His, Mine, and Ours

This is a picture of me, Shep and the kids with his mama and daddy. His mother, Patricia (better known as Granny to my kids) grew up in south Georgia so everyone heads south for Thanksgiving.

To answer your question....yes, we cook the food ahead of time and heat it up once we all get there.....it is CRAZY!!






This is a picture of me, Shep, and the kids with my parents.

In an effort to accommodate other families traditions, my family waits to celebrate Thanksgiving til Saturday.

So, I love it when my parents come along to be with us on the road.

My mom and dad are a huge help and they provide endless laughs.




This is all of us.

(Well, minus Shep's sister and her family. That would add 8 more to the picture.
This was their year to be at their other grandparent's house.)

I hope you can see the house in the background.

It is an old sharecropper's cabin. It has 2 bedrooms, a tiny kitchen, a living area, and 1 bathroom.

This is the cabin the men go to when they hunt. It is a man's oasis. No phones. No paved roads. No matching furniture. No need to lock doors. Really. They still don't lock the doors.

Anyway, we all pile in at Thanksgiving and return thanks to the One who makes it possible for us to live. We hug necks, marvel at the growing young-uns and see how high we can load our plates. My favorite part of the day is listening for the stories that I know will be told. They are the good ones. Usually about a loved one who is gone on to glory or a family favorite about someone just being who they are. You know your family has those people in them.

That uncle, aunt, cousin, or grandparent who just says or does things you can't fathom.....


Anyway, it was 82 degrees on Thanksgiving day. We swatted flies and rode four-wheelers. We ate our fill and savored time. We caught up on every one's lives and planned ahead.

Now we are back home and already have our Christmas tree up.

It is a wonderful time of year.

It is a time of blessing, waiting, expecting, thanking, watching, giving, sharing, cooking, and loving.

I love it. All of it.