Thankful For Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving weekend was everything I had hoped it would be and more.  I worked for a few hours on Wednesday morning and then hurried home to pack up the car and our very excited kids. Brees welcomed me at the door and said, "We're going on a trip and we're going to have snacks!!". Our first road trip with baby River and the kids all did great, sleeping most of the way and only requiring one rest stop.  We traveled to north Louisiana to spend the holiday with aunts and uncles and cousins: a weekend I've been looking forward to for a long time.  We don't get together as much as we would like to lately, never enough hours in the day, too many commitments that keep us all busier than we would really like to be.  A four and a half day weekend to focus on family was exactly what the doctor ordered.

My cousin hosted a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner that started at 11 in the morning and lasted until well past my bedtime.  We spent the whole day together eating fried turkey, honey baked ham, homemade mac'n'cheese, cornbread dressing, homemade bread, green bean casserole, and a cheesecake I am still dreaming about.  We snuggled up by the fire and watched football, enjoyed good conversation, took little cat naps, and then ate again.  Baby River was passed from one set of loving arms to another, my gratitude for our newborn son growing more and more as I watched him smile and coo at each member of our family. It was a big, loud, long day filled with so much love, I though I might actually burst.

We slept in on Friday and had a nice big breakfast before setting out for an early afternoon shopping trip.  I am not a big fan of Black Friday crowds but we were able to hit some of our favorite spots and cross a few things off our lists, all without waiting in crazy lines. We reluctantly kissed our cousins goodbye after an awesome weekend together and made it home with our hearts full of new memories. It was nice to be home after a few days away, the perspective we gained from stepping out of our routine shining through, making everything bright again.  It was a great weekend filled with the people we love: we slowed down, held hands, said thank you.  We laughed really hard and really loud, told old stories and made new ones.  This is what the holiday season is all about and I'd say we're off to a pretty good start.