The First Thanksgiving

Okay, so maybe not the first Thanksgiving, but our first Thanksgiving in our new home and our first time hosting Thanksgiving. What we thought was going to be a quiet night for just the three of us ended up as us hosting a dinner party for nine! Yes, we did know about all of the guests before I did the grocery shopping, and yes, they were all invited. :) Before I get into details, we want to apologize to all the family members we just didn't get to call on Thanksgiving. Please know that you were in our thoughts and prayers. We were just incredibly busy with our hosting responsibilities! While I admit I was a little nervous about our first venture into hosting a large group for a holiday, it was really great. One of the things we've looked forward to most about our new home is the ability to entertain; we simply didn't have the space to really do that in Redmond. We really enjoyed our evening with friends and family, and while washing dishes that night we were already planning when we could do it again! One of the big highlights of the evening for me was getting to use my grandmother's china for the first time. I have to share a photo of my table despite the fact that the photo itself didn't turn out very well; I know I didn't do anything exceptional, but I was excited about how nice the table actually looked since I've never hosted a somewhat formal dinner before. It was such a treat setting the table and thinking of G-Ma (my nickname for my grandmother) watching over me while I did it. We'll end this post with a photo of Eli's playroom...this is what it looked like after I started cleaning up and thought to grab the camera. Here's the kicker - just two little munchkins made this whole mess! Needless to say, Eli and his friend Evelyne had a fun evening!

Finally, a little gratitude...We are so very thankful for our family, immediate and extended, both those who are still with us and those who've gone home to be with the Lord, and certainly for our new little one on the way. We are so grateful for our new home, our health, our friends, our church, Ryan's job, and all of the innumerable, immeasurable blessings we enjoy. We truly have such a blessed life - thank you Lord!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!