Thanksgiving Blessings

This was our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. In fact, it was the first Thanksgiving we have ever spent together. We've always spent it with our families, but this year we split the day between the three sides. It was a very nice day overall!

We arrived at my Mom's house on Wednesday evening. I was met with a very special surprise... my niece, Lexi, was joining us for Thanksgiving this year! I am so thankful to Kristal for letting her come and spend the holiday with us. I can't imagine how hard it was to let her go.

That evening, Lexi enjoyed playing with her Uncle Andrew. They're pretty silly together, and she sure loves having him around to play with.

I jumped at the opportunity to have a picture snapped with two of my favorite people. I love these two like crazy!

Before bed, Lexi and I shared a favorite pastime. She's always loved reading with me... and I enjoyed listening to her read to me this time!

On Thanksgiving morning, we went to my Dad's for a visit. Since we were spending the afternoon with Andrew's side of the family, I wanted to make a point to see my Dad's side. Luckily, we arrived in time to have a delicious breakfast with them!

I was a little surprised to find out that my baby brother is now taller than me. I now only have one sibling that is shorter than me... and I wouldn't be surprised if she reached my height at some point.

Andrew requested a picture with my dad. I love this picture... my life is very blessed by these two amazing men.

Lexi played photographer and got a picture of most of Dad's side. We're only missing a couple of brothers.

When we arrived back at my mom's, we were greeted with Rori and Sky. Lexi and Rori instantly started hanging out, and they were so cute playing together!

Sky is SUCH a ham and is absolutely hilarious. This kid asks SO MANY good questions... and notices allllllll the details of that around him. He's precious!

Rori helped Lexi get all dolled up. It was so nice to see them together!

Andrew and I sat back and watched chaos take place...

You see, the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes spilled over. The chain of events following were hilarious. The kitchen filled with smoke, Mom went into panic mode, and Tyler did what he does best... add to the chaos.

After peeling off the burnt marshmallows, Ty began to brown the new marshmallows using a propane tank. The extension wasn't fitted properly to the tank... propane leaked... and Tyler's arm was soon engulfed in flames. I so wish this would have been captured on video. The girls screamed, the boys cheered, and Ty did everything he could to not drop the tank on the floor. It was hilarious... after we knew he wasn't hurt.

Once that fiasco was over, it was time to sit down and enjoy the meal. For the first time in years, we had all of my brother's kids in the same house for a holiday. I had a lump in my throat the entire time. I didn't realize how important it was to me to have them all together. I cherished every moment of this!

During dinner, we realized that it was snowing outside! So, my sister and I enjoyed time together while watching the beautiful snow flakes fall.

I love my sister so much... even though she was far more excited to know that Andrew was going to be there for Thanksgiving (ha, ha!). I love knowing that Miranda... and the rest of my siblings... love Andrew like he's their own brother. It's pretty sweet to watch them interact with him. I wish that I had more time to spend with my sister, but I definitely soaked up the time I had with her on Thanksgiving.

Then... I tried to get a good picture taken with my love. This is what happens when you try to capture a picture of us... We're crazy!

This husband of mine cracks me up. I love him so much, and I am so thankful that I married someone who can make me laugh so hard!

Before leaving, I made sure to get a picture with my brother, Ty. He leaves in a month for India. He'll be gone for 6 months or more. I sure will miss him!!

We also had to have a slice of Miranda's pumpkin pie. I swear she's the best pumpkin pie maker around!

We enjoyed a snowy drive on the way to Andrew's side. We got about a half an inch, and it was so pretty!

Once at their Thanksgiving, we celebrated Eli's second birthday. Andrew was trying to get Eli to play in the tunnel he got for his birthday. I think the big kid had more fun than the little kid!

I enjoyed helping Keith unpackaged Eli's Little People Nativity Set. I don't know if I've mentioned it on here before, but I absolutely love my father-in-law. He's so kind and caring... and he ALWAYS makes it a point to make me feel like I'm one of his own. He has an incredible heart of gold, and I definitely realize how blessed I am to have him in my life!

Once we got the figures out of the box, I enjoyed playing with Eli. He decided that Mary and Joseph needed to be pirates instead. Yes, that is Joseph manning the pirate ship. At one point, Baby Jesus was in the birds nest. It was hilarious to watch him play... and I really enjoyed getting to play with him!

Uncle Andrew also enjoyed playing with Eli and the pirate ship. We all thought this game was pretty funny.

We are so blessed to have the relationships we have. We love our nieces and nephews, and it was so good to spend time with them! We also are thankful for having the opportunity to see both sides of my family and his side of the family all in the same day. We know it won't always happen that way, but we're so grateful that it did this year!

So, our first Thanksgiving together was a success! We're looking forward to many more together!

Oh, and something crazy- I was able to put together two loaves of banana bread, and get them in the oven, in the time it took to upload all of these pictures!