A Table Full of Thanks

This morning I experienced one of the great joys of motherhood: listening to my grown (and nearly-grown) children talk, laugh, bond, re-connect ... while I cooked away in the kitchen with sweet potatoes and green beans. The dogs were happy too.

Adam spent the morning cooking up a storm at church preparing for our big dinner there.

Eighteen of us sat around the table -- young and old, members and visitors, families and singles.

I decorated the long table where we served family style, as usual.

Julia loved sitting between these two littler girls, teaching them all about napkins around the neck.

My plate, loaded with goodness.

After dishes and cleaning up, and then transitioning the church decorations from Thanksgiving to Christmas (because this Sunday is the first of Advent after all!), we came home and collapsed. But before I knew it, two big boys were out in the field, starting up a conflagration --

Peter and Philip rolled that big crepe myrtle stump all the way back there and turned it over into the fire.

As twilight deepened into night, we girls watched the menfolk work.

We relaxed there and had s'mores, and then realized it was only 6:30 -- we all moaned  in disbelief because we were so tired. Now we're lounging in the living room, talking about movies. But I bet we'll be too lazy to put one in the machine and actually watch one.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. We've had a lovely day with lots of pie left over.