Thanks - It's For Giving.

Our Thanksgiving was low key and spent with friends and family.  The evening before, my bro-in-law and his little family came into town.  This meant I got to love on my sweet sister-in-law, my cute niece and my baby big-boy nephew.  The kids had a blast together, the hubbies were in the man cave having man fun and the mommies were upstairs baking and chatting. I seriously think the moms have more fun than the others combined, lol.

I spent the evening prepping for the holiday... I was responsible for desserts and made an apple cobbler, red velvet cake pops, a from-scratch french vanilla pound cake and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies... All of them turned out YUM! *whew*

During the prep, I enjoyed the squeals of the kids, the hollers from the men in the basement and the giggles with my sissy-in-law... It was a good time with good wine and cheap pizza :)

I got to cuddle with my baby nephew, Derrick:

I got to kiss on my niece... When she sat still long enough, lol:

Then, Thanksgiving day came and it was time for goodbyes :(  Chazity stopped by on her way to grandma's house and, for a few minutes, we had girls all over the place.  The siblings-in-law were headed to their immediate families' homes and left...  It seemed that, in a matter of minutes, the house went from bustling with the noises of family to quiet.  Munch was NOT happy about it:

Yes, I got fancy this year and ordered her a custom t-shirt from an eBay seller for $4.  She rocked it with her skinny jeans, bubble vest and riding boots.  O and that turkey bow.  Actually, we had turkey bows for all of our cousins and friends, lol.

 I actually have a tutorial BUT as I discussed here, that'll just have to sit in the craft vault until a later date.  Bleh, I hate delayed seasonal posts.

With the house clear and the kitchen finally cleaned, we rested and took our time getting ready.  I thanked God for my pricey conditioner, it made my hair turn out fab.  I got dressed and thanked God again for clothes with stretch.  WHAT?! I was preparing for several plates of goodies :)

We planned to go to another church member's house with my family then head to my parents for the annual family Christmas meeting, food and games... BUT our timing was off.  Instead, we stopped by Chazzy's grandma's and enjoyed good food, fun times and good friends:

O and red lipstick, lol:

Sidebar: IDK if I've told you about Munch's obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles (like her daddy).  The guys watched the game and Chazzy's dad, a Redskins fan, loves to pick on Munch.  They always go back and fourth.  During a commercial break, I snapped a pic of this grown-up spewing the facts of the Redskins victory over the Eagles a few weeks prior to my tiny football fan.  It was hilarious:

We also played night-time dodge ball, hide-n-seek and tag:

Other highlights were Chazzy's grandma's spiked egg nog, inside jokes, yummy bread pudding and SO MUCH MORE.  When it was time to leave, we loaded Chazzy into our car and raced to my parents'.  The smell of yummy food and signs of Christmas greeted us at the door.  Man, I know it's almost Christmas time when my mommy pulls out her decor:

The girls were so excited to play with Grandma Lisa's fancy-pants Christmas stuff (they thought baby Jesus was so cute and ripped him right out of his manger... oops?!):

Grandma Lisa always saves decorating the tree for her and Munch. This year, she had twice the help with Chazzy around.  The girls had to decide the lights' flicker effect and the bulb placement.  They took their little jobs SO seriously, lol:

Yes, my mommy was rocking her Redskin colors, lol.

They did a really good job (and didn't break the sofa to reach the top).  In the pic I took when they were done, Chazzy is the baby and Munch is the mama holding her up, lol:

We ended the night with Scrabble Slam and a discussion of plans for Christmas.  Such a fun day :)

As I write this post, I can't help but feel overwhelmed with my many blessings.  So often, I dismiss the need to say thanks.  I challenge myself (and you can join in too) to carry the thankful spirit throughout the year by telling someone you love why you're grateful for them.  Don't worry, you won't regret it.  After all, THANKS is for giving :)

Or forgiving(you like that play on words?).  Please forgive me because this post was REALLY tardy for the party, lol.