Thanksgiving Quick Takes

• I seriously forget that Thanksgiving is an American holiday, but I fully support the idea of a holiday that revolves almost entirely around food.  It may not be good for my pants size, but it sure is good for the soul.
• We spent our Thanksgiving at my church, as we have for the past five (?) years or so now.  We serve a Thanksgiving meal for our community.  It started out as sort of a service to those who needed somewhere to go, but now, it's open to absolutely anyone who wants to come be a part of it:  those who need a place for a wholesome meal, people who might live alone and not want to cook, those who can't be near their family, and even families who just don't feel like cooking themselves.  It has turned into an awesome ministry, and we enjoy serving and eating our meal along with our friends and church family.  Our church provided over 850 meals for the community this year.
• Thursday night we went to Jeremy's parents' house for round two.  It was delicious, and the girls really warmed up to the houseful of friends and relatives better than I expected.  We all had a great time, and the girls were very well-behaved despite being out past their bedtime.
• Out of curiosity, we drove past Wal-Mart when we got back into town around 10:00 on Thanksgiving night, and it was insane.  The parking lot was covered, all the spaces in nearby businesses were full, and cars were even parked on the grass.  CRAZY, I'm telling you...you couldn't pay me to get in that madness.
• In general, Addison & Mackenzie were awesome during the entire holiday weekend.  I have memories of whiny, clingy, over-stimulated children from this time last year, and I am so thankful we had none of that happening this time.  They still didn't eat a lot--most of the traditional Thanksgiving dishes are not their favorites--but they behaved so well, I didn't even care!  (They did fill up on macaroni n' cheese, rolls, and dessert...not the healthiest of days, but we were all happy.)
• My sister got into town on Tuesday night and stayed until Sunday, so we had lots of family time together.  There were shopping trips, crafting projects (more on those later!), late-night movies, and hot chocolate involved in our holiday weekend, and it was all wonderful.
• There was a little football game on Saturday that we were all looking forward to watching.  And yes, I'm being sarcastic when I call it a "little football game"...the entire state of Alabama stands still on Iron Bowl day, and that is not much of an exaggeration.  A & M spent Friday night with Jeremy's parents, so he went over there to watch the game and bring them home.  Laura Jo and I were left to watch the game at my house free of any comments from the Auburn fan in the family.  We worked on projects during the game, and by the time it was over, my tree was complete, and we were two happy Bama fans.

The girls and Jeremy arrived home, and we were (mostly) able to put aside our differences and enjoy the rest of the evening.  It was easier for some of us than for others (Roll Tide!!), but J handled it pretty well.  : )

Consoling Addison after she heard Auburn lost...  : )

We do have so much to be thankful for, and family is right at the top of my list.  It was a great holiday weekend, filled with so many of our favorite things.  

Now...bring on Christmas!!