Thanksgiving Weekend

"'Tis the gift to be simple, 

'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down 

where you ought to be,

And when we find ourselves

 in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley 

of love and delight."

-18th century Shaker song

Wednesday, we went and saw Frozen, partly to bring in the holiday and partly to celebrate Sabrina's official birthday. We loved it! We loved it because it took place in Scandinavia. The place where we are from. It's about time Disney produce a Nordic princess! We loved the humor, particularly that pointed at little things like lutefisk and glog. We were perhaps the only ones in the room who could appreciate such humor. 

We woke up Thursday morning and watched the parade and the dog show of course, while I made a chocolate pie. I can only cook pies of the graham cracker crust variety. The kids cheered on their favorite dogs as we eagerly anticipated which feline would win Best In Show. I'm not a dog lover, but I can't help but die over the cuteness of the Toy Dog category. Those perfectly coiffed tiny puffballs toddling across the floor are almost enough to make me run out and buy a puppy, but not quite enough. 

Once the dog show was over, and I had put my roll dough in the oven to rise, we had just enough time to run over to our new house. I think it's the first time we've been over to the sight with the whole family.

This house building process has been, in a word, SLOW. But enough of my first world problems. The truth of the matter is, I can't feel anything but gratitude for these four beautiful healthy children who love each other and for this beautiful home that will one day house all of our warm family memories.

It doesn't matter how old you are, you stick a person on a massive slab of wood, and you just want to unleash your inner Gene Kelly and break out into a tap dance. Which is exactly what my kids did. Spencer schooled everyone on a little Charleston as well, as he's the pro after so many Thoroughly Modern Millie rehearsals.

This is the place we plan on living out the remainder of our years. As I look at this skeleton of a home, I can picture graduation parties and bridal showers and large family dinners and holiday parties. I can hear the little pitter patter of grandchildren's feet. I can see Neil and I growing old together here as we welcome in-laws and others into our lives. 

 One can't help but stop in a doorway or a window and strike a pose.

Enough imagining where all the walls were going to go in this house and where we're going to put all of the furniture. It was time to get home and begin the mad rush to get Thanksgiving dinner on the table.

I don't know how we managed to pull off Thanksgiving without Grandma this year, but we did it. Grandma was such a good cook and enjoyed it so much. She took on most of the cooking herself, leaving Teresa and I with the token tasks of a measly fruit salad or vegetable tray. We had to muster up what meager culinary skills we had to produce a full Thanksgiving feast this year. I coached Neil through making Grandma's legendary sweet potatoes, while rolling out homemade rolls. Teresa made Grandma's legendary clam dip as well as her regular fruit salad and some stuffing. She even made a pie...with real crust. Kudos to her. All in all it was a lovely feast, though we missed the one who filled every delicious bite with love.

While most people are braving the crowds on Black Friday, trying to win the smokin' deals, I'm sitting in Mom's living room with my sisters wrapping presents in my pajamas. Several years ago, we dubbed the day after Thanksgiving "Girls Day Of Wrapping at Mom's House". It motivates us to get our shopping done early. We sit in our comfy clothes and giggle and hash out problems as we listen to Ed Ames serenade us with a little "I Wonder As I Wander". And when we're all done, we order take out, get out the leftover pies, and giggle some more as we stuff our faces. It is honestly one of my most favorite days of the year. I come home rejuvenated after talking for ten hours straight, and the kids are thrilled with a minivan full of gifts ready to go under the Christmas tree. Sorry, I took not a single photo of this treasured tradition, because did I mention we were in our pajamas and stuffing our faces most of the time?

What with all of these presents, we better go grab a tree. That's what we did Saturday afternoon. We are one of the last of the live tree shoppers. I feel a certain kinship to the other people we see at the tree lot. I feel like we have a special connection. I feel like we understand each other as, every year, we fork over another $65.00 for a tree that we are going to take home and pray it survives the next four weeks. And here is the tree that is currently the seventh member of our family. We are that attached to this living thing that breathes and drinks within our home and produces a smell that just can't be duplicated. We love it. Bring on the Christmas Season!