Thanksgiving 2022

This was a pumpkin grown by Isaac and Jen and Oceanna in their garden this summer.  It was so cute, I made the little tag to go with it for the table.

Mama's turkey in a wreath

Thanksgiving was very quiet this year but we had a good day.  Mark smoked chicken and ribs and I baked Isaac's pumpkin with some cranberries.

There's a reason everybody makes pie with pumpkin.  It needs some sweetener!  Fortunately, Swerve makes brown sweetener so this combo of pumpkin, cranberries, the pumpkin seeds, and pecan turned out really good

 

Thanksgiving 2021

I hope you all had a beautiful keto Thanksgiving. Mark and I cooked a big turkey, made keto dressing, cranberry sauce, green beans, etc. Dessert was pecan pie cheesecake.

Some of our loved ones were sick this year, so while we didn't get to be around the table together, we did get to pack up food and share it via doorstop drop-offs. We're thankful everybody is on the mend!

Mama's turkey became part of a wreath.

 Oceanna on a Florida beach watching the sunset.

Thanksgiving Week

 I had lots of plans to cook fancy keto dishes, but it may come down to just the basics!  I've been at Petals quite a bit lately, it's so beautiful there.  

But today, I worked on our own front door. 

Betsy and Kyle and Rach came over for pizza dinner this past week.  She's almost 13!

and the Thanksgiving cactus is blooming. We are blessed 

Thanksgiving 2019

Our second Thanksgiving without Judson.  It seems like everything is divided into before he left and after.   We will miss him forever, but we're grateful we had him as long as we did.

Another blessing we're so so grateful for--Isaac and Jennifer are expecting their baby any day.  We wish they lived closer but they are living in beautiful country.  Love these pictures they sent to us.

 

From a land far far away, a favorite Thanksgiving memory.

This table wasn't thanksgiving but it looks like it could have been--it was in October, just two years ago.  We had a wonderful time that day, it  made my heart so happy to have both Judson and Isaac there, Betsy and Kyle and Rachel, Mama and PJ and Jeff, Laura and Charles.   It wasn't long after this that Patti's burned.  They just reopened in their new building.

This year's Thanksgiving table, the first in this new house. 

Some things don't change.  Skye still loves turkey and she knows there's a good chance V will give her another bite.

 

This year's turkey, cooked in the Nesco. 

 First time ever the cheesecake didn't crack.  Must be the new oven.

Three different mini-cupcakes.  Kyle was impressed they were all keto.  Of course :)

Kyle built a 3D dinosaur puzzle.  I didn't get Betsy's picture, but she read some of their favorite books from way back when--the Alexander books--both the Very Bad Terrible Day and Used to Be Rich Last Sunday, If you Give a Moose a Muffin, and Round Robin.

And just like that, Thanksgiving 2019 is another memory. 
Hug your peeps real tight.

Happy Thanksgiving!

No, this pic above wasn't from yesterday, but doesn't it look like a Thanksgiving picture?!?  This was from October when we met all our peeps at Patti's.  I loved having everybody there together--my Michigan family, my Madisonville family, both my sons, my beautiful daughter in law and my amazing grandchildren.  I do feel so truly blessed to have had that chance for us to all be together.

So yesterday was a bit of a smaller celebration, but we're still beyond blessed and it was a great day.

Mark got up before sunrise to start the smoker.  We agreed this was the best bird ever!

We had a lovely keto meal--turkey, cauli-mash, green beans, deviled eggs, pumpkin "pie", chocolate pecan pie keto-style.  I have thought over and over to myself, I am so thankful we're not worried about fat pants or diabetes anymore.

We missed Judson and his family yesterday.  They're in the process of moving and Kyle was sick :/  So we'll have another Thanksgiving celebration next week.  Mark is thinking ribs for the smoker for that one!  I'm loving that smoker. . .

It's been wonderful having Isaac home lately.  Skye is pretty happy about him being here too :)

Thanksgiving

We never take enough pictures of all of us together!  We had a wonderful time and wonderful food.

This was my plate--ham & turkey, cauliflower fajita stir fry, green beans, squash & mushrooms in butter, deviled eggs, and cranberry sauce.  More carbs than I've eaten all together in a while, but they're all from vegetables & the cranberry fruit so it was a perfect plate.  Judson cooked the traditional dishes too, but he was so careful to make sure we had options that would work for all of us.  He even looked up carb counts and kept track for us.  I felt loved :)

The pecan pie recipe needs tweaking.  It was a little overbaked and maybe that was the issue, but I think I'll try again for Christmas and make some changes.  Less crust.  More filling!  The cheesecake was good--it's one I've shared before.  The trivet was mammy's.  She said to always keep it by the stove.  She would have liked this Thanksgiving dinner.  She would have marveled at the dishwasher but would not have understood why I wasn't having cornbread dressing. 

Rachel had their tree up.  She and Mark placed the new lazer lights on the front of the house.  We played apples to apples and went bowling.  It was a great Thanksgiving together. 

So now it's time to get ready for Christmas!

Thanksgiving Door

Happy Thanksgiving

Judson, Charles, Isaac, Crafton

It's been a very nice Thanksgiving.  Can't remember when these four brothers were together last!?!

HaPpY tHaNkSgIvInG!

Mama's turkey joined the thanksgiving table--not as the main course, but as a character to make you smile.  I love his beak and his feet!  

We are missing missing missing our Isaac and Judson and Rachel and Betsy & Kyle today, but we're looking forward to seeing them all in just a few weeks for Christmas.

It is a pretty nice day for Thanksgiving--gray, but not too cold.  Mark is cooking the turkey.  I made cranberry holiday jello salad last night--the one with apples, oranges, pecans.  V and I love it. 

And this pumpkin pie looks pretty good.  Still have to make the whipped cream-cream cheese topping for it.  Warren and I like the pie, but I bet V and Mark will want a bite of the topping :)

I have a jillion reasons to be thankful on this day.  Myself, my family and loved ones healthy and happy.  Wonderful friends, a job, a home, all this food . . . Thank You.

More From the Party

Design Master is a line of spray paint that comes in a bunch of different types and colors.  Their website is full of ideas for having your own painting party!  Once you get going, it's hard to stop--you'll be looking around to see what else you can find to paint :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Here's  a picture,  taken from Rachel's facebook page, of our Betsy.  Love her flowers on the table in the background. We have so many many blessings to count today. And of course, Betsy and her little brother Kyle  are at the top of our list.   Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  And may you have flowers on your table too.

Happy Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year. I'm up early to start baking pies--apple and pumpkin. We have a nice Amish turkey for the Nesco. And Isaac is here! We haven't seen him yet, but he's in town. After we eat and wash the dishes, I'm going to start reading that new Wally Lamb book. And no TV news about the economy today!

November Pumpkin

Happy Thanksgiving

Lilla's so happy. She smells turkey!

Early Feast

This was the desert course at Lori and Todd's. Yum!

Good Thursday

We had way way too much to eat, including four deserts--apple pie, pumpkin pie, caramel pecan pie, and cherry-pineapple dump cake. I wonder why no one ate the salad? We missed Rachel and Judson something awful. The dishes are all washed. Zoe, Lucas, and Nelly are sleeping. The guys are watching football. Happy Thanksgiving.

Two Turkeys

More artwork from the boys' school years. I'll have to ask Judson who Mary McBride is. Actually, it's three turkeys this morning--the third one is cooking in the Nesco Roast-Air oven.