Thanksgiving was definitely different this year. We've spent several Thanksgivings here in Winston now. A few were spent with friends, a couple by ourselves. This is the first time, however, that Eric's had to work on Thanksgiving. All. Stinkin. Day (6 am-7 pm. Boo). I was pretty disappointed when I found out he had to work, though I should have been expecting it. It just doesn't feel much like a holiday when you're home alone with a baby and everything is closed so you can't go anywhere.
Thankfully, I had a few friends who were in the same boat (darn hospital!) who came over to hang out with us Thanksgiving morning and watch the parade/eat cinnamon rolls. Instead of having a sad morning feeling sorry for myself and missing my husband and family, I got to enjoy time with new friends and old, visiting and laughing (and watching my kid learn to walk!). It was really nice. :-)
Then the afternoon was, of course, spent cooking. I made way way way too much food. It was really fun, though, and we all enjoyed a nice dinner when Eric finally made it home. Our dinner looked something like this:
I just got a little three pound turkey breast. I've done that the last few years, and it always turns out really moist and delicious and gives us just enough food for that day + two sets of leftovers. I kind of do my own adaptation of things, but I've generally followed the guidelines on this website and my turkey has turned out great every time (including when I've made a full-sized one).
I also made roasted maple-glazed sweet potatoes, potatoes au gratin, dressing (okay, that was just a pepperidge farm mix + some celery and onion, but still good!) and my (almost famous?) corn casserole, plus some gravy, rolls, and a chocolate pie for dessert.
Even Samuel enjoyed a little of everything! Except the pie. No pie for babies.
Anyway, it ended up being a really nice evening. I originally planned on going out Black Friday (Thursday?) shopping that night, but by the time we finished eating and cleaned up, all the stores were already well past opening. I opted to just go Friday morning with Sam-Man. It was super cold, but I actually had a lot of fun getting him out to check out the deals. People are a lot nicer on Black Friday when you have a baby too. Just in case anyone was wondering. ;-)
Anyway, 2013 has been a HUGE year and I have more to be thankful for than I can actually begin to list here, but here's the top 10 thankful list for 2013 (okay, maybe just the first 10 that come to mind)!
1. As always, I am forever thankful for Christ, for His sacrifice, for the freedom that we have in Him. I can't imagine who or where I would be without Him guiding me!
2. I'm so thankful for Eric! He has always been an amazing husband, but this year he has gone the extra mile in being there for me as I finished out my pregnancy, gave birth to our sweet boy, got up countless times in the middle of the night and dealt with learning how to be parents. Not mention him interviewing and matching for residency, finishing medical school, and starting the hardest job he'll ever have. He's been amazingly strong and supportive through all of it, and I am SO grateful that He's mine!
3. Of course I'm thankful for my sweet little Samuel. He's brought more joy to my life than I could have ever imagined! He's funny and loving and such a ham... not to mention a great sleeper! :-) I love him to pieces!
4. Our families. Even though we live far away, we've still gotten to see them a lot all things considered. I'm so grateful to have two sets of God-fearing families who are understanding of our crazy life.
5. Eric's job. It's kind of a love-hate thing, but I really am so grateful that Eric has a good job that he enjoys, even if the hours are ridiculous. And I'm so grateful that his working has allowed me to (for the most part) stay at home with Samuel this year. I'm also glad that it caused us to stay in Winston, because, even though I didn't think that's what I wanted, I can't imagine living anywhere else right now!
6. My (little) job. It's not much, but I feel like working a few hours a week has done a lot to maintain my sanity. It's really crazy how everything worked out, too - I didn't go seeking this. God just provided a job, a great preschool all in one fell swoop, reminding me that He really is in control! :-)
7. Our church (and freedom to worship there)! Calvary is not at all what we were looking for in a church when we moved here four years ago, but I'm so glad it's where we ended up! I'm grateful to have a place where we receive sound biblical teaching and encouragement and have friends to share it with.
8. Skype/Face Time/iPhone. As mentioned before, our family lives a long way away. I'm so glad we have technology that we can still see each other and they can watch our sweet boy grow!
9. Our house! Once again, buying our home was a 100% God thing. I had a long list of things I wanted in a house. Things I didn't really think we would find in Ardmore in our price range. But we found our house, and it had every.single.thing. It may be small and it's not very fancy, but I love it and I love that it's ours. (I also love that I found out after we moved that the landlady we considered signing another lease with was NUTS. Dodged a bullet there)!
10. Running/Health. I'll combine these two together. I'm so grateful to have had 26 (almost 27 - eek!) healthy years and that I've been able to run/get back in shape after having Samuel. A few minor health issues this year have reminded me that I seriously take for granted all that I'm able to do!
And I'll go ahead and add one more too... 11. Friends! Where would I have been this year without all of our sweet sweet friends, new and old? Helping after Samuel was born, encouraging us as new parents and with new jobs, watching our kid so we could have date nights, being there when we were thrilled and disappointed and dealing with so much change. We are so grateful that, even though our family is far away, we have such wonderful people to share our lives with!
Okay, this post is long enough. I'll add pictures later. Happy very belated Thanksgiving!
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