Thanksgiving Delayed

We started our Thanksgiving Day by attending church together.

30 Nov 2014: Danielle, Jacob, Dylan, Mary, Chris, and Sarah.

We just couldn't get together on Thanksgiving Day this year. Or the day after. Or even the day after that. Sarah, Jacob, and Danielle's Walmart schedules were all over the map (think Black Friday) and there was no way we could all get together in the same place at the same time long enough to have a meal. So, instead, we took our regular Sunday family dinner today and turned it into our Thanksgiving Feast!

Since we all attend different wards at church (all meeting in the same building but at different times), my married children and their spouses decreed that we would all attend my ward since it has the earliest starting time, 9:00. Then, after church, we converged on my house, where we cooked up a storm for the next few hours.

It was fun this Thanksgiving to have matching plates, glasses, and silverware for the first time since the earliest years of my first marriage, when Sarah and Jacob were babies. My new set of silverware was a gift from Sarah last Christmas, and I treated myself to new plates, glasses, and cookware, among other fun things, this year.

Jacob, Sarah, and I handled most of the cooking for dinner, while Dylan had charge of the tables and chairs. Danielle provided two of our desserts. Our joint efforts led to a scrumptious feast, which led to uncomfortably full tummies. It was about 3:00 when we ate dinner, and we couldn't even think about dessert until 7:00 rolled around!

Sarah, Chris, Dylan, Danielle, and Jacob at the feast.

Danielle, Jacob, Mary, Sarah, and Chris gathered at the Thanksgiving table.

After dinner, I prepared a plate for my good friend Gwen, who was unable to join us this year due to some serious health challenges that kept her in a Valley hospital for a couple of months. We're so happy to have her back on the mountain, and my kids gladly delivered her feast to her. They stayed and visited with her for quite a long time!

The table is laden with too many desserts for just six people!

When they returned, Jacob suggested we watch the DVD of that classic holiday movie, A Christmas Story, which Danielle had never seen before. We enjoyed the film together before breaking out the pies and Danielle's Jello salad. It was a lovely, delayed Thanksgiving Day and it was worth the wait to be able to spend it together.

And, after all, Thanksgiving is in our hearts every day of the year!