Thanksgiving 2011

This year I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time.  While I was a little nervous at first, I think I did a great job at rising to the challenge!  My Aunt Sherrie coached me and everyone brought something to contribute to the dinner.  This was the first year that one of the "kids" took over, so we will see if this is a new tradition or if the "parents" resume handling the Thanksgiving festivities next year.  

My famous apple spice cake... seriously... it's getting quite the reputation for being the only gluten-free thing people have tried and actually loved!

I also attempted (aka slaved over all afternoon) gluten free rolls.  They were not that amazing, but with a little honey cinnamon butter or gravy on top they were edible!

I know I say this far too often, but the only thing missing from Thanksgiving was Kevin.  He was so thoughtful to send this Edible Arrangement for all of us to enjoy.  We were lucky enough to be able to Skype with him right before dinner so everyone was able to say hello.

I'm so happy that my family was able to travel to be with us this year for Thanksgiving!  It really helped to keep me from dwelling on the fact that Kevin was gone, and I really had a great time visiting with everyone.

10 weeks

10 weeks... 10 weeks!  We are officially 10 weeks closer to the end of Kevin's deployment.

I am a firm believer in the fact that it is totally possible to turn a horrible day around after waking up on the wrong side of the bed.  I don't know what my issue was this morning, but I was in the worst mood.  We were able to Skype with Kevin for a few minutes after not really talking to him much the past week, and I have felt guilty all day that I wasn't in a better mood for our chat.  He's been sick and extremely busy on top of that, so I know it wasn't that he was trying to ignore us, but not being able to REALLY talk to him lately has been getting to me.  I'm sure all spouses have these moments while their better halves are deployed, but that doesn't make it ok.

After we ended our conversation and as I was driving Kerriann to school, it really started to hit me that I had no reason to be in a funk.  As of now, Kevin is safe, and that is all that I should really care about.  I am extremely thankful that he is not in a more dangerous situation, and that we are able to talk as much as we do.  I know it could be much worse.  I just need to keep this in the front of my mind as I wake up each morning, instead of being greedy and always wishing for more.

So as I drove home after dropping Kerriann off, I made a vow to be productive the rest of the day and also to be thankful for what I have.

With Christiane's help, we cleaned almost the entire house today and I did all of the grocery shopping for our big Thanksgiving feast on Thursday.  I also got to visit with my good friend, Kat, who hadn't seen Kerriann in ages.

She was so sweet and even brought her ice cream!

It was so great having her company tonight, and I really hope we can hang out again soon!

All in all, it was a great day, and I'm so glad that I had the chance to turn my day around early, instead of sulking all afternoon and evening.  I think it's important that we all take a look at what we already HAVE this week, instead of what we wish we had.  I'm so thankful for the life that I've been given, and if it came down to it I wouldn't change a thing (well... maybe except for bringing Kevin home ;)).

Weekend at Grandma's

On Friday we packed up and decided to get out of Morgantown for a few days and spend some time with my parents.  We had a nice, quiet weekend in Gassaway.  We didn't really do much, but Kerriann really enjoyed herself.  She had plenty of time to play with her toys ("my toys" as she says) and read all of the special books that she loves from MY childhood...

Take "naps" with her babies and kitty on the floor... because she doesn't actually nap on the weekends anymore... only for her teachers at school!

As I'm looking back through these photos, I'm wondering if she needed this quiet weekend more than I did.  All weekend her favorite game was finding new places to snuggle up and lay down with her babies... including our suitcase full of clothes...

and the couch for a few cartoons this morning...

We were also able to see my dad and all of the guys a few times this weekend.  Everyone comes in to go hunting the week of Thanksgiving and most of them came in on Saturday to help do some work around the farm.  We had some great meals with them and Kerriann was the life of the party, as usual!  She even got her first bloody lip... she was really one of the guys haha!

Now we are back in Morgantown and trying to prepare for Thanksgiving on Thursday.  I will be hosting (with a little help from Aunt Sherrie) at my house for the first time this year, so there is a lot to be done between now and then.  Wish me luck, and if you're in Morgantown, feel free to stop by and visit us!