Thursday Thoughts (On Friday)

This is a post I usually do on Thursdays, but I was busy preparing our Thanksgiving day feast so I decided I'd leave my random thoughts for today.

*Yesterday was one of the best Thanksgivings ever!  Certainly the most relaxed one I can remember.  It was just me and my 3 children.  We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, salad, lots of gravy, and crescent rolls.  It may seem like a lot, but it was probably about half the amount of food I usually make.

*Since my son works in a grocery store, our turkey was really cheap.  All the employees got a $5.00 off coupon, so our 12 lb. turkey only cost $2.61.  Too bad it isn't that cheap all year long!

*I brined our turkey as in other years, but for some reason it was juicier and tastier than ever.

*Thanksgiving is usually a very hectic time for me.  We have about 20 people over, and I do most of the cooking.  I also have to get the house ready, move furniture, set up additional tables and seating, clean every nook and cranny...it takes days to get ready for, and by the time I sit down to eat I'm exhausted.

*This year it was just the four of us.  The only thing I did ahead of time was brine the turkey and bake a cake.  Everything else was prepared at a leisurely pace, and we sat down to eat at about 3:00pm.  The house was clean but not perfectly neat, yet that was okay.  We got up for seconds (or in the case of my son R, thirds) and talked and laughed and watched Lemonade Mouth on TV.  Then we crashed on the sofa.  It was awesome.

*We took our dog Molly for a walk around the pond behind my kid's apartment building.  The grounds here are really beautiful and well kept.  E and I were thrilled to see big fish in the pond, then we saw a family of turtles!  Big ones too, at least a couple of them were about 2 feet long.  They came up to the edge and swam around.  It was so neat!  There were cranes too, and we enjoyed seeing God's creation up close.

*My youngest son E found his older brother's costume bin.  R gets dressed up for Halloween since he works at the store.  He's been Batman, Robin, and Dr. Wylie (from the Megaman video game).  E started dressing up in his brother's costumes and had us rolling on the floor with his antics!  He is such a funny little kid. He had a blast too, watching our reactions.

*Today's plans are simple.  We're gonna go see the new Muppet Movie at a local theater at about noon, since R has to go in to work at 3:00.  After that we're gonna hang out at the apartment.

*Tomorrow's plans are even better.  We have tickets to go to Disney's Magic Kingdom to enjoy the Christmas decorations there!  My two youngest kids and myself will be having an early birthday celebration since our birthdays are all in December.  I am so excited!  I love Disney, and I love Christmas.  The two together is like having cake and pie on the same plate!!

So much to continue being thankful for.  Thank You Jesus, for the life You've given me.  It's not perfect; there are trials and turmoil and disappointments along the way, but there is also joy in the knowledge that You are with me and have blessed me beyond measure.  God is good, all the time!