Thankful.

We have been busy here eating lots of good food, sharing lots of laughter, hanging with dear family and soaking in all the blessings life has to offer.

My in-laws were kind enough to drive all the way from Portland to join us in Boise for Thanksgiving this year. Both Kyle and I were very excited to host our first holiday together, but with that excitement also brought along some pesky little nerves. I enjoy cooking ALOT and will try many new things but for some reason the turkey has been the one thing that I have hidden from my whole life.  It's big, it's slimy, you have to pull necks and stuff out of the cavity, and visions of a dry-as-bone-Griswold turkey danced in my head. Well, I decided this was the year I was going to conquer my fears, I used this recipe for the turkey.  And for the most part it turned out pretty good...a little dry for me, but nothing some good gravy (thanks to my sweet mother-in-law) couldn't fix. I couldn't have done it without her help, she calmly talked Kyle and I through the cleaning and preparing the bird. 

Having Kyle's parents with us just reminded me again of how thankful I am to have such amazing in-laws and how I look forward to many more holidays together.  One of my fondest memories of the weekend was our ongoing card battle of hands and feet (I think that is the name of the game).  Nothing like a good competition to bring a family together! Just for the record,  I totally made up for my shameful loss on the first night....in fact, I think I just might have dominated at some point,the at "some point" being the key phrase here. :) Anyways, who's keeping track?

Here is a recap of the wonderful day....

Fresh out of the oven.

The Hot Butcher

The Thanksgiving Spread

Some Bubbly Apple Juice

Staring down the food and waiting....

The mashed potatoes were his favorite, the turkey was ejected.

Helping daddy work off the turkey!

See? Helping, tough job.

Yay! We did it! Thanksgiving Success!

We have so much to be thankful for this year.  I owe it all to my Lord and Savior who has provided beyond our wildest dreams, without Him we would be nothing, have nothing, and would not be able to experience the peace and joy that He has graciously bestowed upon us.

As I sit here I am reminded of one of my favorite verses as a child:

Psalm 100:1-5


A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
 ¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
 ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.

My prayer is that we will continue singing this within our hearts, even when life gets crazy and out of control (as it undoubtedly will). And that those we are surrounded by will see God's faithfulness and love so that they too will be able to "Give thanks to Him and praise His name".