Giving Thanks!

We had a full week of Thanksgiving celebrations. Meredith and Derek invited us to an early turkey traditional meal on Sunday evening. Michael and Olivia joined us for dinner at Maggiano's on Tuesday night. Who knew that Maggiano's would have a slew of gluten-free options for Michael? We visited about Mark and Anne's wedding and other life happenings. On Thursday, Mark and Anne, who had just returned from their honeymoon in Bora Bora (color all us jealous), and Steve's mom joined Steve and I at our house. Stories of the wedding and honeymoon were the focal point of the conversation, much to the delight of Steve, Kay, and me. We watched the Cowboys win and were even grateful for THAT.

Dinner was . . . well . . . bland. I tried. The red mashed potatoes were yummy when I first made them, but seemed dry after reheating. The sweet potatoes, plain. (I thought that cooking them ahead of time, then slicing them, putting them in a dish with some butter and brown sugar would make them tasty.) The stuffed pork was good, but we forgot to pass around the apricot glaze I had prepared to go with it. I don't cook for groups often enough to be effective, but I tried. Anne had made, from scratch, two yummy pies -- a pumpkin and pecan.

We have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving: abundance, certainly; the 3 M's and their spouses; grandchildren; Kay and my parents; a job that is rewarding and challenging; people who care about us. God is good!