Thankful

All strapped in and ready to head to grandpas!

Despite the forecast for rain, Thanksgiving day turned out to be beautiful and we were able to continue our tradition of eating outside.

The beautiful table, compliments of some hard-working sisters.
There are 9 siblings in my family and 22 grandchildren plus we usually have some guests.
It takes a lot of food for a crowd that big so we all contribute. This year I brought 2 pecan pies, a turkey that I had roasted all night, and gravy. I love doing the turkey that way- it always turns out so tender and it's so simple to do. Just smother it with herbs/spices, drizzle it with olive oil, and put it in the oven in a covered roaster at 275* right before you head for bed and it's done by noon the next day. It literally falls off the bones and is so good!
O.K... so my brother would argue that his fried turkeys are the best, but I think we ALL realize by now whose gets eaten the fastest.

The kids all had fun running around together. I wish I could say that I had joined them, seriously, I had every intention of doing just that, but instead I managed to get distracted by the pie table on the way out the door. Not so good for my plans to lose weight.

My turkey-frying brother and my dearest husband doing, uh, hmm...not sure, but I am confident it was something super important. You know, the same 'thing' that they were still working on when it was time to be doing all those dishes?
Oh, well, I suppose we shall all be grateful when that next nuclear attack is diverted or the millions of dollars are made, thanks to them.

Some super cute kiddos

Grandpa and Grandma and all the grandkids (until Dec. 12th anyway!)

So many, many things in my life to be thankful for!
My prayer is to never become complacent about any of them!