Thanksgiving

So I missed last week's Hodgepodge.  I kept meaning to get to it, honest I did, but...

Last Wednesday we flew to my hometown for Thanksgiving.  We got there late that night and pretty much just went to bed as soon as we got to our hotel.  Thursday morning, we went to IHOP for breakfast with Dad (it's tradition!) and then headed to my sister's house for the celebration.

Scout and Sunshine had a great time playing with their cousins (there's three of them, I'll think up nicknames for them later).  There's usually a lot of underlying tension between my husband and I and my sister and brother-in-law, but this time, that wasn't the case.  The kids played and the grownups talked and it was really wonderful.

Friday we mostly relaxed, which isn't actually that easy to do with the kids bouncing off the walls.  What I knew for sure was that I wasn't going to get out into the craziness, so I waited until all the Black Friday shoppers had gone home before venturing out.  Which we eventually did--I wanted to see my grandmother (and she wanted to give me her fabric stash) and then we went to have dinner with some old friends.  And when I say "old friends" I mean I've known him since we were in kindergarten and I've known her since college and we introduced the two of them to each other.

Saturday was absolute chaos, but in the best way possible.  I'd booked my favorite photographer (someone else I've known forever) for some family photos, and I invited my sister and her family to come along.  So in a few days, we'll have pictures of all the littles together.  Usually with him, we're outside, but it was chilly and rainy, so he suggested Kansas City Union Station, which is huge and beautiful, especially this time of year.  "Give me a week," he said.  I'll give him his week, but he's known me for twenty years and he KNOWS I've been checking his website and Facebook obsessively looking for samples...

That night, we headed out to dinner with some MORE old friends of mine (back in middle school, our little group was J, M, S, and me.  S wasn't there, but J and M were and the laughter was abundant).

(Sunshine wanted to stuff some chocolate in her face...so Aunt J obliged her.)

Sunday was pretty low-key, and I was glad for that.  Monday was a travel day, and here we are chugging coffee and getting ready for a busy day of cleaning, grocery shopping and laundry.

I'm thankful for all the time with all the people we got to see this time around.  I'm thankful for the ability to travel.  I'm thankful for my kids and their cousins and for bear hugs from sisters and heart-sisters and heart-brothers.  I am thankful for the food that we have and the comforts of home and the fact that "home" seems to be wherever my family happens to be.  I'm thankful for friends who take care of my cat and my frog while we're out of town.  We're richly blessed, and I hope my kids will remember these things for a long time to come.