thanksgiving day

Our Thanksgiving Day has been a bit different than ever before.

It's the first year ever that we haven't been with other family eating a big feast.

Instead, we'll be with Dave's family tomorrow, and my family the rest of the weekend before this baby comes.

So, today we did something new...

 Our first ever fresh cut Christmas tree!

 We'll see if this tree lasts till Christmas.  Last year we wanted to throw ours out before Christmas even got here.  And then we did end up putting it on the curb Christmas afternoon while the kids were napping.

And this evening , Papa and Nana are joing us for a tradition we started last year, our own family THANKS dinner...

mixed match dinnerware

napkins and placemats from the garage sale bin

a center piece made by the kids and Nana

but nevertheless - FANCY and memorable

and set up to surprise the kids when they wake up from nap.



Last year I went pretty fancy on the food too - some yummy steak and potatoes from Pioneer Woman cookbook.

This year we almost did prime rib, then we realized it was $50 for a rib roast.

So we got a brisket out of the freezer instead.  Cheesy potatoes, rolls, salad and pie.

I love this tradition.  I don't think it will matter if we have fancy food or just spaghetti - I hope this will always be a tradition for our family!

So today we are thankful for this sweet time together, as a family of 4.

Before we become 5.