Thanksgiving

I am so late on all of this, but I felt like I should write about the seasons before they pass me by.

We're all always so busy, and I say that constantly, but life has been going by so quickly in a good way. There were times when the days seemed to drag without structure. I have always appreciated the time with my family; however, I felt like we weren't making the most of our time. My hands felt full and my brain boiled over with things I needed to get done (dishes, work, writing, laundry...), yet I simply couldn't. Lately, though, that hasn't been as much of an issue. With Eliot being in school, we are going, going, going with all sorts of plans. And I have a really consistent running routine set that has helped me have something to look forward to during the cold months when I usually drag myself through the dreary days.

But, back to Thanksgiving...

We hosted again this year, which was a lot of fun. Last year, we were so excited to bring both sides of the family together, but both Chris and his sister got very sick (like, flu, throwing up sick) on the morning of Thanksgiving. Suddenly, I was trying to clean the house, roast a turkey, and cook everything else while watching a then almost-three-year-old and a five-month-old (who couldn't even sit up yet). Speaking of limitations, the turkey was too heavy for me to take it out to baste it, even! So, that was pretty stressful.

It was completely different this year, though. We fried the turkey instead, which saved a lot of time. I had done almost all the cleaning the night before. Eliot and Jack could play by themselves enough for me to cook. Chris's parents and sister beat the traffic and were able to play with the kids. AND Chris (and Elizabeth) were not throwing up. Everyone seemed happy with the food and liked the turkey. A win, I'd say.

Waiting for Mawmaw, Granddad, and Aunt Elizabeth

The food

Chris's family stayed the night, which was awesome since they weren't able to last year due to Elizabeth getting sick too. In the morning, we all went for runs and walks because we're weird like that and then had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, an Eliot and Granddad tradition.

My only regret is that we didn't take any family pictures, just the few shots on my phone above. I was so busy, though, prepping, doing dishes, and all that I didn't see a moment to take a photo when we were all together. Ah.