Thanksgiving and Leftovers!!!

This year we got to enjoy Thanksgiving as just the five of us again ,and I must admit that it was quiet, calm, peaceful and practically perfect in every way. The boys each got to choose a favorite vegetable, so we had turkey, sweet potato/cranberry salad (the same as last year) and then lots of vegetables including carrots, peas, and cauliflower. It was nice to have the meal be mostly vegetables. While we ate we talked about what we were thankful for including the usual topics. This year as we have been studying the Book of Mormon I was particularly thankful for being raised in a home where the Gospel was both taught and lived and want to make sure my children can say the same.

After the meal we decided to have quiet/nap time before we tackled the cleanup. Both James and I crashed pretty hard and the boys read or played quietly. It was perfect! Then, we put the desert in the oven to cook while we cleaned up. The goal was to beat the timer and we easily won. I love how quickly cleanup goes with 5 people working together. Then, we played games and ate the pear and cranberry crisp that James already blogged. It was amazing! It was indeed a great day!

After a nice calm day we decided we wanted to do something fun with others. So, we planned what we called a 'Leftover Party.' This is the easiest party to plan because you just invite people over and ask them to bring some leftovers! It was fun to see random leftover turn into a fun meal. We did have fun making broth and soup out of turkey to go with the other leftovers. Now because James couldn't help himself he put together an amazing cheese plate to go with everything and make it into a real party!

Doesn't it look amazing! Well, it was! We invited a couple of families over from church and just had a great time eating and talking and well, eating some more! And in the end we all still had leftovers to get us through the rest of the weekend! This is definitely a party we will have to throw again! So, all in all our Thanksgiving weekend has been wonderful and full of gratitude because we have so many things to be grateful for!