Happy Thanksgiving!

What a day! I'll be honest, I kind of let Christmas overshadow Thanksgiving a little bit this year, at least in my mind, but what a great Thanksgiving we had! We had Justin's brother, Josh and his friend Andy over. It was fun to add them to our little party. It's so tough to cook for 2...so 4 seemed a bit better. I was really overwhelmed just with the idea of cooking a whole feast by myself, but I'm proud to say that it turned out great and came off without a hitch! While I cooked, the guys enjoyed football, babysat Mylie, and pitched in when I called for help from the kitchen. They were such good sports about it...and Justin helped me do a ton of prepping...what a great guy..

The menu? Appetizer--Artichoke garden dip with toasted ciabatta bread

Feast-- an AMAZING Smoked Turkey (from Lon's Cookin Shack--thanks Josh!!)

Homemade cranberry sauce (that canned stuff is NASTY!)

Homemade stuffing (My mom's recipe)

Mashed potatoes & gravy

Sweet potato casserole

Smothered green beans

Raspberry Vinaigrette salad w/ craisens, apples and candied almonds

& Gerri's overnight dinner rolls

Dessert-- Apple & Pumpkin Pie (from Costco)

Banana Split Dessert

What can I say?? It was a FEAST fit for a king! :) And we had TONS of leftovers!! I was just so pleased with myself to be honest... I timed everything right... and went a little crazy... but it all turned out! Who knew!?! Mylie was asleep through most of the dinner, but she woke up at the very end...we made sure she got some sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and rolls for her FIRST Thanksgiving!

During the hubub and distractions of it all.. Mylie wasn't satisfied with her few Goldfish crackers... she needed the whole bag dumped right in her lap! She was pretty pleased with herself!

After all the dishes were done, desserts were devoured and the guys had left...we spent some time as a family. Mylie was in a particularly funny mood... just being her crazy self.. we had lots of laughs.. as did she!

All in all, it was a wonderful day. Justin even gave me a 45 min back rub!!! What a guy! We had a great time with friends and family and truly enjoyed ourselves. We have so much to be grateful for... each other... our families...the gospel...our home...our jobs...and so much more. What a wonderful holiday Thanksgiving is...a chance to pay tribute to the many blessings in our lives.

And... I have a happy baby... that's a miracle and I'm SOOO grateful for that!!! :)