Scenes from Thanksgiving Weekend

Oh how blessed I am to have been surrounded by family all weekend! In the past the holiday chaos and amount of people would have overwhelmed me, but I’ve really been soaking it in. Just like I had planned! I did plan on bringing my good camera, but alas I left it in Minnesota, so my cellphone photos will just have to do for a week!

Thursday

was spend at my grandma on my mom’s side. We ate very well, listened to my mom and cousin tell crazy nursing stories at the table and I was able to mow down three of grandma Kathy’s famous sugar cookies before they disappeared.

I also took copious amounts of pictures of my nephew. Because he is the cutest baby I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Even cuter than the one in a puffy coat video on my SHN Favorites post.

I got to wear my new boots and I did not take them off all weekend. Dave made fun of me but I did not care!

My sisters and I decided to venture out into the dreaded Black Thursday shopping scene later on. Trust me, I am not a crazy shopper like this, but there was a request by my mom, and after three stores, we snagged the prize.

 

Friday

I chillaxed watching the Food Network and working on the blog until I decided I should probably get dressed and see the second half of the Nebraska game around 2pm. We lost horribly and our coach embarrassed us with some choice words yet again. *sigh*

I hadn’t eaten since breakfast so I was ravenous by 3pm and decided that I needed to find a burger. And fast. Dave wisely suggested Five Guys and it was the best decision I made all day. (My day wasn’t all that complicated.) The patty tasted amazing, the bacon was extra crispy and delicious, plus the green peppers, lettuce and mustard I added created the perfect fresh flavor.

My dad and I were invited to Dave’s parent’s house where his immediate family at a delicious spread of Thanksgiving leftovers.

It was so good laughing with everyone and hearing my dad talk about how his master’s program is over half-way done. Did you know that my dad decided to get his master’s degree while having a full-time job, kids (because me and my sister will never grow up 😉 ), and a grand-kid (the above noted cutest baby I’ve ever seen in my life) to take care of and being over the age of 50? He is pretty awesome.

After watching the Discovery Chanel with Dave and learning about how the Liger is in fact a real creature, weighing in at about 900 pounds, I headed home and got my bags all packed up again for the weekend where we would be heading to the farm.

Saturday

As I had done the previous two days, I slept in until 9:30am. I might be a little off my usual sleep schedule of getting up around 4:45am since we didn’t make it into Nebraska until the wee hours of Wednesday. Anyhow, I got ready as quickly as I could to jump in the truck with Dave, his dad and his sister to head west.

Three hours later, we arrived at the farm where we were greeted by a frigid farmhouse with hundreds of bugs to be vacuumed. This has become a part of the stay at the farmhouse since it doesn’t seem to be sealed up properly. After some vacuuming, I was able to hammer out an article before it was time to head to Dave’s grandparent’s house for some dinner which featured more leftovers.

 

Sunday

I made it to church Sunday and I’m glad I did. Dave’s family is Catholic and I am a Lutheran turned Interdenominational Christian (if those labels make sense to anyone), so it’s no secret I have a slightly different viewpoint on faith and have been a little resistant going to the Catholic church because of it. I just don’t like going to church to show to everyone, “Hey I went to church. Give me my gold star.” I want to go to worship my creator. The boasting and bragging about attending church each week reminds me of what Jesus told everyone NOT to do. That is what it feels like I am doing when I attend church out at the farm since it is so strongly implied that we should be attending the service. Still, this shouldn’t keep me away from church altogether.

While I don’t find the same things in a Catholic church as in an Interdenominational one, I still can take something away from each service. It also forces me to focus on God for a whole hour which is something I’ve been lacking in my life lately. This definitely set my day off on the right track.

Sunday was when Dave’s family celebrated Thanksgiving together. And let me tell you: he has a large family. There were 30+ people and that was only the families that showed up on his mom’s side. With dozens of people talking loudly all around me in their own conversations, I tend to just smile and laugh at their stories without really interjecting my own. Normally this would bother me because I’d get down on myself for not being more outgoing, but seriously I don’t think people mind being listened to.

I have to share this photograph with you guys. I went downstairs and found the younger cousins all gathered around Dave. They were looking through his work phone at pictures he had taken while working on the railroad and they were hanging on to his every word. It was absolutely precious so I bolted back upstairs to grab my phone and was able to snap a photo before they scattered. It melts my heart to see Dave with younger kids!

On the way back to the city with Dave’s mom and cousin (Dave and his dad are staying back a couple of day’s to work on the farm), I had my second McDonald’s Ranch BLT sandwich of the weekend and third McDonald’s item total. I know, scary.

I had plenty of treats this weekend, but it’s time to get lots of fruits, veggies and water back into my system! A trip to the gym might be on the schedule as well. 🙂

I am so very grateful I have family to be with on the holidays and that Dave and I were able to get time off to come back to Nebraska to visit them! When you move away it’s hard to take the time spent together for granted!

 

Tell me…

How was your Thanksgiving?

What is your favorite dessert?

What is the most recent article of clothing you can’t get enough of?

 

Linking up to:

Marvelous in my Monday with Katie at Healthy Diva Life

Week in Review with Meghan at Clean Eats, Fast Feets

Treat Yourself Tuesday with Becky at Olives n Wine

What I Ate Wednesdays with Jenn at Peas and Crayons