Happy Thanksgiving!

What a nice Thanksgiving! John's sister and kids came up for dinner (her hubby is a hunter, so he was off looking for his deer for the day). We had way too much food, but this mama is going to appreciate the leftovers, especially since I'm still dragging from whatever bug this is. It was nice to not have an enormous house full of company since we're still sick, but it was also nice to not be "alone" for the holiday too. Just enough company to be special, but not enough to make it stressful, know what I mean?

Last night the girls and I finished up the pies (four kinds this year; apple, plum, cherry-cranberry and pumpkin.) And when I say "girls" that includes Abrielle. John plunked her in the middle of the kitchen table between the flour canister and the Crisco and she had her very first pie-making tutorial. Can't start too young I guess! She'll be a pro by the time she's ten! It was really fun, though it did seem "wrong" to let such a new baby get floured up! Liana and Aleksa love to play with dough scraps, so they were having a ball. (Adam and Papa were off playing a game together).

I've been really intimidated about making the turkey... only tried that a few times before and it hasn't ever been very good at all. (Can you say D.R.Y.?) This year though, we put the birdie in a salt-water brine overnight, and WOW was it yummy! I'll never make it any other way again! (Thank you allrecipes.com!!) (Well, John actually made it, because I couldn't do all the lifting involved.) If you've never tried making a turkey this way, ya gotta give it a whirl - you don't even have to baste it in the roasting process! It's juices are sealed in from the salt-water soak. Easy.

We have so much to be thankful for... I hope you all found many things to thank God for too.