thankful blessings

overall, yesterday went very well. i think the total count was an even 60. it worked out so well celebrating thanksgiving in the church. the kitchen was huge and had everything we needed. i arrived at 7:30am with my cousin to unlock the church. other cousins arrived shortly thereafter and by 8:15 we had 3 turkeys and 2 turkey breasts in either the ovens or nesco roasters. not long after the potatoes and dressing were made, along with other hot dishes and the salads. there were at least 8-10 of us in the kitchen and nobody bumped into one another. only the deserts had to be made ahead of time. with the multiple ovens things could be prepared that morning eliminating a lot of work that preciously had been done the day before. also the table and chairs were already set up so no moving of furniture and hauling of the table and chairs back and forth.

the rest of the clan started dribbling in around 10:30 and we all were ready to eat at 12:15.

another new tradition we started this year was started by the husband of russ' great niece who was married 2 days after russ died. jordon is the associate pastor and youth minister at the church. he asked us all to make a big circle before we ate and hold hands. he said a brief opening prayer and stated we would go around the circle and if we wanted to we could state what we were thankful for. i would say only about 10-12 of us did, but those who did, spoke so meaningful from the heart. common threads were thankfulness for the food and family present, health, new lives and of course for those that are no longer with us. another was also for remembering family traditions yet realizing that new ones needed to be started.

(russ' sister, brother, and sister-in-law)


i was not able to speak at all as the tears were streaming down my face. they were not only sad tears though for missing both my parents. some were also thankful tears for being able to be with russ' family as it somehow made me feel closer to him. russ and my mom so loved and looked forward to spending thanksgiving in galesburg with his family so i know he would have been pleased and proud that we continued to go and spend it with family.


most years we also have a theme and this year was no different. we were asked to dress up as a title of a song and people had to guess. bob wore a mask on the back of his head (2 faces have i), matt dressed up like elvis did for jailhouse rock, mark dressed in all black with a paint brush (paint it black) and i just went as myself (nancy with the laughing face - russ and i danced to it at my wedding). other good ones were "material girl", "deck the halls", "leader of the pack(ers)".

we were also able to watch the packers win by watching a delayed tape of the game on a projection screen. everyone was told not to check text messages or let on if they knew the results.



now if i can only get through christmas as easily. i'm not convinced i will as i think that will be tougher. it was my mom's favorite holiday and the group is much smaller and intimate. christmas eve was spent just with my my parents and christmas day we always get together with my sister and her family as well as my parents. there will only be 10 of us on christmas vs. the 60. guess i'm going to have to talk to my niece kristen (and greg) about adding to those numbers! LOL.