David took Wednesday off and we spent most of the day decorating and running a few errands. I was thankful for the help with Audrey, because I was on day three with no voice. I'd been to the doctor the day before and got some prescriptions for bronchitis and laryngitis. I felt pretty okay, but sounded terrible. That evening, I made a couple of side dishes and David finished putting lights on the tree to prepare it for decorating the next night (our tradition). I sank into the couch after Audrey was in bed, reflected on all God had blessed us with since last Thanksgiving, and took a moment to whisper my thanks to Him for it.
On Thursday morning, we got up and dressed and headed over to my Mom's to have lunch with her, my brother, my sister-in-law, and my nephew. Audrey fell asleep as soon as we were pulling off of the interstate, so we drove around for about 20 minutes to let her catch a little nap. When we got to Mom's, we helped finish making/heating a few things and sat down to a huge, delicious feast that I only truly appreciated later when I had time to slowly savor the leftovers. Watching Audrey enjoy all of the new foods was really cool. I just kept thinking, "This time last year she wasn't even on solids! I was her sole source of nutrition!" Man, what a difference! Corn pudding was probably her favorite (I may be biased, though, since that was one of my contributions). She also loved the sweet potatoes, rolls, and turkey.
We cleaned up a little and went outside to enjoy the gorgeous, warm weather. We tried to take some pictures, but the wind and the sleepy kids weren't terribly cooperative. We did get in a few good shots (the album is in the gallery). We went back in for some pumpkin pie, which was another first for Audrey and, like her Mama, she loved it! We read books to the kids and hung out until about 3:30 before starting the trek home. Audrey was so exhausted that she slept the entire way back!
When we got home, we attempted a few more family pictures and played in the backyard for a little bit before it got dark. Then we headed inside to heat up some leftovers and enjoyed round #2 of that day's yummy meal. When we finished cooking and I'd typed out a quick TT post, we decorated the tree while watching the Lighting of Macy's Great Tree. Even Audrey helped by hanging a few non-breakables on the very bottom. We snuggled together, read, and said our prayers, feeling especially grateful for such a sweet day.
On Friday we woke up at a normal time like normal people and did not fear getting trampled or mauled on our way downstairs. I calmly and conveniently made a few online purchases in my pajamas (for which I still got early bird deals, applied coupon codes, and free shipping) and we hung out and decorated some more. By lunch time, though, David wanted to venture out. It cracks me up how much our personalities have switched over the years. He said we'd just "go see how bad it was" and come right back if it was crazy. So, off we went to Target on Black Friday. Ugg. Surprisingly, though, it really wasn't terrible. We got a decent parking spot and found a few great deals we couldn't say no to (an 8GB SD card for $12 and Elf on DVD for $3.99). We also bought hot dogs, buns, and chili for dinner that night. I bet we're the only people in the world who bought stuff for chili dogs at Target on Black Friday. We went home and worked on decorations (22+ boxes/rubbermaid containers and 3 trees take a loooong time) and even started wrapping some gifts. I usually have some wrapped by Halloween, so to get to Thanksgiving without having anything completely ready was ridiculous for me. I'm a freak. I know.
I ran back out late that afternoon by myself to make two returns (I figured Black Friday was the perfect time to do returns because no one else would be...I was right!) and hunt for another gift or two. An hour and a half and four stops later I called it quits and went home for time with my family and chili dogs.
We woke up Saturday morning, got ready, and drove out to David's parents' house for Thanksgiving celebration #2. His parents, two sets of aunts and uncles, cousin, paternal grandmother, and maternal grandparents were all there. I coerced his cousin into taking some family pictures of us before we ate, and she did a wonderful job. It's so hard to get a picture of all three of us smiling because A) I'm usually taking the pics and B) If I'm in it, I can't be the one getting Audrey to smile. I was desperate to get a smiling family photo for the Christmas card and, thankfully, we finally did! After going in to warm up (major temperature change between Thursday and Saturday), we sat down to a huge, yummy meal. Audrey ate just about everything we offered her, but David's Grandmother's banana pudding was by far her favorite. She kept everyone entertained by showing off her ABCs, twirling in her cute sweater dress, and even played a little on Granddad's drums. We took more pictures, packed up more food, and got back on the road around 3pm. As with Thursday, she took a pretty good nap on the ride home.
When we got to the house, we changed her into her Georgia Tech t-shirt and played, ate, and watched a little football. She went to bed exhausted and we stayed up and watched the Tech v. UGA game until after midnight. Unfortunately, we weren't rewarded for our time as they lost this year, but, there's always next year. I stayed up long after David went to bed working on our Christmas card, finally finished it, and emailed it to Camille, glad to have that checked off the list.
Sunday is kind of a blur. I think there was more decorating and cleaning up, then we went to church (and, finally, AJ did not cry about being dropped off at nursery!), then we went to small group that evening. We were definitely feeling down about David having to go back to work after being off five days in a row, but it made us look forward to Christmas even more.
So, there ya have it - Thanksgiving 2010. Lots of family, lots of food, lots of decorating, lots of fun.
Hope y'alls was great, too! Remember to check out the pics.
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