Thanksgiving '08

Such a fun day, Thanksgiving was this year! Started off the morning with my husband skipping his morning hunting excursion to stay home and get the ham in the oven and the turkey rubbed down. Football was on, however, as soon as I got out of bed I had to switch over the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to let the kiddies take a peek at all the floating splendor! ( Don't worry , the channel went back to football as soon as the guys got back into the living room. )

I got started on the rest of the dishes we were to serve and my sis - in - law arrived to help out with the cooking along with the four nieces to get in some outdoor play time with my kids.

Dad showed up shortly to prepare the deep fryers on the patio along with one of my brothers to begin trying out the jalapeno poppers ( wrapped in cheese and bacon ) that my husband had made in the morning.

(If you rub a turkey fryer just the right way, a genie pops out however this one doesn't grant wishes, he just adds one more plate to the Thanksgiving table.)

Here we've got my husband on turkey carving and brother on mashed potatoes. Put those guys to work!

Our Thanksgiving Menu ( for 21 people ):

Oven baked turkey, 2 fried turkeys, ham, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, sweet potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts with bacon and balsamic vinegar, red rice, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, stuffing, deviled eggs, jalapeno poppers, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pies, apple pies. ( Sorry! Forgot the cranberries and olives! Hope nobody starved!)

After gathering up the forgotten items needed for dinner, Mom makes it over and six friends arrive with all of the food they've prepared. Then, dinner is on!

The kid's table.A little time after the feed to rest our tummy's and take a look at the newspaper ads for sales going on for 'black Friday'.

Then it's game playing time! Horseopoly, Loaded Questions, Disney Scene It, Guess Who and several other games get under way.

Thank you to our family members and friends who made the long drive from the other side of the mountain! Thank you to our friends and family who came from the hills not so far away! Thank you for sharing your food and fellowship with us on Thanksgiving day!

"O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods." Psalm 95: 1 - 3