Thanksgiving Fun and a Beautiful Baptism

Oh, where do I even start. We have just had one whirlwind of a Thanksgiving celebration!

We left Connecticut on Tuesday at lunchtime and drove all the way to Tennessee in one shot (which means 14 straight hours of being in the car with three kids) and arrived at my parents house at 4:00 in the morning. So number 19 on my thankful list is the Portable DVD player in the van. They watched so many movies and finally fell asleep around 11:00 and slept until we got there. I really don't know what we would do without the dvd player in the van. We have been making this drive since Kellen was 6 weeks old and pretty much have it down to a science. The girls are excellent travellers and are so good...considering. But that dvd player just makes it that much better.

So, you would think that after driving all that way that we might get to sleep in, but no, the girls were up bright and early around 7:30. No rest for the weary.

Laura and Eric got there (by plane! from Arizona) on Tuesday, so we got to meet little Emory first thing on Wednesday morning. What a beautiful baby. She looks like a little exquisite doll. Perfect. Then around 11:00, Sarah and Kris got there (by truck, through the night after leaving Massachusetts at 9:00 the night before!) and gave the really good news that she is having a baby!!!!! Which is number 20 on my list...a new niece or nephew! I am so excited to have cousins for the girls. Its so fun to be the aunt and not have to put them in time out or take away privileges when they are naughty. I just get to be fun Aunt Rebecca.

On Wednesday afternoon we got to go have pictures made of the girls and Emory at the farm of our photographer. She got some of the best shots of the girls and I couldn't be any happier. Kellen had her dream come true and go to sit on her horse for some of the pictures. You can just see the glee in her face. That is number 21 on my list. Seeing my children's dreams come true. There just isn't a price for that. Its just pure happiness.

Then, Thanksgiving. Yummy food at my parents house with my mom's family for lunch and then a second helping with my dad's family next door at my Mammaw and Pappaw's house. It is always so much fun to see everyone and find out what they have been up to. I am the oldest grandchild on my dad's side and 3rd oldest on my mom's, so its amazing to see all of my younger cousins all grown up! Catching up with family that we don't see that often is number 22.

And I've got to give a shout out to my dad, who I am going to name King of the Smoker, who smoked the best turkeys, ribs and pork that anyone could ever have.

That will be number 23 on my list...Southern food. I just love a good pulled pork bbq sandwich with slaw, and a smoked turkey on Thanksgiving with sweet potato casserole and corn pudding. Yum, yum, yum.

Friday was just a day of recovery. I took a much needed nap and the girls just got to play at Granmomma and Grandaddy's house. I read a magazine cover to cover. Just doing nothing is wonderful.

On Saturday we went to Knoxville to have lunch at my Aunt Johanna's house and see my cousin Anna and her family. She has two little girls, 5 and 8 months. Jenna and Elizabeth bonded immediately. Kids are amazing that way. They don't even remember each other from the last time they were together, but played as if they had always known each other. They guys went skeet shooting that morning and had a good time, I think, sorry honey. That night it was off to my Uncle Bert's restaurant with a group of 22! I always enjoy going to eat there and Kellen and Jenna don't feel the trip is complete without eating there at least once!

Of course, I have to mention that UT/Kentucky game. What a roller-coaster! Four overtimes and they totally pulled it off. Now they are headed to the SEC championship game. I am already crossing my fingers!

Then Sunday was Emory's baptism. She was a perfect angel. After church we all headed back to my parents house to have a reception. It really was fun to catch up with everyone and to spend as much time as possible with my grandparents. My Mammaw and Pappaw and my Grandmother are next on my list. I love spending time with them and appreciate them so much. I have learned so much from each of them and hate being so far away. I am so glad that my girls are getting to know them and have their own relationships.

We got back in the van after the reception and started the drive back. We didn't go straight through on the way home. We stopped in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The girls told Kyle at my parents house that they needed to talk to him in private. They said, "We really think it would be better to stop halfway and stay in a hotel than to drive straight home." Little stinkers. I agree with them that it is hard to drive the full 14 hours in one trip, but they just like staying in hotels. So last night, at 6:30 PM we finally got back home! So if you count the sleeping time at the hotel to drive the trip in two days it actually took us 27 hours! We decided that the best thing for us to do is to try to leave before 9:00 in the morning and drive straight through, but that if we can't leave that early that we will always stop. Riley was so happy to be home. She just ran around the house looking at everything. Too funny.

Oh, by the way, at one of our many stops on the way home, Kyle took the big girls to the bathroom and while he was waiting on Jenna, he told Kellen that she was being such a good, big girl. And she replied with a sly smile, "I have my minutes." Kids say the funniest things. And that is number 25 on my list. Our girls really are good kids and they provide constant entertainment for us.

But our biggest thing to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving trip has to be that....Kyle got a new job!!!!! His current job has been a great opportunity and was a great experience, but his job is just too stressful. He works late often with weeks where he doesn't get home until after midnight every night. He feels like he is missing time with the girls and its just not worth it any more. He has been job hunting for a while now and while we were on our trip he got the call! It is such a relief and I can't wait to see more of him. Kyle is my favorite person in the world (ok, one of my four favorites!) and no one deserves to be in a better job with a better boss than my wonderful hubby. Instead of working for a Wall Street firm (which was exciting for a while) he is now going back to the corporate world of finance. Congrats, Kyle! I love you.

And last on my list is just that we are home. In our own beds. And we got back safely. You can't beat going on a fun, eventful trip, seeing your whole family, spending time with my parents and sisters and in the end being safe at home with my cozy little family.