Thanksgiving Thanks

We had such a fun thanksgiving that i've been trying to think how to blog about it. Normally, I like to focus on all the gratefulness my favorite holiday evokes. But this thanksgiving was not only a nice one because of all the gratitude I focused on but also because we did so many fun things.

I'm in the most stressful part of my semester. The part where I question whether I can make it til graduation. The part of the semester that has me having nightmares at night on paper's I forgot to write, or weird stuff like that. The part of the semester where I procrastinate til the last minute because I am so stressed out. It's not my favorite time. The last couple of weeks prior to thanksgiving were so busy and I felt like I was losing my mind. So, when we drove up to spend a few days at my parents house for thanksgiving, I was looking forward to disconnect as much as possible from school, and all my worries. That was going to be my thanksgiving.

My mom is an amazing cook. Neither one of us works off recipes. We just cook what comes to mind and our hands work intuitively to create yummy things. So I was looking forward to her delicious turkey. I'm not a big meat eater. I mostly unintentionally eat vegetarian type dishes for myself. But for some reason, that turkey she makes is so good. Dave also loves my mom's cooking, and looks forward to her turkey. So thanksgiving consisted of what we all do around the country. We sat down as a family and ate a scrumptious meal. Gabriel was actually quite the terror during this sit down dinner, so parts of it are a blur. After dinner, we kept up with some some traditions and played thanksgiving bingo! It was such a blast. I won twice! Everyone in my family was able to win at least a game, except for my brother, it was kind of funny.

My mom shared that she was grateful for all her children, and their better halves that love them and take good care of them. She was sure to include a little threat in her toasts, and said "You better love them, or else!" It was so cute. I love how much my mom loves all 3 of us (and treats our respective halves as her children too), and that she makes sure that all our significant others know we are her babies and they need to take care of us. I'm really grateful for both my parents this thanksgiving. Our family's journey has not always been easy at times, but that does not take anything away from how great of parents and grandparents they are. My appreciation for them has exponentially grown as I've had a child of my own. Sometimes, I'm in awe of how hard working my parents were and still are. How they always tried their hardest to provide the best for us. It's not easy to immigrate to another country, away from all your support system and essentially start over, with three little children. My parents are a true success story.

I'm so glad that we were able to drive up to their house, just an hour and a half away, and feel at home. Gabriel loves spending time there and it brings me so much comfort to see. This thanksgiving I'm especially grateful for my family. Honestly, they are a breath of fresh air for me, during this busy time in David and I's life. They are providing that support to us that we really need as we try to finish our respective careers. I think the best way to sum up my gratitude over this particular thanksgiving is this poem:

At Grandma's House

I like the taste of turkey
Any time throughout the year
But it never
seems to taste as good
As when Thanksgiving's here.

Could be it's all the trimmings
That are cooked with it to eat-
But I think it's
eating at Grandma's house
That makes it such a treat!

~Author Unknown

And here are some pictures depicting our fun times:

After the festivities were over, our only family pic!

The boys

The girls

Giving my mama some love.

This is my multi-cultural family. I love it!

Playing Thanksgiving bingo. Josselyn is the best bingo caller ever! It's hilarious.

David and I love making pies together on Thankgiving. It's our tradition.

We hope your thanksgiving was happy and full of gratitude.