Thanksgiving

My parents came to visit us at the beginning of November.  They went on a Caribbean Cruise, and when they got back, they watched our kids while we went to Hawaii (more on that another day).  Then we spent Thanksgiving together.  It was great having my parents here!  It's always nice to have family during Thanksgiving.  It's one of my favorite holidays.

We cook the bird upside down.  It's not as beautiful this way, but it comes out oh, so moist!

We have a lot to be grateful for.  The year 2011 was a wonderful one for us.  Not that there weren't any difficulties, but we felt extremely blessed this year.

Here are the highlights:

-Miss Ella joined our family!  (Via a *VHBA2C none the less!  That was a faith-building experience!)
-My two best friends from high school came to visit me (post to come)!
-We sold the 4-plex (post to come--another faith-building experience).
-Landon passed his test.  He was one of two who passed out of 13 who took the test at USAA.  Many of whom had previously taken the test.  I feel this was a direct a result of the post I'll be writing about concerning the sale of the 4-plex.  Confusing you say?  Just wait and you'll see how it ties together.
-We went to Hawaii! (post to come!)
-We finally ordered shutters--only five more weeks until they get installed!
-Jonathan started kindergarten and he is loving it and doing well.  :)  He has a great teacher!
-Jonathan finally started violin lessons in November.  He had to wait almost an entire year since the time he got his violin.  I love hearing his progress and it is so cute to see him try to teach Erik what he is learning.  He also asked me to teach him piano.  I couldn't believe it!  He has matured a lot since he started KDG.  (But don't worry--he's still his goofy, energetic self with his own agenda.)
-I got that buffet you can see in the first picture at a Parade of Homes that I went to here in Stone Oak.  I had been looking and looking for one to fit in that space, but everything was too big, too expensive or not to my liking.  When I went to the P of H, the very first home had this piece of furniture in it.  I loved it and I noticed a sign that said, "All furniture 50% off."  Luckily no one else had spoken for it and was a perfect fit!

And those were just the highlights!

*Vaginal Home Birth After 2 Cesarians

Thanksgiving 2010

For Thanksgiving this year, it was just our little family here in San Antonio.  I would have invited someone over if I wasn't so nervous about being in charge of the dinner.  I've always been with my family, traveling, or at a friend's house before.  

To my surprise, I wasn't stressed-out at all.  The most difficult part was grocery shopping.  I put Landon in charge of certain dishes and he was a huge help!

I also used my mini salt and pepper shakers and name tags that I got at our wedding along with our flatware.  I've been wanting to use those for a long time now.

Landon and I had heard that if you bake a turkey upside-down, it's much more moist, so I decided to try it.  I basted the turkey in olive oil, sprinkled some rosemary and thyme on it, and put it in the oven breast-side down.  I have to say that it does make the turkey moist and delicious, although not as beautiful.  The underside was a beautiful golden-brown, but since we prefer the white meat we flipped it back over after it was finished baking.

These were the items on the menu this year:

• turkey & gravy (of course!)
• Stove Top stuffing
• sour cream and chive mashed potatoes
• cranberry sauce (a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that we LOVED!)
• sweet potato casserole a recipe that I got from Sarah's blog (LOVED IT!  Only change was I added pecans.)
• a raspberry spinach salad
• Dorie's blueberry pie (YUM)
• Dorie's sour cream pumpkin pie (also good, but I prefer the traditional pumpkin pie--the flavor was too mellow for me)
• a cranberry cheesecake with an Oreo crust--also from Sarah's blog (SOOO GOOOD!  It was my first time making a cheesecake, and it turned out well.  I was so excited.  The only changes I made was I used half sour cream and heavy cream instead of all sour cream and I baked it in a "bath.")
• Dorie's buttermilk biscuits
• Italian soda an idea I got from Anna--loved it!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, so I'm glad it turned out well.  We tried to watch "Desperate Crossing" which is something that we have done for the past couple of years, but we were so tired that we slept through most of it.  However, I will be ever thankful for those pilgrims who made such a sacrifice to come to this country for religious freedom.  Their story is amazing.

What a wonderful year it's been.  There is so much to be thankful for!

THANKSGIVING

I love Thanksgiving: food, family, and thanksgiving for a wonderful country to live in. This year my parents flew out to spend the holiday with us. I'm glad they did. It wouldn't have been the same without them.

Here is the lovely spread. Aren't we blessed to have such an abundance in our land? Included on the table are two TWD recipes: Sweet Potato Biscuits and All-in-One Holiday Bundt Cake. The Bohemian glasses filled Welches Red Grape Juice added the final touches to the food that took so long to prepare.

Here is Landon carving Mr. Tom. My Mom taught me how to brine the turkey this year. I didn't even know what brining was before this Thanksgiving!

Mom and Dad

The Boys

Jonathan and Myself

It's either this look or a silly one. There's no posing with a regular smile for this boy!

These past couple of years I have gained a greater appreciation for the pilgrims who came to this country in search of religious freedom. Their faith is inspiring and I am grateful they had the courage to come here. I fully believe that they were led by God to a place where Native Americans were willing and able to help them prosper in their new home. Thank goodness for people like Squanto!

The more I learn about pilgrims and the founding of our country and how it differs from other lands, the more I appreciate it. I hope the we, as Americans, can be more prudent as to who we elect in the future. In both parties there are too many politicians who have either forgotten our founding, or never really understood it at all. Perhaps there are those who have simply been in power too long they have given into corruption.

For the sake our our freedoms, and the future of our children, I hope we can all learn more about our founding and our constitution, and then elect people who actually will uphold and defend it. After all, the pilgrims didn't risk their lives for freedom so that one day their posterity could let it slip away from them in a blind state of apathy.

It's So Hard Being Perfect

Every new year brings with it the opportunity to turn a new leaf, transcend to new heights and, well let's face it, fall flat on your behind in pursuit of new your New Year's resolutions. In order not not fall into this nasty trap yet again, I have made various charts for myself. Have I done X? Check. Have I done Y? Check. Have I done Z? Uhhhh...I don't have energy to do Z. I'm too tired from doing A through Y. Can't I just sit down and eat some ice cream?

This is how I've been feeling the past few days as I've thought about all of the catching up I have to do with blogging. I love to blog, but the thought of being so far behind puts a damper on things.  This is one of the many reasons I don't scrapbook: I could never be current, and that really bothers me.

So here I am mustering up all the energy I can to blog about Thanksgiving.  Yes, I know, we have had at least two major holidays since then, which is why this post will be brief.  Who needs to be perfect anyway?

• Went to Spain (Barcelona and Lloret de Mar) for Thanksgiving. 
•  Loved it. 
•  Would be even more fabulous in summertime. 
• Didn't have enough time to see everything. 
•  When asked what he was thankful for, Jonathan replied, "EAT!"  
• Loved the architecture.  

Here are some pictures: 

(More pictures and explanations to follow later.) 

I know, kind of lame, but give me a break here.   I just want to put a check next to 'blogged.'  :D