this was our first thanksgiving as husband and wife! because of our long and recent absence from work due to our wedding and honeymoon, we were short on vacation days and so we stayed home at thanksgiving this year. it was hard thing to do, as it’s that type of holiday that you look forward to spending with family, and of course we greatly missed our loved ones. here’s a picture from my family… i mean, thanksgiving is totally our jam! definitely made me a little sad that we weren’t with them, and same with jamie’s family!
BUT we seriously had the best time cooking together on thursday and then feasting on the fruits of our labor! i gave jamie the responsibility of grilling the turkey, and i was determined to make all the other delicious thanksgiving foods that we make at thanksgiving. and it’s funny, because i thought that making a whole thanksgiving dinner by myself [and with one oven and one regular fridge and freezer] would be stressful, but i planned ahead, and honestly [and strangely], i didn’t feel stressed at all.
the only exception to this was on tuesday, which was supposed to be my easiest cooking day. i was making pumpkin bars, which, to make a long story short, turned into pumpkin bars and several pumpkin pies… and then i had this accident, caught on camera for your personal enjoyment, haha [sorry that it’s sideways]:
yep, that’s what i get for being proud!! if jamie would have kept filming, he would have caught the oven catching fire… thankfully after a lot of baking soda, a lot of smoke, and a lot of cleaning, everyone was okay! even [most of] the desserts!…
and then the rest of the cooking went like clockwork! here’s a picture that i posted on thursday morning partway through the morning:
{caption: in case you were wondering how our thanksgiving cooking is going after the pie incident [haha], the cornbread stuffing and sweet potato casserole are going in the oven soon. the peach pie filling fruit salad and spiced apple cranberry sauce are made, i have a fresh turkey broth on the stovetop for the gravy, and jamie injected the turkey last night, stuffed it this morning, and now has it cooking on the grill. mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls will be in the works shortly, and we’ll be having pumpkin pie, apple crumble, and brown sugar cinnamon ice cream for dessert. so far no one has gotten hurt and we haven’t burned our apartment down, so i would say that things are going well.} ;)
and the other photos of our day:
{thanksgiving decor}
{jamie’s first time grilling a whole turkey! he nailed it!}
{look at that beauty!}
{our thanksgiving table!}
{YUM.}
{this plate.}
{homemade apple crumble and the famous brown sugar cinnamon ice cream from high point creamery!}
{i got the sweetest text from my employee on thanksgiving. she’s amazing, and this totally made my day. i am so thankful to have her as an employee, friend, and leader of our team! i’ve had great women [and men as well] who believed in me and helped me get where i am, so i want to pay that forward as much as i can.}
after our dinner, we cleaned up the kitchen, took a walk outside, and just relaxed the rest of thanksgiving day. it sounds corny, but it was glorious to spend an evening together and to get to bask in our new marriage. with our days being so busy, this was much needed and much appreciated.
on friday, i had to work, and jamie had the day off but busied himself with errands and cleaning the house. we had originally invited jamie’s sister hope for thanksgiving dinner, but she planned on working on thanksgiving, so a couple weeks before, we decided to invite her and some other friends for a friendsgiving on friday night. several of our friends were with family and couldn’t make it, but kyle and josh were able to come and brought one of their friends, and hope brought a friend as well. we had a blast! i’m so mad that we forgot to get photos!!!!! but i really look forward to hosting more friendsgivings [and thanksgivings!] in future years!
{our friendsgiving table. we received the most beautiful plates that say “thankful” on them as a wedding gift and really wanted to use them at our friendsgiving, but unfortunately the majority of our wedding gifts are in storage until we can get a home, so we will have to wait until next year to use them. it gives us something fun to look forward to!}
jamie and i have an incredible amount to be thankful for, every year but especially this year. God has been so good. we are so grateful for the generosity, love, and support of our family and friends… for our health and our family’s health… for a roof over our heads and a bed to sleep in at night… for our jobs that pay the bills and allow us to pursue the things that we are passionate about… for the love that we share and the joy that our marriage brings us… for the promise of a future together, and adventures and dreams and prayers together too.
i saw this quote the other day and it really hit home: “gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. it turns what we have into enough, and more. it turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. it can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – melody beattie
i believe all of that to the core, and i love how she so eloquently put it into words. being grateful actually creates all the things we want in life. as long as i am thankful, i know i will be able to find happiness.
anyway, i’m very thankful for you guys for following along on this blog, and i hope you all had a grand thanksgiving! i guess that means it’s christmastime!!!! ;) xoxo