On why Thankful Tuesday won't work ... and catching up

Thankful Tuesdays won't work, not because I can't get my act together to write a Thankful Tuesday blog post each week, but because it dawned on me that that's about all I can post each week. And I don't want to look back at this blog in a few years and only see Thankful Tuesday titles on all of my posts ...

So, I will still aim for posting what I'm grateful for, but probably not in that format all of the time.

In other news, we've been busy with the usual things, plus Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving recovery, and gearing up for Christmas. Here's what all of that has looked like:

Anna Kimball donned Emery's "pilgrim" dress that she wore on her first Thanksgiving. In this picture she is holding the thyme that I forgot to add to the turkey, an omission I still count as a small victory because it's just about the only thing I think I forgot to take care of for the meal!

Anna Kimball has turned very picky when it comes to food, but since nearly everything on the Thanksgiving table was laden with butter, she had no difficulty cleaning her tray.

Love this shot of the girls watching something on the computer as the adults finished up dinner. They really seem like peers and sisters here!

A rare family shot that would be "perfect" if Emery hadn't plastered her face with stickers. But then it wouldn't be real, would it? 

Somebody wanted more dessert of course ...

As promised, as soon as Thanksgiving day had passed, Emery was granted allowance to wear her Christmas clothes, accessorized by her fairy costume and shades of course.

Anna Kimball was baptized last Sunday and Grammie and Grandpa were here to watch, which made us all very happy! Anna Kimball tends to be pretty frightened by men she doesn't know, so she didn't warm up to the pastor who baptized her, but again, a small victory that she didn't wail or really even shed a tear. And Emery played the part of the precocious 2-year-old sister who stated twice during the baptism "Anna Kimball wants to be baptized."

This was another first for Anna Kimball - riding in the "driver" with Emery. Love how this shot totally personifies their temperaments. Anna Kimball = ecstatic and showing it. Emery = ecstatic but you would never know by looking at her.

Decking the house for Christmas!

This is why you should always check on your child before turning in for the night - not really to see if they're doing ok, but because you never know what hilarious sight you might encounter. (yes, there is a head under that book)

Thanksgiving antics

Learning the etiquette of dipping - "no double dips Emery!"

Riding horsie with Grandpa

Trying out seats ...

Yes, this one is just right!

Time to eat yet?

Peek-a-boo!

 Peek-a-boo again!

Thankfully Emery kept us very entertained while the turkey took longer than anticipated. Her antics were also interspersed with a few mishaps, including one broken serving platter, but I think (and hope!) we will all remember the day as one of fellowship, feasting and definitely more than enough football.

The dish I can't wait to make again, but on a weeknight?  Brussels Sprouts with Fig and Bacon - so simple, and best eaten right away, which didn't exactly happen yesterday. So all the more reason to give it another try soon!

Thankful in all things

For a long time now, I've been trying to practice the discipline of giving thanks in all things, even when circumstances don't make sense or are unpleasant. In things big and small and in between.

Well, I'm tired today and have lots of Thanksgiving tasks in front of me, plus a wiggly, whiny, 20-month who isn't as happy to just watch me cook and putter around the house as she was last year.

This morning I was holding her in the kitchen, along with a container of oats and probably a few other things and boom, there went the oats, all over the kitchen floor. My first reaction was "Ughh, what a pain! I do not feel like cleaning those up."

So I didn't, and I kept getting ready for the day ... while lo and behold Emery fell strangely silent and self-sufficient as she busied herself in the pile of oats for just enough time for me to finish getting ready and get us out the door.

So today I am reminded, again, of why we are to be thankful in all things - in part because much of the time, the things we don't feel grateful for right away, actually wind up being unexpected blessings.

Thanksgiving mishap #2 and more

(in case you were wondering, the "and more" doesn't mean there were additional mishaps) However, the second mishap occurred when I punctured a hole in the disposable roasting pan, an accident that turned into such a terrible mess I don't even need to write a note to myself to splurge on a real roasting pan next year. After spending waaay too much time yesterday cleaning the oven, there is no way I would forget.



Despite this mishap, though, the dinner turned out to be pretty delicious if I do say so myself, and the turkey thankfully tasted nothing like a pickle. I went with a brine made with orange peels, apple cider and rosemary, and while it was a huge pain in the neck to soak a 17lb bird in more than 2 gallons of brine, not having dry, flaky white meat made it worth it in the end.



Emery was our little pilgrim and behaved beautifully during dinner, despite the fact that she ate what she eats practically every other night of the week and didn't get to dip her little fingers into creamed onions, confetti brussel sprouts with bacon, sweet potato strudel, mashed potatoes and mushroom leek stuffing.





She also humored everyone at the table with one of her latest tricks, sticking out her tongue.



How will we ever be able to chide her for this when it's just so darn cute?! I suppose it won't be so cute one day, though, when it comes along with a little attitude ... so for now I'm just going to enjoy the innocence of it all.

Thanksgiving mishap #1

In the midst of making a chocolate pecan pie, I set the chocolate/butter mixture in the freezer to cool. A halfway open Ziploc bag of Emery's baby food tipped over and into the chocolate.

So, the pie is going to be a little less chocolatey, and while I debated giving Emery chocolate covered sweet potatoes for dinner tonight, I don't think they are in her future. I fear she'd never go back to the way they used to be.