blessed

we were blessed to have brian's family, my mom, and some dear family friends over to our house for thanksgiving lunch. it was kind of a last minute decision to host thanksgiving when brian's mom became sick over the weekend, but i enjoyed preparing for company and getting my house all "fall"ed up. (yes, it had been fall for a good two months already, but it just didn't look like it inside my house!)

plus, i had been saving this bib for hallie to wear since last year!


my adorable scentsy pumpkin warmer made the house smell like fall...


and everyone needs at least a dozen children's books about the pilgrims!


i went simple with the table decor. i love the fall colors with my new blue walls in the dining room!



i am thankful that brian's mom felt good enough to come over on thursday!


my mom made a delicious cinnamon cream cheese fruit dip and this cute turkey fruit tray. i also made my husband's favorite rotel cheese dip, but it was devoured before i could snap a picture.


a big thank-you to my brother-in-law, who was up bright and early that morning to smoke some turkeys... doesn't my grandmother's apron just fit him perfectly?


neil and jeff did the honors of carving the turkey...


and yes, it tasted as amazing as it looks!


speaking of turkeys...


we got all the food ready, and kristie and i were doing our usual thing... taking pictures of all the food! here is brian's mom's corn pudding with her grandmother's hand-written recipe. (this is my favorite part of thanksgiving!)


then glenda and martha asked if we could stop taking pictures of the food and eat it! ha! so we loaded up our plates and headed to the tables.

the men had their own table for politics and gun talk.


and we ladies had our own table to talk about anything BUT guns. :)


yum. double yum.


the funny thing is that martha and i came to the table first... i sat down and then got back up to get my camera to take a picture of my plate. martha didn't hide her chuckle as i snapped away at my mound of casseroles and meat. :) a few minutes later, kristie sat down with her plate... she picked up her fork and then paused, looked at me, and said, "did you get a picture?" i LOVE my sister-in-law. :) (and then martha laughed at both of us!)

hallie is thinking, "i have a feeling y'all are chewing on something with a little more flavor than this thing!"


the big kids ate their lunch earlier, which made for a nice quiet dinner for all of us. :) it wasn't long after we finished that they started asking for these cute little acorns that martha had made. (my little squirrel had her cheeks full!)


after dinner, everybody went outside for a little shooting and swinging.



brian's grandmother had some hallie time.


and then the turkey enzymes hit. (or EMzymes, as brian's dad says...)


my favorite memory from this thanksgiving is this sweet lady playing our piano.


our piano used to be her piano. then brian's parents' house burned to the ground. most things were lost. most things that weren't lost were incredibly damaged. Through this loss, God reminded us over and over of His protection and His provision. there was little hope that nana's piano could be restored, but they put it in storage anyway. fast-forward a couple of years later, and that piano has been restored! oh what a priceless gift this is for our family! the gift of music is a beautiful one within itself... the gift of a piano is a huge blessing... but to have this piano, this physical reminder of God's provision for our family? that is truly a reason to be thankful.

and i forgot to add that the piano sounds amazing!

brian's mom has had a busy and stressful few months, and it did my heart good to see her go over and just start playing. my mom, kristie, and i came over and sang as she played hymn after hymn. i hope this night was the beginning of many, many more nights of music in our home.

so this thanksgiving included old recipes, a new baby, a restored piano, precious friends, and sweet, sweet family. the top of the piano says it all.


praise God, from Whom all blessings flow
praise Him, all creatures here below.
praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

amen!