Monday Memories – It’s Only a Memory Now

Thanksgiving 2011 has come and gone and I’m only two pounds the heavier for it.

Calvin smoked the turkey this year.  I turned around to see him with this turkey
net on his head and he said, "There's not going to be any hair in our turkey
this year."

I love this old idea.  I made little bags of it for class the day before Thanksgiving as well as to send home with
the leftovers after Thanksgiving dinner. 

I also loved this new pinterest idea.  They were not only cute, they were easy.  I used them as cupcake toppers.
I wasn't the only one using the idea.  I had to go to a couple of stores to find fudge-striped cookies.

New to the menu this year was sweet potato biscuits.  Ande was in charge of them as well as the beautiful pies.  Instead of mashed potatoes and gravy (smoked turkey doesn't make very good gravy) we had twice baked potatoes -- half of the potato skin was filled with whipped white potatoes and the other half was filled with whipped sweet potatoes.       

We had Thanksgiving at Ray and Cali's home this year.  They are wonderful hosts and their home is
comfortable and inviting.  During the traditional toast, Ray said Levin was the blessing he was
most grateful for this year.  Cali toasted "Life" and I do believe there was a Fiddler on the Roof lilt
to it as we repeated her and clinked our glasses.

Ande and Joe had friends with no family in the area and lucky for us, they joined us.  It was such a fun day visiting and meeting new people.  As we discussed current events (and the current suit against Microsoft) we talked about our first experience with the internet.  It was fun hearing everyone's stories with it.  Adam's experience was when his mother showed him from their home computer all the books that were available at the public library.  He thought, "Whoa.  This is big.  This is really big."
Little did we now then what life after google would be.

Joe and Taylor.  

Cali and Levin came home with us the day after Thanksgiving.
Calvin immediately claimed Levin as lawn help.

It was so fun to play patty cake with those plump little legs.  Levin squealed and laughed.  He learned how to
suck air and make a talking noise at the same time this weekend.  He was quite pleased with himself.
It sounded like a little boy blowing in and out on a harmonica all weekend.

Cali had originally planned to attend a scrapbook/sewing retreat the two days after
Thanksgiving, but when it was cancelled we decided to have a mini-retreat
here at our house instead.  She made some darling baby gifts.  I'm sure she'll post
them soon, so I won't steal her thunder.  Her personality is a perfect fit for sewing.
She's precise, calculated, and doesn't mind taking the time to do it right.

Calvin's birthday fell on Sunday this year.  I made chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches for him to share with his
Sunday school class.  They sang happy birthday to him and then each one told him why they appreciated him.
Their responses were sweet and sincere.  Some included:  you tell the best stories and always have a story for each principle, you are excited about the things you teach and you know a lot about them too, you make us feel
important and good about ourselves.  Ty and Michelle painted him a piece of paper in camoflauge colors with
things they appreciate about him written on crayon on the back.  Abe and Grace also wrote telling him what they appreciate about him.  One of Abe's reasons was, "You’ve always been a great disciplinarian.  You taught me how to be responsible and take accountability.  You taught me how to behave and not embarrass myself in public.  You did all this without ever coming across as preachy, and you did it without ever being too soft.  Thanks for teaching me how to be a good dad."

It was a great weekend and the perfect ending for the season of gratitude.

A few other perks that also added sweetness to the week were:

meeting my nephew and niece's triplets (yes...yes...as in three babies born all at once)
supper with a former student and friend (I ran into him at Walmart and he joined us a few nights later)
Calvin's birthday dinner in Cle Elum courtesy of Ray
seeing our kids so competent and capable (it is very satisfying seeing them as new and improved versions of us)
. . . that I made it to the bottom of the ironing basket.