Thankful

So this year I'm hosting Thanksgiving.  Now it's only me, my husband, my son, my brother, and my mother-in-law.  So, it's nothing too crazy.  But, I planned the menu and have started baking.  Yesterday I made a Pumpkin Cheesecake from a recipe I found on a college friend's blog.  It's now sitting in the fridge waiting to be eaten.  Today, I'm making some dinner rolls that I call Butterhorns that I found here.  Then, I'm heading to the Costco to get a brisket to put in the crockpot   My husband will smoke the brisket for a couple hours and I'll finish it in the crockpot   He'll also smoke a turkey breast.  Then, I'll make my yummy mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, and my mother-in-law is bringing sweet potatoes.  I decided not to make stuffing or cranberries.  Oh, I even made a pumpkin french toast casserole to put in the oven in the morning.

This year has definitely been one to be thankful for.  It's hard to be believe that this time last year, we were waiting to meet Little Bear.  I'm so thankful for him and the joy that he has brought to our lives.  I'm thankful for our family's health, home, food, good jobs, extended family, friends, a good church, our marriage, and so much more.  I tend to complain about what I don't have, but yet what I do have far outweighs what I don't have.

Now that we have Little Bear, I want to start some family traditions for Thanksgiving.  I want to make a special breakfast (I hope the french toast casserole turns out), I want to have certain things for the main meal, and I want to have some special activities.  One of the main activities we do is actually the day after Thanksgiving.  We go look for our Christmas tree.  We go to an actual Christmas tree farm and walk around fields of trees searching for the perfect one.  Then Mark chops it down himself.  Last year I was 2 days shy of being 40 weeks pregnant when we looked for our tree.  This year, we get to have Little Bear with us to pick out the perfect one.  Since he loves being outdoors, I think he'll really enjoy looking for a tree.  I'm just curious how he'll do with the tree once it's in the house and decorated.

What are your family traditions?

Here are a few pics of what Little Bear has been up to lately.  Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

First time on the carousel

walking at the playground - he cries every time we leave

lunch date with mom at Chick-Fil-A

pumpkin cheesecake - I plan on hiding the cracks with whipped topping

Yummy butterhorns (dinner rolls)

Little Bear points out what he wants for his birthday or Christmas

hangin' out with the dolphin

such a big boy riding the dolphin by himself

playing with Daddy's shoes and cap

fun with Dad's cap at dinner

"walking" in Daddy's shoes