Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Today was one of those "I guess we are supposed to be by ourselves" kinds of days. Kimberly O'Hara ran a fever of 104.7 at 10PM on Wednesday night--Alyona had been in bed from 3:30 PM Wed and other than a short stint up around suppertime, she pretty much slept through to this morning....so...the O'Hara's were not able to join us for Thanksgiving today.

To make matters worse, we recevied a call from Jennifer (Mike & Kathy's daughter) stating the Kathy had been taken to the hospital, and that the weekend of camping was cancelled. We are pleased to report that Kathy is home, and feeling better. Prayer is so powerful! We are still bummed about the weekend, but we decided this morning that we would go over to Sisters on Saturday and enjoy the day as a family and have a fun outing....as our favorite artist is having a Christmas Open House. We'll manage a stop at the Hen's Tooth--just because Margaret can't join us (Margaret's and my favorite store in Sisters!).

We enjoyed a lazy morning at home, and then Kristin & I started in the kitchen, Kristin making dessert for today. She made Pumpin delight (our name!). It included crushed vanilla wafers in the bottom of dessert bowls, topped with the pumpkin mixture that included pumpkin, vanilla pudding, milk & spices. And, of course topped with whipped cream! Very yummy! She did a great job.

Next, we got the turkey in from the grill (a great place to thaw a turkey when you buy it on Monday, and don't have fridge space to keep it in)--It was never over 40 all week with the foggy days, and COLD nights this week. We've had frost twice. The only problem, was it was still very icy inside the turkey, so we spent a few hours with cold water baths! Finally at noon we got the turkey in.

Bill & I worked on some music for the truck....for the purpose of the new stereo he bought me for my birthday (I know, my birthday is not for another week--the 3rd), but he and the kids couldn't wait once it was here. So they gave it to me yesterday, and Bill installed it last night. It's a great stereo, with a USB hub for my MP3 music. So thrilling for me to put only in my favorite mix that lasts longer than a CD that I cut here there at home. Anyway...it's a great gift, and the installation was painless. Thanks Bill & kids!

Of course, you can't forget the afternoon nap. We laid down for an hour, and I kept thinking of all the things I needed to do for dinner, so after a 20 minute snooze, the turkey timer woke me (remote) and off I went downstairs, joined by Kristin to put the rest of dinner together. I'm not sure that I've put an entire dinner together before, as we usually combined efforts with someone--but it went great.

Kristin peeled potatoes, chopped veggies for salad & stuffing, and even got her American Girl Cookbook out to properly set the table!

I worked on the sweet potato cruch recipe that I got from a friend. It sure was fun to put together...lots of sugar!! We put together the stuffing cups (another very yummy treat), the famous potatoes, Bill carved the bird and we made gravy. By 4pm we were sitting down to a great feast, just the four of us, sharing our thanks. We all were in comfort in either sweats or very relaxed clothing...something that's a benefit when you don't have to go somewhere, or have company!

After supper, Bill carved the rest of the turkey and packed two containers of meat...Kristin & I packed up the other stuffing cup tray, gravy, the 2nd sweet potatoe crunch, and Ryan & I headed for the O'Hara's. We dropped off the "goods", picked up some VERY yummy pecan bars, and headed for home.

Once home, we finished up the kitchen, started a puzzle, then played a few rounds of cribbage, before heading off to bed. Being we are not camping this weekend...Bill & I are going to brave the crowds at 5am, and hit a few shops. Wish us luck!

What a blessed day....we have SO much to be thankful for.