Thanksgiving in Missouri

It's the first time in a long while that we've gone anywhere for Thanksgiving, and we felt lucky that Clayton got that week off this year. Having my whole family together was great, the weather was perfect, and the food was unimaginably good. I know my mom put a lot of effort into it, but it seemed almost like all of our favorite dishes magically appeared out of thin air. I didn't really take many pictures, as I was too busy having fun. There was lots of fabulous shopping with my mom, bonfire cookouts, trips to our favorite restaurants in the area (did I mention I gained 5 pounds?), tennis, playing outside with the kids, and just hanging out with loved ones. Clayton even did a little bit of research at the hospital regarding an upcoming job, and we went to a few open houses with my parents. Exciting and very surreal. I actually found myself saying that houses 3 times the size of what we are in now will just be too small. I may be crazy. Unfortunately, Clayton threw out his back for the second vacation in a row of the year after a family basketball game, and he was miserable for the last three days and the long drive home. He is on the mend now, with big plans on how to avoid further injuries. We had a blast, but it was also so nice to return to our own tiny, drafty, wonderful home. As I stepped into the door, I had an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness come over me for the plentiful blessings which I daily enjoy. I had to stop and, once again, give thanks.