SO much to be thankful for...

Well... to say I've been a little behind in the blogging world is an understatement. November turned out to be kind of a crazy month for us. As most of you who read this know, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in mid-November and things like this just get put on the back burner.

Thankfully, it was caught early and mom is doing great and feeling wonderful. We SO appreciate all of your prayers, calls, meals, and concern during her surgery and recovery. She, like always, continues to amaze me with her ability to take care of everyone else, when she should be letting others take care of her.

For example... Thanksgiving.

We long ago determined that our family has grown too large and extended (such a wonderful problem to have!) that it was next to impossible to get everyone there on Thanksgiving day, so we moved my mom's side to the Sunday before. Mom, determined to prove that she was still in charge, demanded that we continue on with our new tradition of Thanksgiving on Sunday at her house despite the fact that she was 2 days post-op and only got home from the hospital the day before. We were very skeptical about this but all threw in to help make it happen.

Turns out, she was right (as usual) and it couldn't have gone any better.

My dad usually says the Thanksgiving prayer, but he's kind of a weeper (God love him) and given the emotional week he had had, he opted to let the kids take over this year.

Trace led us first in "God is Great..."
And then Nalin led us in the Lord's Prayer. I was amazed that at age 5, she knew every word. So sweet, and SO important for children to learn to do!

Then on Thanksgiving Day, I had my parents, brother, in-laws, and Jimmy's granddad over for a "traditional" Thanksgiving feast...baked spaghetti and salad.

Wouldn't the Pilgrims and Indians be proud?


Oh wait... there was a 20 lb. butterball there after all.

It was just in my belly.
I'm going to throw that shirt away as soon as I finish typing this!
Boy, you never can quite tell how something really looks on you till you see it in a picture.
We left that weekend for Alabama to have Thanksgiving with Jimmy's family. With 7 first cousins, all now married and having babies, it's a party in itself!

Mimmie and her munchkins...
I could have pinched my lil' munchkins head off. Out of 1/2 dozen cameras clicking like paparazzi and hundreds of pictures taken, I think Trace actually smiled in about 4. He declared at the end of the night, that "yes, I will hug everyone goodnight, but no, I don't want my picture taken!"

Dang... who taught that child to talk, or think for himself???
We celebrated cousins Hannah and Grace Anne's birthdays too.
This was so fun! Everyone knows we are struggling to agree on a name for this child (Girby). So Sylvia's sister, Sheila, passed around paper and everyone wrote their suggested name for her and we played the name game. I have to admit, we got a lot of great suggestions!

I told Jimmy on the way home that we better agree soon. I'll be 30 weeks tomorrow and they won't let you leave the hospital without an official name. "Girby" better NOT be on this baby's birth certificate... or announced at her graduation or wedding! ha!

We had such a wonderful week full of food and family with an extra dose of thankfulness thrown in this year!! Hope yours was blessed.