Family

Now that it's "Christmas season," it feels like Thanksgiving was ages ago!  It's great to have a holiday where you can just relax, hang out with family, eat lots of good food, and reflect on what you're thankful for.  :)   We did lots of the first three and a little of the last.  

One thing we realized we are both very thankful for is that we have not just one, but two great families.  We don't dread going to see our family around the holidays, but we really look forward to it. 

We're also thankful that Callie has two sets of wonderful grandparents.  She just loves her grandmas (and grandpas). It was great for her to be able to spend some time with them (and for me to be able to get a little extra sleep...thank you grandmas for getting up so early!).  We're thankful that we have such great influences for our kids in all of the grandparents, aunts, and uncles involved.  And we know that Callie is truly loved by so many people.  We are very thankful for that.  

My mother-in-law is so great at putting together beautiful tablescapes for classic family dinners (pictured above).  And I love how she plans mini history lessons so we can learn more about what we're celebrating.  It's such a great family for our children to be a part of; we can sit around the table and talk for hours.  

And I love their tradition of fondue!  Usually this is a Christmas Eve tradition, but this year we did some chocolate fondue for our turkey-day dessert...so fun!

We had a great time with my side of the family too after Thanksgiving.  It's always a crowd, which is crazy and fun at the same time.  This year we decided to do a big Czech dinner (our heritage), so we made some crazy dishes like stuffed cabbage rolls, meat and dumplings, sour kraut, and kolache for dessert. 

And we played a great game of family bingo...complete with prizes.  I realized there is absolutely no strategy involved in the game of bingo.  :)  But it is a great game for a big group!

So yes, this Thanksgiving had lots of food and family, just as we hope the next ones will be too.  :)