Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving was WONDERFUL this year! The only thing that would have made it better would to have been with extended family.  Bergen asked us when we would be meeting everyone for the feast. I think he thought it was like another ward activity. When I told him we were staying home, he asked in shock "what?! Everyone's coming to OUR house?!" I'm not sure who "everyone" is...but he was okay once he realized we'd still be having a FEAST with dessert :)

Bergen helped me make the rolls and Tally helped me cut and "wrap" them.  Here is the recipe because they were AWESOME!!!

 www.howdoesshe.com/delicious-dinner-rolls/

 After Svend got home from the turkey bowl, the kids watched the Chicago Parade. I LOVED their faces seeing the cool floats/groups. This one in starwars.   I than went shopping.... haha.  Just for about 30min...walgreens was having some good deals on toys...10 avengers figurines for $7 and 2 hard wood magnetic dressups (tangled and cinderella) for $10.  HAD TO BUY! :)

 We put a sheet over the table as a tablecloth...Brooklyn thought this was a GREAT idea :)

 We then wrote on the sheet  things we are thankful for. I then bit my tongue and let the kids embellish/decorate it.

 Tally wanted a "fancy" feast... so the girls put on their "best" clothes and got my vintage hats off the wall... :D

 Not Thanksgiving with out finger-tip olives!

 The beginning. LOVE pulling out our crystal. Not only because it's a special occasion but because these were my grandparents. I LOVE thinking of them :)

 Fancy Tubbas

 All ready to eat. Brooklyn had her "feast" a little earlier...and went down for a nap just as our feast began. PRetty great timing actually!

 Lining up in the kitchen. It was SOOO nice having Svend home!

 After the feast, we put on Madagascar 3, which we rented, and SVend and I promptly passed out on the couch.  Then, the kids played upstairs...they soon came down as zombies....and then vampire girls.

 We took all the kids for a night "run" to get out some energy! It was going crazy in our house!!!  Then, after a few tummy aches and Brooklyn in bed we pulled out the Christmas tree/box.

 This was my favorite ornament as a kid. I snagged it from my mom's house when I was there this summer. LOVE IT!

Christmas was up fast... doesn't take long when you consolidate ALL your Christmas stuff to one 18 gallon tub!  

I'm so grateful Svend had the day off. He's had 2 surgeries today...so he's been gone most of it, but it was so nice to have him home. He helped me so much and I have to say this was probably my least stressful Thanksgiving in a LONG time.  I'm thankful for our marriage of nearly 10 years. We are getting old! AHH!  I"m thankful for our 4 beautiful children. They bring so much into our lives and it would be dull and boring without them....well...maybe we'd go on fun trips overseas or something instead. haha. But seriously, best blessing ever to have these 4 kids in our family.  I'm grateful for Svend's residency. As hard as it has been emotionally, financially, and stressful...it has been worth it and it is something we prayed and fasted for and were blessed with. It is a blessing.  On a side note...he was unofficially offered a job here to take over a practice... I guess I'm grateful for that but not the area!  haha.   

Random things... I was thinking about the holidays when I was growing up and how at school we always did a christmas program. and it was CHRISTmas, not santa program.  Our generation..it's OUR generation that is full of arrogant unbelievers.  It's sad how much OUR generation has changed from childhood to adulthood. What was so horrible about singing christmas songs and saying a morning prayer that OUR generation decided they needed it changed for our kids?  Sad times we live it.  Grateful we know the ending :)