Thanksgiving.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at our home this year. My mom wanted to have it at her house and I told her how much it meant to me to have it at ours this year.

Jerome won't be here for Thanksgiving next year, he will be in a foreign country celebrating with his unit rather than sitting at our table, holding my hand and saying grace.

He won't be eating the turkey he helped me stuff, he won't be having a slice of my apple pie that he loves so much. He won't be able to sit and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with our kids, all of them snuggled in their pajamas while I'm in the kitchen cooking. He simply won't be here ......I don't know what he will be having or how he will be celebrating but it was very important that this year.... this year he sit at our table, hold my hand and say grace.

Because next year, he won't be here.



The Wednesday before Thanksgiving I took our kids to the library to return some books that I had forgotten about and were overdue. It was fine free week so it was important that I cram a library trip in with the grocery shopping for Thanksgiving, cleaning and everything else I had on my list to prepare for it.

As I was standing there going through the books with the librarian figuring out which books were on which of my kids cards I looked up to look at the time on the clock but my eyes saw this picture of soldiers at Thanksgiving in a calendar hanging on the wall instead.....



It took all I had in me to not break down in tears. I know he is here now and that I am very thankful for, but these past several months we've had this countdown hanging over our heads, a constant reminder as each holiday approaches that next year we will be celebrating it apart, from thousands of miles away.

My eyes filled with tears and I felt shaky seeing that picture. I took a deep breath,opened my eyes a little wider so that the tears wouldn't fall and looked away hoping that the librarian wasn't noticing what was going on inside my head, that she wouldn't see how hard I was fighting the tears.

She repeated a question to me about one of the kids names and I could see that she saw that I was distracted. She smiled a smile of comfort, I smiled back and we finished checking in my kids library books. I pushed away those feelings and came back to where I needed to be, not thinking about the deployment and being in the moment right where I was standing....telling Katie she was absolutely not checking out a handful of books right now and then when she asked me why I smiled and pointed to the stack of books on the counter that were turned in late.

We finished up all of our errands we had to run. We went home and the kids helped me tear up all five loaves of french bread for the stuffing we had to make. Jerome and I staid up until about 2:30am Wednesday night cooking and baking. He helped me with the turkey, actually he did everything with the turkey, it was to heavy for me to lift. I made a tripled recipe of stuffing, two pans and enough for stuffing the turkey. I also made his favorite apple pie. The apple pie that I usually dread making because of the time involved.....it is completely made from scratch. But this year was different. I wanted to make this year special.





We slept in a little Thursday morning and then we all watched some of the parade. Natalie and Katie helped me fold the napkins (after using google to find out how to fold them) for the table. I bought them after Christmas last year and loved them. I couldn't wait to put them on the table this year.



All of my family arrived and we sat down to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. We all sat around the table talking and enjoying being together long after our plates were cleared and our bellies full.

Caleb enjoyed playing with his cup.



We all finished the evening up with dessert. Laci's German chocolate cake made it almost here in her beautiful cake stand, but as the brakes were hit the cake she made tipped over. It was delicious anyway....



Mom made two pumpkin pies....



Bradley and Caleb enjoyed playing with cool whip while the rest of us ate our pie or cake and a few of us will never forget the taste of the coffee Jolena made, haha. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed it very much.



Apple Pie Recipe

Apple Filling:
Mix 1/3 c honey, 2 Tbs. sugar and cornstarch, 1 tsp. cinnamon and a dash of salt in a large bowl. Stir in 2 Tbsp. melted butter. Then add apples (about 6 large, peeled, cored, and sliced).

Crust:
Mix 2c all-purpose flour, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. baking powder in another large bowl. Cut in 3/4 cu shortening until pieces are the size of peas. In a glass measure combine 1 beaten egg, 1 tsp. vinegar and enough water to make 1/3 c liquid. Add liquid to mixed flour mixture and mix until the right consistency. Divide in half and form each half into a ball. Cool in refrigerator for about 1 hr. before working with dough.

Place dough in pie plate and pour apple mixture inside. Place the other rolled out dough over pie. Poke holes in top or make decorative cuttings and pieces and place on pie. Finish edges.

In glass measure combine 1 beaten egg and 1 Tbsp. water. Brush over top of pie. Sprinkle sugar on top.

Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes with foil around edges. Bake an additional 30 minutes without foil until pastry is golden and filling is bubbly.

Passing Football.

Passing football is one of Jerome and Spencer's favorite thing to do together. The trick is keeping the football away from Molly. She has put a hole in many of our footballs. She just thinks she is one of the boys....they go down to hike the ball and she is right beside them barking up a storm. As soon as the ball is thrown....she is running as fast as she can, in hopes that Spencer will not catch it. When he doesn't catch the football she gets it and takes off running, making us all chase her to get the football back before she puts another hole through it.



Molly is a great dog to have around. She loves our kids, thinks she is their big protector. She loves to run and play with them. She waits on them at the bus stop every single day. As soon as she sees them step off the bus she starts wagging her tail in excitement to see them.



41. watching Jerome and Spencer pass football in the yard
42. soaking these moments up, knowing soon he won't be here to pass a football
43. laughter
44. passing the football with them, and hearing Spencer explain to me how to throw the football correctly for the tenth time
45. hearing the girls cheering for us from the front porch

Homecoming.

Spencer's first homecoming was scheduled the same night as our Navy ball. Several weeks before we were planning and figuring out how we were going to do both homecoming and our Navy ball in the same night. I had a beautiful red dress to wear and I was looking forward to seeing Jerome in his dress uniform.

Then Katie became sick with meningitis, was hospitalized and it changed EVERYTHING. By Saturday she was doing better and was having to stay in the hospital until all of her test results came back. I had spent most of the week in the hospital with her so Jerome insisted that I take Spencer and his girlfriend to homecoming. He told me, "besides he wants you to go so that you can take some good pictures of them".

Spencer and his girlfriend, Danielle, make such a cute couple. He really loves this girl, I can tell. They are funny together, always goofing off and laughing. I haven't seen him this happy in a while. She is a blessing even if she doesn't know it.....she has been a wonderful distratraction from Jerome's deployment for Spencer.

We started out at the park taking pictures then I dropped them both off at Chili's to have dinner before the dance and I went and did a little shopping while they ate. Then I dropped them off at the homecoming dance.

I'm really happy that Spencer loves this girl so much. She is a sweet and beautiful girl.



The picture on the right below.....that smile....I can tell from that smile that he is in love...

{ Thankful. }

This year I am thankful for many, many things. But most of all family.
We hosted Thanksgiving dinner in our home this year. Jerome was called out to work an 8pm to 8am shift both Wednesday and Thursday night. Savannah and I spent the evening making a last minute trip to the grocery store and stayed up late baking. We made two pumpkin pies, the stuffing (prepped but not baked), deviled eggs and a cake (thanks to the help of Paula Dean for that one). Katie and Spencer both fell asleep long before we started baking the pumpkin pies. Natalie loves to be in the kitchen, cooking, stirring, baking whatever needs to be done (except of course the dishes). After we put the pumpkin pies in the oven, I was busy cleaning up the kitchen and happened to look over and see Natalie asleep on the hardwood floor, dressed in her apron still, laying next to Molly. She made it through getting her pie in the oven, which I will say she did very good, she made this one all on her own.




My parents drove out early Thanksgiving morning to make sure to get the turkey in the oven. My sister's and I were opting this year for an already made turkey, but mom insisted we have a "real" turkey. Mom was prepping the fresh turkey getting it ready to put in the oven, when I heard Savannah yell "What is that?", it was a few small feathers, both her and I looked at each other and snurled up our noses. Mom's reply to our reaction, "Be glad you didn't have to bake a turkey in the old days, when you had to go out and get one and defeather it yourself!". Yes, I can say that is one thing I am definitely thankful for.


Mom called us all in the kitchen, because we all four sisters have complained about not being able to make a good gravy, she wanted to teach us how she makes her gravy.


We had a lot of wonderful tasting food to be thankful for!


Savannah putting the finishing touches on her deviled eggs before we sat down to eat.


Paris found my chalkboard I keep in the dining room and wrote this sweet message with a little piece of chalk.


With all the baking and cooking the house was getting a bit warm so we opened up the door on the front porch. I guess Molly could smell the food we were making and was wanting to come in, but one look at the number of people and the chaos and she quickly made herself at home on the front porch.


Little Caleb could smell all the food and was ready to eat too...


We all sat down, held hands and thanked God for all the blessings we are given. My dad was a little tearful saying the prayer, I know since my grandpa passed he has been very thankful for our family, I'm sure he was missing him this day. It was a beautiful prayer. We managed to seat eight adults, two high chairs and five children with two tables. We were certainly close this Thanksgiving dinner.
The stuffing I made didn't last long. I found a recipe for it years ago, made it one Thanksgiving, and since then it has been one of the favorites as we gather around the table.


Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

1 stick of butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
12 cups dried French bread crumbs (use French bread from the bakery, pull apart the night before, lay out on table and cover with foil so that it will dry out)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black ground pepper
1/2 cup minced FRESH parsley
1/2 tsp. of each - sage, thyme, marjoram
2 cups chicken broth
3 large eggs

(for our large family Thanksgiving dinner I double this recipe so that we have plenty for stuffing the turkey and for enough dishes for everyone to have a serving)

In skillet melt one stick of butter. Add the chopped onions and celery. Stir occasionally, until onions seem transparent.
In large bowl mix the French bread crumbs with these mixed ingredients: salt, pepper, fresh parsley, sage, thyme and marjoram.
Add chicken broth and mix well.
Add the eggs, beaten, mix well.
Place in buttered pan and cover with foil.
Bake 400 degrees for 25 minutes, then remove foil and bake an additional 15-25 minutes without foil.

It is VERY important to use FRESH PARSLEY...I used dried parsley one year and the stuffing came out green!!


My sister Savannah and her youngest, Caleb.


It was a wonderful day. We spent time with family, we baked together and laughed together. We watched the Macy's day parade with a cup of coffee. It was a day to be thankful for.
Now if I could just be thankful for the dishes.....I am thankful I have dishes to cook with, bake with, eat with......but it takes a good bit to say I am thankful for washing dishes (only when there are this many).