Thankful for Thanksgiving

Sweet relief. That's all I feel right now. Relief. Our first Thanksgiving away from home couldn't have been better. All the preparation and work that went into it was so worth it. And I love that this day wasn't the effort of only one person but of everybody in the house.

Our Thanksgiving Day menu consisted of:

Prime Rib (prepared by Chris)

Lobster Tails (Chris and Vince)

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy (Vince)

Stuffing (Ashley)

Clover Rolls (Daneile)

Making these dinner rolls is what worried me the most, but they turned out so good and with the homemade jam, I could have skipped dessert all together. So yummy and pretty too.

Strawberry Jam (Daneile)

Deviled Eggs (Daneile)

Cheesy Green Bean Casserole (Daneile)

Cranberry Sauce (Ashley)

Pumpkin Pie (Ashley)

Ashley made the most beautiful homemade pumpkin pie ever.

Apple Pies (Daneile and Ashley)

The spread.

Dinner was perfect. There was 7 of us total and we couldn't get over how good everything was.

I am so Thankful for days like today, days that open my eyes and make me realize how blessed I truly am.

I amThankful for the love of our family and friends,

for the opportunity that we have to be here in Alabama,

so Thankful that Chris and I both have jobs and steady incomes when so many people do not,

Thankful for the food in our cupboards,

for the roof over our heads,

for the companionship of our pets, Twinkee and Marlo,

Thankful for the gospel in our lives,

and for the incredible members here in our ward,

I'm Thankful that I have goals and dreams, they keep me moving forward,

Thankful for our trials, they have truly made us stronger,

and I'm Thankful for my sweet husband, I love that man and don't know where I would be without him,

I'm Thankful for all our many adventures, we have truly lived an amazing life thus far,

I'm Thankful for my bed that's calling my name. It's been a long day.

Good Night.

and

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Man Date

Last Sunday Chris and his friend Jake took a dude's trip down to New Orleans to watch the Saints defeat the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Dome.

When I asked what some of the highlights of the day were this was their reply:

• They had amazing seats. They were one row from the field and got to see views like this.

• An unexpected Seahawks fan showed up. It's hard to tell from the picture but that's Will Ferrell. That story basically goes like this... Initially he ignored the crowd and his fans, that made the crowd mad so they decided to start heckling him by screaming his past characters names at him (Frank the Tank, Ron Burgundy, and so on). And finally he looked up at the crowd. That's all they wanted. Mission complete.

• Only having one row separating them from the Saint's Cheerleaders. (Jake's biggest highlight).
• Getting to experience the intense admiration and devotion of the Saints Fans. I guess it's pretty insane.
• Watching the Saints win.
• And last but not least, after the game they went to a celebration dinner at the all too delicious restaurant, Deanies, in the French Quarter.

What a day.

Accomplishment

Aww... I have finally did something that has intimidated me for years. Something that I have always wanted to do but have never gathered the nerve because it has always seemed so daunting and complicated. I, with the help and assistance of my sister Ashley, have made an apple pie from scratch. Crust and everything. I couldn't be more satisfied with our little pie and Chris was so proud of me. It was so cute. He insisted on taking a picture of me with it and even commented that it was blog worthy. So here it is.

My pride and joy. It tasted as good as it looks and believe me when I say that. I don't even really like pie ;)