So Much Thankfulness

You would think with seven extra people in my house, and Thanksgiving looming that I would not find myself with a few quiet moments.  I'm not sure how this happened but here I am.  This has been an absolutely wonderful week with family and friends.  Tomorrow promises to be a very fun filled day, and I am so excited about it.

My house has proved to be very well suited for all the liveliness that we can fill it with.  We had 28 people, the majority under the age of 10, here yesterday and it was wonderful.  We were stuck in the house with the wind howling wildly outside, and there was very little howling inside.  We played Family, our new favorite game.  We ate chili.  We played air hockey.  The boys had a little jumpfest downstairs on all of the extra beds.  Friends were made, and it was great.

Mom, Brant, and Rachel arrived late last night.  I am very thankful I didn't have to drive over the pass.  It looked horrid.  This morning we all sipped coffee and chatted while the kids milled around in their p.j.'s.  It is so warm here today that we went to the park and played tag and football.  It has been very nice to have the cousins here for a whole week.  We have much to be thankful for.

Tomorrow we are planning a five course, all day meal.  We are starting the day with the first annual freeze your buns fun run.  I am ridiculously excited to run in the chill with so many good friends before I settle in to stuff my body full of delicious food.  It is going to be a lovely day.  The kids are all at a really fun age, and they spend time together playing really well.  There is an entire playmobile town in my basement, and even the teenagers have been busy setting it up.  We have played a lot of Just Dance, which is always good for a laugh.  Grandma is sitting at the table beading necklaces for everyone, and Bronwyn is decorating our recipes so that we will have a holiday book to remember this week by.  We are working on developing a few Thanksgiving traditions.  The recipe book will be fun.  We have a tree of thanks that has been very fun, maybe I will stick some of the leaves in the recipe book.  Helen is thankful for Mom and Bir, which turns out to be Mom and dinner, she is also thankful for brothers and sisters, which is very good.  This may become my favorite holiday.

#1207-1219

Cousins piled on couches watching movies

Giant bowls of popcorn being devoured

Playing football at the park

Tables full of glittery beads

Coffee with UB and Rachel

Dessert all day long

Friends that like to run and walk

Daughters decorating tables

Husbands spending the day keeping kids busy

Friends to play family with

The smell of brownies calling people from all over the house

Warm fall afternoons