Thankfulness

 Thanksgiving weekend was a three-part deal that is now over.  It's probably a good thing. At the rate we were going, we would have to get rid of any pants with buttons or zippers. We spent Thanksgiving Day in low-key fashion. Joe and I took the kids to Good Times Park Thanksgiving morning and came home for a pizza lunch. Joe then took the girls sledding (that's right, sledding!) while I started getting our meal put together. We had one more guest than last year which was my  brother Michael. I don't know if we can call him a guest since I put him to work as soon as he walked in the door... Thank you, Michael! The meal would not have been half as tasty without your help. Below are some pics from the day.

I thought our table looked really lovely before there was even any food on it. Picture!

As you can imagine, I was thankful to spend the day with our goofball daughters.

Here is the spread Michael and I put together! We had homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and mac and cheese with bacon. Then we added a few veggie sides of corn and carrots, homemade cranberry sauce, turkey, and Pillsbury crescent rolls (We always had those when we were growing up!).

Cece said our Thanksgiving prayer. She thanked God for "the fruits and vegetables, and pajamas, and for this special day." It was wonderful.

And, I did not mislabel this blog post. This is indeed Thanksgiving Day and not Christmas. Crazy, right? Yet not, since this is Minnesota here. That was part one of Thanksgiving.

We spent Black Friday putting up Christmas decorations and our Christmas Tree. It was glorious. More photos to come of all the merry-making!

On Saturday, we drove up to St. Cloud to have a cozy Thanksgiving meal with all 30 members of Joe's immediate family. 

I'm not kidding! There is an absurd amount of us! And we're not even all pictured here! It was a good group and a great time. I would share more pictures, but the quality and content of them are all questionable as we all got picture happy after the kids went to bed...

And on Sunday we went to an even bigger family get together with all of the Reimers. Unfortunately, Rosie was not feeling her most fabulous self that afternoon, so the only photo I have is of her trying to take a nap on the floor. Still, it was great to see many of Joe's cousins and aunts and uncles since it's not often that we are up in St. Cloud.

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Not that you haven't already seen many posts of thanks across social media about what people are thankful for, but I just want to throw out my own list of thanks (at least for myself).

I'm most grateful for family, not things. My own little family, the family I grew up in, and the one I've married into. The time we have on this earth and with each other is limited and precious. Not all days are productive, no days are perfect, but I am with my family for every one of these days and that's what matters the most.

I'm thankful that the "problems" I have are not really even problems. I am extremely grateful that my family and I have not endured a fraction of the suffering and sadness I see in other parts of the country and the world. 

Occasionally, I find myself wishing for things like a house with more bathrooms, less messes to clean, and a few more hours of sleep every night. Then I realize that I have more than I've ever hoped for. 

Our little home has been the stage for so many memories: first steps, first birthdays, first attempts at making homemade meals, etc. The messy house and lack of sleep means that important things are happening and that I'm needed... There will be a day when there are not as many messes to clean and no one will need me to put on all of their hats and mittens and shoes (except maybe Joe). And it will only take me a minute to get out of the door by myself and maybe I'll be more put together and a bit more rested. And then I'll be wishing that I could relive these chaotic and sweet days that are happening right now. So, it's my goal to appreciate them as much as possible right now.

And on a less serious note, I'm thankful for coffee that keeps making me believe that I can do anything, my lady friends who keep me from actually losing my mind, and Joe who usually makes the coffee in the morning and has encouraged, supported, and loved me so much over the years that I really do believe I can do anything ; )

Hope your holiday was fantastic!