this is how we do {thanksgiving}.

i love thanksgiving.

on one hand, i wish we expressed our gratitude readily all year round, but on the other, it *is* quite nice to set aside a day to truly count our blessings.

we usually spend ours with the hubs' family, but this year, we didn't plan our trip because we thought we might either be in korea or that we'd already be home and adjusting with a new toddler. we all know how that turned out...and, as hard as it was *still* not knowing anything about our status, we had a wonderful time celebrating thanksgiving with our family and friends.

here are some of my favorite thanksgiving things:

the cooking:
at our family celebrations, the men are largely in charge of cooking. it's nice. :) i'm trying to have my dad train the hubs. part of the training -- the hubs working on picking some fresh thyme. little leaf by little leaf.


dad shows peter how to care for the bird:


the family time:
the boys being...well, boys. ;)


spending time with our grandpa, who suffers from alzheimer's and was able to join us this year


the spread:




the blessing:


the carving:


the silliness:

(i always wonder what my grandpa is thinking when we get all weird, which happens quite a bit.)

the dessert:

macarons and pumpkin cheesecake from the financier patisserie in new york and the pioneer woman's blackberry cobbler. yum!

and, the not-really-funny-antics-that-for-some-reason-only-family-finds-hilarious...like trying to teach your uncle sam (uh-huh, i have an uncle sam) about flattering camera angles and not leaving too much head room:


and failing:


and just because it's funny that keeps happening, here is a special holiday edition of US*weekly's "who wore it best?":

don't really answer that question, okay?

from our family to yours, we hope your thanksgiving was lovely and that your holiday season will be merry and bright...


"give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever."
~1 chronicles 16:34