A Thankful Feast

This was the first year Dan and I volunteered to host Thanksgiving dinner at our place. My parents and Dwayne, Angela and their three kids planned to share in the festivities with us. I was very excited and a bit nervous to be in charge of such an important dinner, but I knew I would have the help of my Mum and sis-in-law, Angela. They are both seasoned professionals in the area of great feasts, so I was confident the dinner would be a success.

However, the weather decided to throw a wrench in my plans. We got snow. Lots and lots of snow.

It makes for a fun picture and it's fun to play in for a while, but it can completely ruin travel plans.

My parents ended up not able to drive up and with them stayed the shrimp salad, pumpkin pie, coconut cream pie and cornbread stuffing. I made up a quick stuffing and read up on turkey preparation. Angela and the kids made a pumpkin pie, because really, is it Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie?

Sadie and Allison made a creative contribution to the meal by making us all adorable Pilgrim hats for place cards.

After dinner Angela had the clever idea of having all of us write out what we were thankful for. According to the mess on Lana's face (and hands and hair) she was thankful for delicious sweet potatoes.

And of course, no Thanksgiving meal would be complete without pie. Lots and lots of pie. Here we have peanut butter pie, chocolate orange buttermilk pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and sour cream pear pie. We named this the "tour of pies" and a few of us hopped on the train, trying to have a small slice of each. I don't think anyone was able to accomplish that feat.

It was a really great meal and I think our first hosting gig was a success. The turkey turned out great, the stuffing wasn't too dry, the mashed potatoes were creamy and the gravy didn't have too many lumps. Now our fridge is full of leftovers and we've been eating pie for breakfast. Hungry? You're welcome to join us for turkey leftovers, if you can bust through the snow drifts on the way to our house.

(Quite Literally) Thankful in the Storm

Recently it seems a lot of books I've been reading, stories I've been hearing, and messages at church have been about being thankful in the midst of the storms of life. We've all gone through a metaphorical storm or two. Sickness, financial problems, relationship issues; all of these are easy-to-name modern-day storms. But the other day, we faced a storm of a different nature, indeed, it was a quite literal storm, full of rain and thunder and lightning, more furious than any storm I can ever remember. This raging storm provided me with a much-needed opportunity to practice being thankful.

While the wind was pounding rain against the window, I was thankful for my warm bed and dry house.

When the power went out, I was thankful that it wasn't too cold and we didn't need to worry about pipes freezing.

In the morning when the power was still out, I was extremely thankful for my resourceful and prepared husband. He knew where the flashlights were and strategically placed them and the lantern in places he knew I would need light to get myself and Lana ready for the day.

While getting Lana dressed and fed, I was thankful that she was curious, and not afraid, of the change in her environment. Her easy-goingness that morning was much appreciated.

That afternoon, while talking to Avista customer service about why we still didn't have power, I was thankful I could speak to an actual person, and not a machine. The woman on the other end had obviously had a long day dealing with angry customers and I was thankful she still tried to sound friendly as she explained our power might not be back on until the next day.

That evening as I drove to our dark house, I was thankful I had the option of forgoing a cold dinner from a can and could drive into town for a hot cheeseburger.

Getting ready for bed that night in a dark house, I was thankful for extra blankets and warm pajamas. I was thankful that the house temperature hadn't dropped too much and thankful that if it did get too cold, we could pack a few things and head to a motel for the night.

Early the next morning, I was thankful to wake up to the sound of the furnace clicking on and the numbers flashing on my alarm clock.

While getting ready for the day, I was thankful for a hot shower and a garage that opened with the push of a button.

And now? Now I am thankful the storm passed, the power was restored and our lives were only inconvenienced for a mere 24 hours.

P.S. Thanks everyone for your well wishes while we were ill. As promised, we bounced back and ended our time at PukeFest 2010.

On Puking, an Ode at 2 am

Things are busy at our house right now.
You ask, what's going on? Who? What? When? Why? and How?
If I go into much detail, you'll surely cry, ick!
But alas, all members here are quite sick.
It started with the baby; the cute one got it first.
Although now we're not sure who has it the worst.
The parenting falls to who is most decent,
Who can actually stand upright and hasn't puked recent.
Sorry, I cannot see the King, Queen, Earl or Duke,
My night is full, washing crib sheets covered in puke.

Of these events, I could make light,
And I suppose I am, up at 2 am, starting to write.
I could say, it's a new diet, the Karen Carpenter Plan.
Make a tasteless joke? Oh yes! Anyone can.
If I weren't sick, the fun things I'd do,
Paint, scrapbook, or edit pictures from the zoo.
Instead I sit here, tired, needing sleep,
Thinking, if anyone throws up again tonight, I surely will weep.
Fun things we'll do later, like sing along to the juke,
But right now I'm afraid we'd all just puke.

This might make a humorous blog post,
Our friends and family will laugh, or at least most.
I know you're all sympathetic and full of care,
Because you've done this before, you've been there.
I'm certain soon we will all bounce back,
And again be full of what we now lack.
Having the stomach flu, fun? Certainly not!
I'd much rather have a head full of snot.
Whether you're named Agnus, Bartholemew, Jack or Luke,
Absolutely no one, anywhere, likes to puke.

Happy Fun Party Time!

Hi, this is Lana. Mama says because yesterday afternoon was all about me having fun, I needed to be the one to tell you all about it.

First of all, I don't know much about Halloween, but I do know I like fun new outfits, playing games with other kids and picking out candy.
I was dressed up as Minnie Mouse and I even (sometimes) kept my authentic Disneyland ears on.

We went to a party at church where I saw a lot of my friends. Their Mamas put them in neat costumes too. This is my friend, Gavin. We play together in nursery. A couple weeks ago he bit me, but Mama said I kind of deserved it and that I shouldn't put my fingers in other people's mouths.

The only biting at the party was chewing up all the yummy candy and cookies.

I think my very favorite game was the duck pond. It's kind of like my bath, but with more toys. I had fun with Daddy picking out all the different colored ducks. I wanted to get in the water and play with them, but Daddy wouldn't let me. I won lots of prizes for picking up all the ducks.

Mama wanted me to sit still for just a second so she could get a picture of me at the official picture-taking spot, but I wanted none of that. There were basketballs that needed tossed, rings to throw, ducks to gather and bounce houses to jump in. I didn't want to sit still. Not even for a few seconds.

I loved jumping in the huge bounce house. One time, my cousin Grant had to tell some big kids to not jump hard by me because I'm little and could get hurt. Mama was so glad I had my tough cousin to protect me.

Did I have fun at the party? Oh yeah.

Mama and Daddy know when I smile this big, it only means one thing; This little Minnie Mouse could not be any happier! And they're right.