Tender TN Thanksgiving!

This year we went down south for Thanksgiving. I haven't been with my family on Thanksgiving in years, probably since 2000, before we got engaged.

My grandmother also made the trip down too, from Detroit and we enjoyed spending time with her. We headed down on Wednesday and made it in time for dinner. Ten minutes later, Beth, Dan and Eli arrived and we were excited to see each other again that week!

The boys played and then bathed and had a grand old time seeing everyone. Amos loved being there, and was even excited to see the dogs!

On Thanksgiving morning, we woke up and found out that Mom was still at a birth. We hoped that she would be home in time for dinner, but as it turns out, she wasn't. It was disappointing to say the least! Nonetheless, we had a fantastic dinner. My grandmother did the turkey, stuffing and other cooking, while I helped and made the cole slaw and the garlic mashed potatoes.

While the little boys slept, the big boys went out and did some "skeet" shooting with the rifle--they got out a few frisbees, someone would throw one and the other would try to shoot it. After the frisbee got a bit shot up, they duct-taped it together!!

There was also football, on tv and in the yard and lots of eating! Nathan's mom joined us for dinner and dessert and we all enjoyed the day's work of cooking. My mom came home just before bedtime and gave the boys new little plastic guitars. It was fun to watch them play together! She was sad to have missed being with us, but was glad we saved her a plate!

On Friday, we girls braved the masses and went shopping on Black Friday--something I've never done. It was crazy, but not too bad!

On Friday night, we all went to see Joel's band, Stillhouse Hollow, play. The place was smoke-free and welcomed kids so we all got to enjoy the music! Even my Grandma went and had a fun time!

On Saturday, we said goodbye to Nathan, who returned home early to work. That afternoon, Beth and Abby threw me a baby shower. I enjoyed celebrating Baby Sister with friends and family; who knew it was so much fun to have a baby shower for a girl? There was much oohing and ahhing!

Later that day, we watched Notre Dame's last game and then Amos and Jesse played a little football, complete with tackles!
On Sunday we went to the "firetruck" park and played. Amos said hello to the firetruck and then found the huge sandbox that had a huge toy excavator for us to play with! Amos spend the majority of his time playing there, so happy that someone left him a cool toy!

Later we went over the bridge and threw sticks in the water, like the old game, "Pooh sticks." The boys had fun throwing sticks into the river. And then we visited the Tinkerbell playground part and tried out the different swings. Luckily, we made it home before it rained, just in time for a good nap!

Monday morning came and we all enjoyed our last breakfast together. We madly packed, then packed the car full and headed north. Beth and Dan were gracious to drive Amos and I to Louisville to meet Nathan, who had taken their car home. We enjoyed more hanging out time and then lunch at Subway, once in Louisville. The boys ate and then ran laps around the booths--good thing we were the only ones there!

It was a great trip home. We won't be going home for Christmas this year, so it was great to be with everyone at home. It was great to be reminded of all that we're thankful for: family, friends, our health, my pregnancy and all the blessings of the year.