Finish This! {Thanksgiving Edition}

Join us in the weekly link up! Also, it's just a few weeks until the Year In Review link up (Dec 31)! I participated last year and am already working on my post this year! You can get more info on this on Nicole's blog! 

My favorite Thanksgiving tradition`
My little family doesn't have any Thanksgiving traditions of our own yet, but I'm hoping to start one this year. I'm going to put something in the crock pot to have for breakfast (so it's easy!) and we're going to eat breakfast as a family while watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade! We've started making the effort that for the big holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) that we are home to start the day, we may travel to visit family later in the day but we begin in our own home. I think this will be a nice family centered way to start a day of Thanksgiving!
As far as existing traditions, really my family doesn't have any "traditions" per say, but I've always loved all the women in the family gathering in the kitchen preparing the meal for that day. One of my favorite pictures is my Mom, Aunt, Me and my Great Aunt all standing in the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day. (It's not handy or I would share it with you all!) I have so many memories of times in the kitchen with these strong women and good cooks dating back to when I had to be as young as 4 or 5 years old!

My most memorable Thanksgiving was
As a child we would (usually) gather at my Grandparents (Dad's parents) house for Thanksgiving. When my Grandparents were living there would be as many as 15 to 20 gathered for dinner. My Grandparents house was a big Turn of the Century house complete with old lead pipes for plumbing. Well, this particular Thanksgiving the sewage pipes under the house decided to break. As in break in half at several joints. Of course no stores were open (closed like they should be!) for us to go buy the necessary parts to repair these pipes. So, we all spent that Thanksgiving with the men under the house repairing pipes with duct tape and what odd pipes and parts my Granda and his friend Gene had around the house while the women prepared the meal. Then, the men went to Gene's house (just around the corner) to clean up and return to eat. We sat down, had a nice meal and then they went back at it, this time with the assistance of my Mom. It wasn't the most glamorous Thanksgiving, but you know what - it sure was memorable!

My favorite Thanksgiving food or dish
I don't just love turkey, infact I just tolerate it. This is the only time of year I eat it. I enjoy ham but don't just love it. I do love making my Granny's dressing, it tastes good, but honestly not any better or different than doctored up boxed stuffing. There's just something traditional and wonderful about preparing her dressing. I also prepare for tradition sake only a cranberry relish jello thing. I honestly despise the thing. The rest of my family likes it but it was my Granny's recipe and my mom took over preparing it years ago so it sticks around.
I’m so thankful
For my little family. For my larger extended family. For a roof over my head, it may be a leaky roof with problems but I really do get that we are very, very blessed compared to so many families. I'm so grateful for my brothers who are helpful and always willing to lend a hand, to family, friends and strangers the same. I'm thankful and so incredibly grateful for the men and women serving our great nation at home and abroad who are unable to be home with their families for this holiday. We will have an empty seat for Joshua, but it's just our first holiday without him. So many have an empty seat for so much longer than we do. 

 

Join us! LISA (COASTLINED), JEN (The Arizona Russums), BECKY (The Java Mama) and NICOLE (Three 31)