It's not goodbye, it's just see you later.

 Today we said a teary farewell to Umi and Gramps!

What a fun visit we had with them!

I am so thankful they came to my home and shared

Thanksgiving memories and our family traditions with us

especially since Claire will probably be leaving on her

next big adventure, and Ollie, of course, will be in Brazil.

We picked Lottie up from school early, and the boys

(who snuck out of school a bit early too)

met us a Bojangles, a southern treat.

It's chicken and buttermilk biscuits, and we had to introduce the parents

to this North Carolinian staple.

Of course, we didn't have the chicken, but we really enjoyed the biscuits!

Then we dropped them off at the airport, promising to make another

visit soon- maybe in the summer and visit the beach!

Then Christian and I went to the phone store and GOT NEW PHONES!

My phone was literally hanging to dear life.

And for posterity's sake (they may think this is cool one day)

I got the new Galaxy Z flip phone, and I really love it.

And we tried out the self-timer.

AAaamazing:

Then Christian pretended to put his new phone on his belt

because once upon a time, 

long ago in a galaxy far away, it was cool to do that.

Happy Birthday to my man!

 

Happy birthday to my one and only, my handsome Christian!

I love you so much!

Remember that one time when you turned 30, and I got you

a helicopter flying lesson?

This year, you're spending the day with your

other "ladies" in the pasture.

Just as fun, right?!

Sharp Shooters

One of the perks of living on a farm is that you can literally shoot 

guns off the porch, which is what my 

boys and Gramps did this afternoon. 

Tomorrow Umi and Grandpa leave, and I'm

feeling a little melancholy!

 

Snuggles all around.

 Tonight we watched movies back to back to back, 

including a youtube channel of people walking the cozy

streets of beautiful cities in France, Norway, Canada, 

Washington, Denmark, and Iceland.

It's so beautiful to see the cities dressed up for Christmas with

snow and decorations.  

It's memorizing, and we were all glued.

Especially Umi and Gramps, 

who snuggled it up on the same couch

together!  Classic!

Game Night

Tonight we played games, and one or more of us 

wet our pants...not mentioning any names.

Thanksgiving 2022.

 Today we celebrated our first Thanksgiving at Stillestead,

and it was glorious!

In the morning, before anyone woke up,
 I set the table and started dinner.

It was nice to get a few super-productive hours of alone time in 

before the gang got up.

I was in the kitchen most of the day cooking but had

plenty of helpers.

 Claire worked on the beautiful

hand-painted turkey place settings for the table.

Oliver and Gigs were upstairs watching football with Gramps and Umi,

Lottie split her time lingering in the kitchen with me 

and playing in her room.

Around lunch, Chrisitan made a mean charcuterie board that we grazed

until around 6:00, when we finally sat down to eat our feast.

Before sitting down, Christian said the most beautiful 

prayer thanking the Lord

for ALL our blessings. We are overflowing with blessings!

Right after Halloween, we put a jar on the kitchen table

with slips of paper nearby so that each day, we could write down

one thing we were thankful for that month.

Claire read them out loud at the table.

There were funny ones ("burritos for dinner...again") 

and lovely ones 

("Claire, because she tickled my back during scriptures").

Menu:

Citrus Beet Salad

Jane Rolls (that took me 80 hours to make)

Sweet Potato Cassarole

Herb Stuffing

Carmelized Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios

Frog Eye Salad (thanks, Ollie!)

Baked Cranberry Brie (for dipping)

I was so thankful Umi and Gramps were with us- especially since 

Oliver will be gone soon, and my family's

 dynamics are changing so much.

Right before the prayer, Jane called! It was perfect timing!  

It was like we were all together.

My heart was breaking and melting all at the same time.

The missionaries stopped by for a plate of food 

and stayed to hear Gramps talk about his father, grandfather, and other

relatives and also to embarrass them and Claire about dating and marriage.

 But this is what Thanksgiving is all about!

I served wassail and pie for dessert.  I made three kinds:

pumpkin

banana cream

chocolate cream

 and we stayed up late talking and laughing at good memories

until Gramps couldn't keep his eyes open, then Umi went in

her room and called her sister, Jani, in Utah,

and the rest of us went upstairs and watched a movie.

Correction: I cleaned up while everyone watched a movie.

Basically, I was the Thanksgiving slave.

Gobble, gobble, I'm not doing anything for the rest of the week.

Amen.