yes, it was a happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving morning we woke up to snow.



Our dear little Phoebe bravely faces another Michigan winter. But this time she has a new birdbath at her back.

Bishop acted like she didn't remember what snow was. You can see Don, Mike and little Kaeley going for a walk, getting needed fresh air after being cooped up in the house.

I wish I could bring the hydrangea inside for chandeliers above the big table. I think the candles would make them sparkle.

It felt good to get outside into the air that smells like sunlight refrigerated in earth.

To see our kids at home together for a few days warmed my heart.

Indoors, Grandma is the cuddler of choice for little Kaeley.

Games, games and more games are what my husband's family loves at holidays. Peter brought "Guitar Hero" which was a challenge and a hit. You thought playing a real guitar was hard? Try playing this video game. The expert gives tips to his dad and sister.

"Cranium" is more my speed, with word and picture challenges.



I had to draw something to make my all women team guess more quickly than the men's team. This drawing is a "place." Can you guess what/where? We won this round. Wish I'd taken a pic of the men's drawing so you could see why.


Of course Thanksgiving is not all fun and games for the people doing the preparations. For all that good food, there is work, work, work. But when we do it together, it is fun.

Lesley cleaned and polished all the silver, bless her. We have a collection passed down from my mom's and my dad's families. I love using old things that my grandparents and aunt used. Imagine, those big serving spoons in my Grandma Olive's hands! Oh I love thinking about that.

I made pies, apple and pumpkin (remember, with Don's home grown organic pumpkins).

And I arranged flowers.

Don and I did the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy and I don't know what else. And the dozen other people in our home contributed to the meal in their own ways, and they cleaned up with energy and joy.

It's all about the meal, you might think. All the days of preparation, the hours of cleaning up.

But the meal is only a symbol. Our fingers mixing the ingredients. Our hands moving the furniture around to make room for the big table. Our hands laying the white tablecloth as clean and fresh as the snow outside. The perfect tiny flowers bordering the table on the good china. The polished silver, the flowers like jewels, the white candles lighting our familiar faces more softly than usual. Why do we do this?

We do it because we love each other, because we're thankful for each other, and we don't want to forget that our closest family and friends deserve special attention and the best we can offer.