This Thanksgiving we had even more to be thankful for. Little Miss Esther Rose. We were able to celebrate at home this year and enjoyed sharing it with family. Five babies in the house translated to lots of hours of holding, feeding, rocking, playing and consoling and fewer hours of adult "do-whatever-you-want" time, but that's where we are and I think we were all ok with it...well, maybe the rest of the kids were a little more bored than normal, but they got to love on these little people so it was a pretty ok trade.
Besties one minute and rivaling for the same toy or cup or lap the next. These girls will have a fun cousin life ahead of them for sure!!
They're trying to catch up, and twins will make it go faster! Just kidding! They're well on their way to experiencing the "never-a-dull-moment" environment that we know as normal though!
We grabbed the camera,
threatened instructed the kids and pulled together the families to snap some quick family pictures...I used to think this was an art...now I know it is just a crap shoot...or rocket science!
This is a more adequate depiction of what really goes on...
Can't you see I'm trying to mean business?
Grandma and Grandpa with the 12 grandkids!
One would think that individual photos would be much easier...but not so with this crew! They all have beautiful natural smiles that I prefer to their cheesy smiles for the camera. I hope they'll have fond memories of photo sessions!
This one I could photograph all day...cheesy smile or not!
We also made garlic sausage...a family recipe that my parents brought with them along with the sausage press that they inherited from my great grandpa. They've made their own sausage for as long as I can remember but my kids have never helped so this was a really fun treat. And even better was the treat at the end...the sausage that we made was our Christmas gift! Thanks mom and dad!
I love tradition and things passed down through generations!
No one hesitated to get their hands messy.
The whole process was a family affair.
The expectations were minimal, Thanksgiving dinner included stuffing from a box--which would indicate that the effort was there but the execution was far from extravagant. It was lovely to have little stress and great satisfaction in a long weekend almost full of family. (We missed the west coast representation)
Happy Thanksgiving 2016!
