Giving Thanks .... Again

A couple days ago we enjoyed a nice, if uneventful, Thanksgiving. No dossiers in the making, no kids waiting in the wings, no far-flung vacations (dreamt of, but never fleshed out).
Instead we cooked a traditional Turkey Day dinner for our core family of 8 plus about 5 of our relations. Two turkeys plus a chicken, Big Mama's cornbread dressing, yams, Mae's corn casserole, about 5 pies, etc, etc, (burp) etc. It was all quite yummy to be sure but, quite frankly, I don't know if 10 - 12 hours of cooking can be justified by "yummy".
What else have we done besides cook and eat? Well, we're currently in the company of James' best friend Madiyar from Mass, who flew in on Friday. They've enjoyed a few quiet days of hanging out together and speaking rapid-fire Russian. We've had a couple other friends over as well from time to time and have kept busy stringing lights, throwing away moldy caved in pumpkins, and watching the first of the Christmas movies. We've begun the process of addressing and stuffing the envelopes of our Christmas cards, which always seems to take sooo much longer than I think it will. Though a dear friend of mine told me I get the prize for being the first Christmas card she received, I'm quite sure I will be the last for someone as well.

Tomorrow I will put M back on a Massachusetts-bound plane, take a couple kids to a couple appointments, and with any luck cook up some turkey soup for dinner. Tues will begin school again and we'll be back to the grind. But as long as that grind includes Christmas, I'll be happy. Call me a sap but I love the whole sloppy mess.

But I digress from the whole point of the post, which was Thanksgiving. To wrap it all up with a pretty bow, here's what I posted about the day two years ago, when we were fresh off the boat (er, plane) from Kazakhstan:

Giving Thanks.....
... For:
the smell of turkey roasting
pumpkin pie
when one of my kids says, "You make the best (xyz) EVER!"
Rosie's turkey pictures
Christmas music on the radio
family games
watching A Christmas Story with the kids on the couch
my comfy bed
getting closer and closer to a "good night's sleep"
washing laundry in my washing machine (instead of the bottom of a shower)
drying laundry in my dryer (instead of draped over radiators)
first trip back to the farm for fresh milk
Sophie's neuroses, and her cuteness
healthy happy children
wonderful, caring, helpful extended family
friends I've met along the way
Borya
Ylia