving this year since her family lives too far away for her to go home for the short holiday... and because we wouldn't have let her miss out on our crazy holiday.

She is a blessing!

When it was her turn to read her, "I am thankful for you because..." card the waterworks began...

She cried, I cried, Grandma cried... the others were holding back their tears.

She managed to get through the reading of her card... In part, because the little man...

decided to lighten the mood!

Suddenly, every 8.6 seconds, we started hearing, "Thankyou Mister Potato Head"...

We tried to shush him...

and then it would come again...

Thankyou Mister Potato Head...

Thank you mister potato head...

I'm a funny boy...  Thank you Mister Potato head.

Thank you mister potato head...

What a goof...

Thanks for lightening the mood, son...

 I love you!

Thanksgiving 2009 Recap...

Bampa found a nice "quiet" spot and read the paper...

I think he was the smart one!

We snacked all day on chips, dip, monkey munch, veggies...

Our homelooked a little funny with the RV hanging out in the street and cars lining the road.

Who cares if the neighbors needed space... right?

Like always... the family gathered around the table.

Uncle Sean could be found entertaining the little ones with a movie or the wii.

The kids never wanted him to go to bed!  Poor guy.

My son was the bowling champion... this was not his best game...  He is only 4!

I think his best score this day was 212.

My mother-in-law... whom I LOVE, by the way... made the whole crew dinner on Wednesday night!  I was in heaven!

Sean's daughter, Serene, was in love with Raider...

The poor guy has been lost without having her here to love on him constantly.

Dinner... Oh, my...

It was wonderful.

Sean blessed us with egg nog...(yuck)  but my son may be a convert...

Was it good, Sean?

I guess it was good!

Savannah, We just loved you!  You remind us of our own little girl... 20 years ago.

Serene loved the movies...

The turkey was gone!  Now the bones have become stock... oh yeah.

I cooked, so the others cleaned...

We gathered around the computer and watched youtube videos...

Mark climbed into the floor and feel asleep... go turkey!

Ari napped sitting up...

Grandma napped sitting up...

Aunt Dayna made the girls look as cute as a button...

A popular pasttime was putting on hats, scarves and gloves...

Why?

Who knows...

Cadi's shoes kept the girls attention for a bit...

The kids played dressup... I love the face, Brysen...

Serene wore the spiderman costume for hours... lol.

Having the family with us for our nightly devotion was such a blessing.

Our "I am thankful for you because..." cards were a big hit as always!

Rachel, Grandma and maybe me... cried.

Wrestling with the boy...

I would say this Thanksgiving was the best!

Thank you, Rachel, Sean, Dayna, Serene, Savannah, Grandma and Bampa for sharing it with us!

We are SOOOOOOO Thankful for all of you!

Giving Thanks...

It is so important to us that our children learn to be thankful for all that they have.

I tell them...frequently... that there is always someone who is worse off than you.

On Thanksgiving, the kids make cards that say,

"I am thankful for you because..."

On the inside of these cards each family member writes why they are thankful for that person.

A sample from this years cards would be...

"Mother, Mother Dearest...(I don't know if this refers to the movie or not LOL) I love you so much. I am the person I am today because of you. I love that I can come to you for whatever I need, whether it be a word on the tip of my tongue or a person to complain and vent to. Thank you for all of the food you allow me to eat too! need a nice home cooked meal as much as possible... you don't know what you're missing until it's gone! Thanks for all of the support you give me in everything I do! Love, Cadi"

OR...

"Chey, I love you so much and love to see you do good things. When I need you, you are there and I am so happy about that. Thank you for being such a great sister. Just remember I love you! Miranda"

I love this... I cry every year!

Besides the food and the memories we are sharing, we are really getting to hear our heartfelt gratitude for each other. I save these cards every year.

Some day, when I am no longer here, my children will pull these out and remember how much love we all shared. They will be able to treasure these forever... Just like I treasure them.

So... How was our Thanksgiving?

The food was great!

The games were Great!

The company was great!

The Love was even Better!!!!!