For the past 3 years now we have had my oldest brother, Chris and his growing family over to my mom's for Thanksgiving. I really enjoy having everyone together. It is fun especially since there are kids running around now. Of course we have Havah (2 1/2) and Josiah (17 months) but he has 2 step daughters, Renae (15) and Andie (12) and his son Perrin (2). So we have a lot of fun with everyone. This year a friend of mine let me borrow the game corn hole. I call it bean bag toss. After eating we waddled outside to play. I think the whole family got in on the action and at times we even had extra obstacles of trying not to hit the little ones with the bean bags.
Perrin, Havah, my mom and Renae playing in the leaves
Pile on Granddaddy in the hammock
Josiah didn't like the leaves very much
My brother's and I playing corn hole
The little ones, Perrin, Josiah and Havah
Perrin, Andie, Josiah, Havah and Renae
My youngest brother, Preston is venturing into rock climbing and the "outdoor" sports. So I guess that means you need a hammock. He thought it would be a good idea to set it up outside while everyone played. It turned into a game of how many kids can you fit in the hammock. They loved it though.
Burnon, my middle brother, is very competitive to say the least. I have to admit, I am too but when I am around him it heightens the intensity. We played against each other in corn hole and he KILLED me. If I wasn't pregnant I am sure we would have come up with some crazy alternative game that I would have had to win in order to stop. But since I am with child I thought I should use wisdom and refrain. So I just conceded my loss and acted like it never happen (and secretly blamed Chris because he was my teammate.) haha
My mom and I have made it a tradition to go Black Friday shopping at the Galleria in Birmingham. When we first started this tradition she would make me cut coupons and wake me up at ungodly hours to get good deals. A few years ago the roles reversed and I was the one waking her up. This year, we didn't have any specific needs to shop for nor did we have any desire to wake up before the sun came up. But this year was probably one of my fondest. I think it goes back to not having any obligation. We just casually got up, ate breakfast at a wonderful German cafe, and moseyed on to the mall. We did find some great deals and I got some of my Christmas shopping done but mostly we just enjoyed each other's company. We laughed about how we had to pee every 30 minutes, I gained wisdom from her about the kids and we shared our joys and concerns. It was so nice. I love my mom.
That day ended with me going to urgent care because I had a sinus infection. I hadn't felt well for about a week but I had all I could handle when the right side of my face hurt to touch and my teeth felt like they were about to fall out. So I welcomed the two cheekfulls of pain and felt much better the next morning.
The next day was the Iron Bowl. Around here that is just as important as any other holiday. :) So we went to a friend of the family's house and he cooked BBQ ribs, wings, baked beans, cheese dip and peach cobbler. Yummy! He has 3 grandkids and another on the way so he has an awesome swing set in his backyard that the kids loved. Ended the day with a huge Alabama win of 49-0, two exhausted kids and two parents ready to get back to some normalcy.
Overall it was an awesome Thanksgiving. Maybe I am just getting older but I am learning the value of my family now more than ever. We are all very different but wouldn't be the same without each other. I am just thankful that I am able to share that with my kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment