Happy Thanksgiving!

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged on here but I wanted to do a quick post real but a longer one will be following soon. We've had a pretty full and busy day today but we are at the point now it's slowing down a little bit...and getting harder.

We woke up early and started cooking and cooked pretty much until 3:00 pm. All the food turned out good, which I'm happy about and we had a nice time just all working together! :) We all made something so there were a lot of us in the kitchen, but the time we had together was a blessing! :) Angie made rolls, mashed potatoes, and some casserole thing. Mandy made sweet potatoes and a turtle cheesecake, my Dad made two fried turkeys which were delicious but we only ate 1/2 of one! :) (I think we will be eating turkey for a LONG time) I made green bean casserole, corn casserole, this new kind of stuffing (which took forever) and then oyster dressing. So you know, I hate oysters or any sea food, but my Dad remembered my Mom making it so he wanted me to try. Those oysters looked SOOO gross! :( My Dad liked it though, so I'm happy about that. :) I think that was like everything and then my Grandparents came over and brought a pumpkin pie and lots of other goodies. :)

So we ate around 3:00 and we were all so stuff quickly. I think because we had been drinking punch and so it filled us up! After eating we cleaned up and I rocked Luke to sleep then it was time to get ready to go to meal number 2! :D Kyle, my brother, had no where to go for this Thanksgiving, so they had decided for all of us kids to just do it together. So Tara, my sister, and her boyfriend Jason, have been cooking ALL day for us! They have made TONS AND TONS of things and are actually finishing it up right now.

It's weird for me being here though, I know it shouldn't be but this is the first Thanksgiving us kids have all been together without my Mom. Last year we all did our own things. Usually on days like this (holidays) it's like I KNOW it will be hard, so I'd rather run from it. I'd rather not be with family so I don't dwell on the fact that "Wow, Mom's not here!" I know this is wrong of me and I should be thankful for the family I have left with me, and thankful that my siblings even are all together, (that doesn't happen too often) Soo...I'm trying. I escaped for just this little bit of time to come up here and blog just to get all this out.

Last year I had been thinking so much what a hard day that Thanksgiving would be and my friend said to me, "Danielle, it's not about you though. You have a new family you are with and you need to try to be a blessing to them and be thankful for what you DO have" So, I did that and last year went so well. So last night, that was my prayer again, that I could glorify God today with my actions and words and to be a blessing to my family. I didn't want to focus on my loss, but on the blessings God has given me. Guess writing this is helping me retrain my brain to do that and get out of this "slump" :D

I hope you all are having a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving!

"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18