Thanksgiving, Revisited

It seems we got to December 1st and then the Christmas season hit us HARD! There has been some type of event nearly every day since.

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Tonight I've been blessed with an unexpectedly quiet evening. Sarah is babysitting and Jacob is off on a Scout campout and hike of historic Mormon Battalion Trail in the Phoenix area. Dylan and his friends Weston and Robert are engrossed in a video game, giving me time to reflect.

I never got to share our Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd do that now. The day began with a gentle snowfall, second of the season, which left us with about an inch of snow.

Here are Dylan (blue jacket) and his friend Eric tasting the snow on the fence. Didn't they pay attention to the flagpole scene in A Christmas Story?!

We invited our friend Gwen to join our feast. She had recently been diagnosed with pneumonia, so we decided to have a quiet meal at home to allow her to relax and to limit the number of potential germs she might come in contact with.

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Here she is modeling her lovely fuchsia nails, which Sarah painted for her soon after she arrived.

Jacob baked zucchini bread, pumpkin pies, and a lemon meringue pie. The lemon meringue gave him some fits. First, he didn't realize the pie crust had to be baked before the lemon mixture went into it, so he had to scrape the lemon out. Then the egg white wouldn't beat to a nice, stiff texture, which is why there's no merigue in this photo. Luckily, Gwen helped make another batch, which topped off his pie perfectly!

After a prayer of thanksgiving we shared our thoughts about our many blessings. For the most part, we echoed one another's appreciation for friends, family, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen!

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Then we enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving dinner of turkey (carved by Jacob) and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, corn, candied yams, rolls, and pink lemonade.
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I loved seeing the beautifully set tables and decorated dining rooms featured in other people's blogs, along with their cheerful, well-behaved guests. In return I want to share a picture of our fancy, classy feast.

Okay, so we weren't so classy, crowded around our tiny little farmhouse table! But we enjoyed the delicious meal and we especially enjoyed the wonderful company.

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We are so blessed to have each other, to experience love and kindness here in a land of peace and plenty. I am truly grateful for the abundance we enjoy each and every day!