Counting our Blessings (2010 edition)

Blessings abound in our home this year.  We had or first Thanksgiving celebration Thursday night with our neighbor family, stretching around the pond-- and I learned how to do Thanksgiving the right way.  Delegate all of the difficult dishes (inlcuding the turkey) to other people, so all you have to do is set the table, bake the pie and boil the potatoes -- if you're really good, a neighbor will even volunteer to mash them right before dinner!  Talk about a relaxed and fun evening -- plus a great opportunity to get to know some of our "newer" neighbors.

We did have a bit of a hitch in our weekend plans when Charlie woke up Saturday morning with a blazing fever -- I should have know something was up when he slept past 8:00.  So, rather than hang the outdoor Christmas lights and drive down to James Island to tour their Christmas Light extravaganza, Jason and I alternated snuggling with Charlie to Finding Nemo and Toy Story 3 with putting up the interior Christmas decorations.  While it wasn't our most productive Saturday ever, is it absolutely terrible that we really enjoyed the opportunity to cuddle with our little man?

Ever the trouper, Charlie's fever broke at 2:00 AM -- completely unbeknownst to me!  Rockstar Daddy spent the night rotating from the sofa to the chair to floor, keeping Charlie comfortable and affirming that yes, the great big lighted object by the door was a tree...while I slept soundly in bed into the wee ours...oops!

Having finally realized that Otis and I were alone in bed around 5:30, I stumbled downstairs to find an exhausted Jason and a perfectly well and ready-to-play Charlie.  So Jason stumbled up to bed while Charlie and I played, colored, read and made stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner number two!

After church we spent the afternoon getting a headstart on our Christmas shopping, then all bundled into the car to head off to Thanksgiving dinner with our church family -- and in addition to being wonderful people, the folks at Grace can cook and bake like nobody's business...I think Jason and I are both going to regret buying new jeans yesterday...

The best part is that the Thanksgiving fun has barely even begun.  In just two days we'll take off for El Paso to spend Thanksgiving number more-two* with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Angie and Uncle Bill -- more turkey, more pie, more hugs and more fun! 

*more-two -- noun -  a cardinal number, 2 plus 1; adjective - amounting to three in number
Etmology:
     Mommy: "Look, Charlie, a bus!"
     Charlie, upon seeing a second bus directly behind it: "Two!"
     Mommy: "Good job, Baby!"
     Charlie, upon seeing a third bus directly behind the first and second: "More-two!"
     Mommy: "Charlie Bear, you are a genius!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bob & Donna

Friends & Neighbors