Thanksgiving Memories

I am first of all thankful that someone else had a camera at our holiday dinner last Thursday. Mine has been broken since May and I am really feeling the loss of it right now. I would have loved better photos to show you of our evening together, but at least there is something to show! Thanks to Whit and Jim for sharing your photos.

This was the first holiday gathering of the Texas Burdines at our house on Cripple Creek. In addition to Burdine family we had Jason join us from our church family, with 2 year old Gabe who loved the tree and the candles most of all.

Three Mrs. Burdines

The holiday was symbolically significant for this group, because this marks the third anniversary of the week Jim, Dawn and James came to visit us in Salt Lake, where James met my friend Whitney over some Thanksgiving turkey. They hit it off startlingly well, and by the end of the week had begun serious talks about where their friendship could go next. Today they are married, living in Texas near us, and have given birth to their first child, Seraphelle.

Everything was perfect: the lights, the decor, the ambient sound of football, and the food. Grammy had come early in the day to doctor the bird, and the heavenly scent of her Norwegian spices wafted through the house all day long. Our 23 pound hen took a little longer than predicted to cook, so dinner was a little delayed. But everyone entertained themselves while they waited.

Wii in the game room upstairs

When at last the turkey was done, we had a flurry of kitchen activity as we spread out the accompanying buffet of mashed potatoes, gravy, sausage stuffing, sweet potatoes, honey mustard glazed roasted green beans, cranberry sauce, and the obligatory crescent rolls. Yum!

Have you heard?

The bird is the word!

We all enjoyed the spread immensely, especially after Maren asked the blessing on our day of thanks:

Dear God, thank you for enough food for everyone. Thank you for our family. Please give us grace for this day, and for tomorrow and all our tomorrows. Amen.

Centerpiece courtesy Hobby Lobby's pre-holiday 90% off sale!

After dinner we suddenly realized the classic A&M vs UT matchup was beginning, so we settled down in the living room for a little more football while we brewed coffee and prepared for pie. I was so sad not to have any room left in my shrinking tummy for that pie, but when I finally got to try it the next day, the pumpkin, cherry and eggnog pies were all superb!

5-month-old Sera gets her first taste of the bird

We wrapped up the evening by re-reading some stories we had written as a family three years ago, the night Whit joined us for the first time. We laughed ourselves to tears as we heard our bizarre stories brought to life once again, and celebrated the fact that Whit is now part of us.

We hope to host many more holiday dinners in our home in the coming years, with family and friends from here and all over. We are simply thankful to be in our own home this year, with more adventure looming on the horizon as baby Lulu gets ready to make her appearance within the next 10 weeks. We are thankful to have friends and family near us.

Most of all, we are thankful that God continues to provide everything we need and more. Boo Bear is growing into a spirited young lady, and Rooster is trundling through early childhood with gusto.

Thank you, Lord, for everything we need. Please continue to give us grace for all our tomorrows.

Sunset view from our back porch