Well, our Thanksgiving weekend didn’t turn out quite as we expected.
Nathan and Meagan and the kids were in the North Carolina mountains on vacation with all eighteen members of Meagan’s family. Andrew got sick toward the end of the vacation so they couldn’t stop in for a visit after all–even though we had 15,372 leaves saved up for them. We will try to find a time to get together in the next few weeks.
The big news from their trip is that the kids got to see snow for the first time. A memorable Thanksgiving, indeed.
went to Fayetteville to be with his family for Thanksgiving.
Sarah made her first batch of cranberry sauce from scratch while she was there. Love that smile.
I also love how they recreated a photo of the brothers from back in the day.
Sarah fits right in with the crew.
ate Thanksgiving dinner with his brothers, Dana and Jeff, and Dana’s girlfriend, Angie. Dana and Angie hosted and Angie made an enormous feast; every bite was fabulous. It was our first big holiday without Vernie so there was definitely a mix of emotions as we adjusted as best we could to the new normal.
One thing that made me happy was to see Vernie’s familiar placemats on Dana and Angie’s table. I’ve seen those placemats on Vernie’s table for decades so it felt like a part of her was right there at the table with us.
So it was an unexpectedly quiet Thanksgiving but not without the simple joy of eating good food and connecting with family.
yesterday I took off in the car for a while and was thrilled to discover some beautiful sights just 15-20 minutes from the house.
I hope you were visited by beauty in big and small ways over these past few days.
What about you?
Did your Thanksgiving turn out the way you expected?
What kinds of beauty did you experience?
I’m so sorry you didn’t get to see Nathan and family! Sickness around the holidays especially is so hard. It looks like they were at Sugar Mtn! Did they ski at all? I know Nathan loves it and wasn’t sure if it was time for the kids to start learning. We started our kids at 7 and 3 and now they both LOVE skiing and snowboarding.
We celebrated Thanksgiving with about 30 of our family and extended family members but without my older son and his family. That was sad but we enjoyed those we got to spend time with. It sounds like you had a quiet but lovely day.
Your pictures are so lovely! Gage and his brothers are a handsome set of guys! Sarah is beautiful as always.
Enjoy your week and I hope you get to see the grands soon!
Suzanne,
You’ve got a good eye. Yes, that was Sugar! Nathan actually just wanted to have the kids see snow for 10 minutes; they didn’t have time to ski so they didn’t stick around long.
Thirty people is a lot for Thanksgiving! I can only imagine the laughter and the food–and the calories! 🙂 Hope you can see your older son and family soon.
What beautiful family pictures! The children must have been thrilled to see their first snowfall – but probably not their last.
I was also inspired by the photos you took on your “discovery” drive near your new home!
Fred and Lucy,
I love my discovery drives; so much fun!
Our Thanksgiving was pretty much as expected, but with a lot of rain (but the rain was much needed). I’m sorry the Florida Smith’s weren’t able to stop by for a visit, but how exciting for the little Smith’s to experience snow!! While I don’t miss the mess of melting snow/slush I certainly miss the quiet falling snow and the feel of fresh undisturbed snow underfoot. I’m glad you were able to have a little bit of Vernie at your Thanksgiving table – how special. I hope you and Steve have a good week.
SueEllen,
“The quiet falling of snow.” I love that description; it is so perfect in summing up the magic of snow. Hope to see some in Charlotte this winter.
Glad you got some much-needed rain!
My Thanksgiving did not turn out as planned either. I was supposed to go see my parents at the nursing home and then drive to my brother’s house. Tuesday night he called and said my sister-in-law had COVID. Thursday morning my 27-year-old nephew woke up with a fever, they didn’t test him but assumed it was COVID. My brother had it in September so hopefully he won’t get it again this soon. Thankfully she tested positive before Thanksgiving and not on Friday. If that had happened, I would have been exposed and would have had to stay away from my parents. Late in the afternoon, my friend S called. She had gone to Texas to help my friend J move. They hadn’t been able to find J’s work laptop. Fortunately, her garage door has a keypad, so I was able to go over and Facetime with them. The first box I looked in had the laptop and the big blue binder she was also missing. In their rush to get J on the road to Dallas the 17th, they had neglected to get that box back in the car after unpacking it to repack it more organized.
When I talked to my Sunday School teacher yesterday morning, they had a similar issue. Their son and family were supposed to come from Iowa. Their 13-month-old grandson was sick with ear infections and throwing up so they weren’t able to come down.
Your pictures are beautiful. The sky is such a pretty shade of blue.
Phyllis,
Wow. A lot happening in your family in just a few short days. It seems like I am hearing a lot of stories about Thanksgiving plans being changed due to sickness. So thankful you weren’t exposed to COVID and could still see your parents!
It sounds like it was a lovely dinner. The reminder of your Vernie was precious. We had sick littles in the family too so they were unable to join us but we felt so thankful to have both of our Moms at our table this year. They are getting up in age. My Christmas cactus is in full bloom and was so beautiful to enjoy this week.
Donna,
A true blessing to have both moms at your Thanksgiving table–just two more reasons to be thankful.
I wish I had a green thumb and could grow things. A Christmas cactus sounds so lovely.
Our Thanksgiving didn’t turn out as expected, as we were expecting to be camping with friends at the beach while both kids, spouses, and grandson were with in-laws. We did get to go camping, which is always fun, but our daughter’s in-laws got sick so they ended up not going to their house. They spent Thanksgiving day with friends and then drove our grandson down to spend the weekend with us at the beach. We had a great time! Glad yours was filled with family and good food. And hope Andrew is feeling better.
Gayle,
Andrew is almost fully recovered–thanks for asking. He’s still a little tired but doing so much better.
Another story of illness changing Thanksgiving plans. ‘Tis the season! Glad you all still managed to have a great time in the midst of the changes.
Gage has a large family with lots of testosterone….:D I hate you didn’t get to see the kids and grands but so glad they got to see snow… I LOVE snow!!!! We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner at my brothers. He smoked a turkey and a ham and it was so good. I am dieting so didn’t eat a lot. I can’t believe it is almost December! Seems like we just celebrated Christmas a few weeks ago… like two maybe. I am almost ready for it now. Don’t know how far you live from Concord but they have an awesome mall there… Concord Mall. Great place to Christmas shop. My hubby will be having his fourth foot surgery on Dec. 12th so our Christmas will not be too hectic this year… lots of staying home.
Kaye,
We are about 35-40 minutes from Concord. Haven’t been to the mall there yet.
I hope your husband’s foot surgery goes well and his recovery is even better. Enjoy your quiet Christmas!
You still have green around your area. Our trees are pretty gray and leafless. Our daughter was going to have Thanksgiving the night before (we were leaving on vacation in the morn), but some were not feeling good so we left without any celebration or food. Got to out first motel, husband went in and came back out – we’ve been invited to Thanksgiving dinner. That was definitely a wonderful surprise. Wonderful turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls and pie. The lady who runs this Super Eight wanted to have something special for those that had to travel during the holiday. The lady who was at the desk was the one who made it all. Next morning, waffles,small quiches, sausage and hash brown casserole. We were truly blessed and thankful for this wonderful place.
Sharyn,
What a wonderful lady at that hotel! I’ll bet she enjoyed putting that together as much as you all enjoyed eating it. And then a super breakfast on top of it? That was a memorable beginning to your journey and especially nice since you didn’t get to have the meal with your family.
What beautiful photos. Love that rock fence. Wonder how many stones it contains!
Our Thanksgiving was quiet as well, but we were surprised to have a grandson for dinner. Hadn’t seen him for probably a year (and he lives around the corner…) but had a great chat.
I will call my “beauty” turkey leftovers. I LOVE turkey sandwiches and on Friday had a turkey sandwich for breakfast, and lunch, and leftover turkey and all the fixings for dinner. It was indeed beautiful to my palate.
Patti,
Yes, I did love that rock fence. It was enormous!
How lovely to have a surprise grandson come for dinner. And even lovelier to find beauty in your leftover turkey; definitely a reason to give thanks. 🙂
Beautiful photos Becky! You always manage to find the most interesting things. 🙂
How disappointing that you weren’t able to see the Floridian Smiths. The last thing you want to hear is that someone you love is sick. Our Thanksgiving was short a few people as well because my daughter was sick so she and her family didn’t come. We missed seeing them all but especially missed hugging the two grands.
LeeAnne,
I know it was disappointing not to have all the family at Thanksgiving that you were expecting, especially the two grands! Hopefully they are well and ready for lots of hugs.
Thanks for your compliment on my photos!
I have enjoyed the fall leaves for the second time this year after the snow melted. Winter seems to have come early this year and it’s been unusually cold for this time of year. Milo and I spent Thanksgiving together as I had a bad cough and didn’t want to give it to my friends, just my
luck since they were hosting this year. The following day I had my annual senior citizen doctor visit and everything looks good, I even passed the “word” test. They show you three words and then have you draw a clock that says 2 o’clock while they are talking nonstop. Then you repeat the three words. Then I found I am not contagious and he thinks I am reacting to the weather change.
Cindy,
Congrats on passing the Word test. Sounds like that would be quite challenging with someone talking so much while you’re trying to remember something. Give yourself a pat on the back!
Sorry you missed your Thanksgiving celebration; that’s a bummer. Feel better!