thankful & rested

We have finally recouped from the travels over Thanksgiving, and are still in the process of decking the house with all our Christmas fun.  T man has always enjoyed the whole week of Thanksgiving off, so we enjoyed Monday and Tuesday of last week staying in our pajamas as long as possible (while I worked), and then I was off Wednesday to enjoy the day with him, too.  The sleeping in that occurred on Wednesday was much needed.

We headed to Oxford first for him to do some hunting before we headed to Columbus, MS for the Thanksgiving holidays with the whole Carter side of the family.  It is JUST NOW turning into perfect hunting weather, which is perfect Martha-stay-at-home weather. :)

Thursday we arrived in Columbus and were greeted by his sweet sweet Aunt Diann & Uncle Mike.  They hosted this HUGE gathering and we are so thankful for their hospitality and making our time there so wonderful and relaxed.  See what I mean, huge??  Look at all these cars...

In our 3 years of marriage (and ALL of T man's life), Thanksgiving was spent with the Dudley side of the family in Scooba, MS with the same [delicious] Granny Ree food and biscuits and pie and weenie roast.  T mentioned in the car how he wondered what food we will have.  It was kind of like an unknown, but boy was it ever another delicious Mississippi feast.

Turkey, ham, ribs, potato salad, broccoli salad, sweet potato casserole, dressing, cranberry, purple hull peas (that were AMAZING), and rolls.  That you see is T's plate, so not everything pictured.  Heavier on the meat, lighter on the sides... that's my guy!

We enjoyed the chatter and laughter all day Thursday, and I had so much fun laughing at the little girl cousins (his cousins kids).  They are just hilarious!  We braided hair, shook our booties, and did the walk-up-the-legs-flip trick.  Over. And over. And over. Loved it.

Friday was another amazing day of sleeping-in and I got to finally experience Aunt Diann's "white 'lasses" also known as white molasses also known as cooked sugar and water.  But it IS delicious on her biscuits, let me tell you.

T man had craving for fried pickles while we were sitting around Friday, so we whipped up a little batch and everyone raved about them.. Thanks T and Pioneer Woman!

T's mom brought the weenie roast to Columbus since it is one of their favorite traditions, and I think all the Columbus folks enjoyed it too.  Uncle Mike started a fire without a match and called the "fire spirits" (still trying to figure that one out) and we sat around it for hours roasted hot dogs and making s'mores while the girls ran around and drove around their barbie jeep.

The wonderful and restful weekend came to a close with one last Saturday afternoon hunt in Oxford.  We grabbed up the little Gibby from the kennel (yes, we boarded the spoiled guy) and headed home.

This little guy was exhausted from his Thanksgiving trip

As I sit and reflect on the year, it's hard for me to even remember everything I'm thankful for, but I am so thankful for family and friends and the joy they bring to our lives.  I'm thankful for the abounding amount of blessings we have as a family.  I'm thankful for new life this year and what a joy that brings. I'm mostly thankful for my salvation and that I can live freely knowing Jesus and what he did for me on the cross.  Thankful.  Thankful. Thankful.