Our blessings

We have been busy as usual this Thanksgiving week. Scott didn't work yesterday so we had a family day, starting with swimming at the pool, then running errands around town, and finally ending up working around the house. We ended the evening by letting the kids stay up 'late' to watch Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving. They thought that was pretty great! They couldn't believe that Scott and I used to watch the same cartoon when we were little. It was one of those picturesque scenes in our living room, the family snuggled in under blankets, enjoying a show together and just enjoying being together.
This morning we again gathered in the living room for another tradition of watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Carter and Ella both slept in (in only Ella and Carter terms) but upon waking they decided to jump into bed with Scott and I! Our bed seemed pretty cozy with the 4 of us. By the end, it was a festival of squirmmy-ness and nagging of "is it time for the parade yet??" We ate some breakfast, took our showers and before we knew it Grandma and Grandpa Blackmer were at the door! Hooray! The kids were parked in front of the TV ohhh-ing and ahhh-ing over the floats. This was a huge step up from the Greenville Danish Festival Parade and Boat parade on 4th of July (Townline Lake style). Now they want to go to NYC to watch the 'best parade'. Maybe some year. We need to first be able to tackle Chicago next weekend. I will keep you posted on how that goes with three little ones.
My Thanksgiving feast for 6 1/2 went off without a hitch. I did my turkey ahead of time so everything (other than the fussy gravy) were just little details. I was like a 5 year old playing tea party. I used the good china, place mats, and fancy table cloth. Ella thought it was special that she got a water goblet. Carter even did well with the responsibility of "being gentle" with the pretty plates. All in all it was a good meal. We missed having Evan here. I told him on the phone today that we set out a bottle of his A1 sauce in honor of him. He was tickled. We can't wait to see him next weekend.

Tomorrow should be fun. Two of my best friends are coming over with their little ones. We will have 2 five year olds, a 4 year old, 2 2 1/2 year olds, an 18 month old, an 8 month old, and a three week old. Ha! and we think we are going to get a chance to catch up. What kind of miracle are we expecting??? No matter, I am looking forward to connecting with my girls. I will try to capture some of the madness in pictures. 8 kids, 3 ladies and oh yea Scott is outta here. He thinks he is going to go catch a deal or two. All this from the man who hates crowds. I guess staying home wasn't going to get him and peace and quiet either. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.