Snow on the Pumpkin

Good morning! We awoke to a couple of inches of snow today. A "smidgen" compared to counties east of here--some with 8 or more inches of snowfall. I'd love to show you the snow-capped pumpkin on our deck that Nathan and Kristen brought over for our lively resident squirrel family to feed on. I'd love to show you that, but the memory card failed in my camera last week and we haven't replaced it yet. So you will have to use your imagination today:)

We had a wonderful family gathering on Thanksgiving. All of our family was here except our son and daughter-in-law, Ben and Lisa who live in Pittsburgh. We look forward to seeing them at Christmas! They are about four months away from becoming first-time parents to our first grand-daughter Sophia. Yes, she is already named:) I'll save the rest of her beautiful name to share with you when she is born. Ben and Lisa hosted their first Thanksgiving in their home with friends from the university that Ben attends.

At our house on Thursday were Amanda (our high school senior), Jonathan-(home from college in Milwaukee),Daniel and Jess and little Sam (from Milwaukee), Nathan and Kristen (Sun Prairie), Tim (Madison), and three of Tim's friends from Madison- Rachel (Northern Ireland), Kierstie (whose parents are missionaries in Indonesia), and Chelsea (Michigan).

Our Thanksgiving meal was in the evening, which gave plenty of time for conversations in the living room, watching movies downstairs in the family room by fireplace, and working together in the kitchen. Nathan brought his, now famous, homemade pumpkin pies. Jess made a delicious veggie bake and a spinach and strawberry salad, and her great bean dip. Kristen brought cranberry sauce and also helped with various projects in the kitchen including putting the green bean casserole together. Rachel, Kierstie and Chelsea brought delicious pumpkin bread!

Daniel was a tremendous help with carrying things for me- and saving me lots of steps. He also peeled ten pounds of potatoes with his dad. The turkey turned out tender and juicy- and we had quite a feast!:) Almost ran out of room on the island for all the serving dishes. We are thankful for our blessings.

I have to add my love and appreciation for Tim, who spent several hours getting the house ready for Thursday. We had been working with purging storage and clothing for Goodwill and he helped clear that away and make the space in our family room livable again:) Thanks Tim!! Amanda and Jonathan also helped in sprucing up the place.

This was Sam's first time joining us at the table for a meal. I had the privilege of sitting by him and enjoying his ever-expanding vocabulary. I wish I had a picture of that:)

We have been pulling out the left-overs all weekend. I love cooking for one day and not cooking for three:) But we are ready to move on--although if you have a good turkey soup recipe, let me know--I froze the turkey bones and want to try it.

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and as we prepare in this new month to celebrate our Savior coming to earth to give us eternal life-- I pray that we keep this gratitude in our hearts for our blessings, and what He did for us and does for us each day.

Merry Christmas