So Much to Give Thanks For

11.27.2017

We had such a lovely Thanksgiving weekend, and there is so much to give thanks for! I know that so many people have a hard time over the holidays because being with their family is stressful and not very fun, and I won't pretend like my family doesn't have our share of fights and stressful times, but overall I truly love when all of us are together, and I don't take it for granted. Jordan and I are both so blessed to have parents who have been married for 30+ years and grandparents who were married for 50+! God has been good to our family.
This year we hosted the 7th annual turkey trot in my parents' neighborhood! Seven years ago we held the first race with less than 200 runners, and this year we had just under 1,000 people register and another sellout! We have a 1-mile fun run/walk and a 5k run/walk. We get shirts, medals, timing chips, and it's crazy that this is the 7th year in a row to do it. All the proceeds benefit a local nonprofit, Dare to Serve

We all get up extra early on Thanksgiving morning (like 5:30) to get everything ready, and it's all over by 9:30. After that we head back to the house to start preparing for our Thanksgiving meal! My aunt and uncle live just up the street from my parents, and my aunt is the best hostess and always has everything decorated so cute!

It used to be really stressful for my mom and aunt to make an entire Thanksgiving meal for 20+ people, but a few years ago we started delegating items to each person/couple, so now everyone brings something and it's the most delicious potluck.
My grandparents, aunt, and cousin drove down from Illinois, and we had a mini birthday celebration for those who have November birthdays. My mom got these cute turkey cakeballs!
J wore a onesie that said "Gobble til you wobble," and that's exactly what we did. On Friday, Jordan and I drove with R and J to Babe's Chicken House (SO YUMMY IF YOU ARE EVER IN TEXAS EAT THERE) to meet up with a friend of mine who lives in California but was in Dallas visiting family for Thanksgiving. We have been friends since middle school, and it was so fun to see her.

R and J slept pretty much atrociously at my parents' house, and I might have had a bit of a meltdown at one point because I. was. so. tired. I know it's just a phase, but that is of little comfort to me right now. Sleep, where are you? The Risen Motherhood girls were doing an Instagram live video and answering some questions a week or so ago, and one of the questions I saw was someone asking: How do I keep being a nice person when I'm so tired? That made me LOL because YES. Sometimes I feel like I am killing it at life, and sometimes I am definitely not. But I suppose that's what it feels like to be normal! ha.

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. There is really so much to be thankful for, and even though of course we should be thankful all year round, it is nice to have a small break and a chance to really focus on it. 

This time last year, J was just a tiny bean inside me, and we were only just announcing my pregnancy to people. We didn't know who he was, and now he's here and the best addition to our family!


p.s. Read last year's Thanksgiving post here. At the end I link to a video I made from behind the scenes at the turkey trot if you're interested! Also, in that first photo at the top of this post, J is wearing the same hat that R wore last year
Katie @ Live Half Full said...

So what was the advice on being nice when you're tired? Because I need it too.

The Lady Okie said...

Well they never ended up answering that one. The questions were coming in so fast. But I wanted to shout AMEN, SISTER! lol

Jen said...

What a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! How amazing that the Turkey Trot has been such a huge success!

Maureen @ Maureen Gets Real said...

I love that you guys host a Turkey Trot! Maybe it'll get big enough and have to move to a different location (that happened to the one I grew up doing). Turkey Trots that benefit local charities are great reminders of how fortunate we are during the holiday season.

The Girl who Loved to Write said...

These pictures are so good! And did we get an answer about how to be nice to people when we're tired? Because I transitioned Jack to a toddler bed this week and IT IS NOT GOING WELL and everyone around me is catching the tired wrath.

Robyn B said...

how is J already that big?!?! seriously. those turkey cake balls are so adorable!

Unknown said...

What! You host that! That's incredible and SO fun!! Great job getting all that done. my kids don't sleep well not at home. It makes trips very stressful.

Maria said...

Such a fun tradition with the Turkey Trot! R and J will have such cool memories of that as kids.

I'm sorry sleep isn't going super well! If it makes you feel any better, we were up every.single.hour last night for my otherwise, perfect sleeper. Tis the season, huh? N will have two weeks in VA where we'll need to adjust for time zones and new sleeping areas. I'm tired thinking about it. At least there will be family around so I can nap. I hope.

Potluck Thanksgivings are the best! They take away so much of the cooking stress. I cooked a huge homemade meal on Thanksgiving day (while SUPER sick...ugh) and it was a huge undertaking. I say I won't do it again next year, but I always end up doing it. When N gets older we'll try to fly home for the holiday.

R's crinkled nose!

Unknown said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving minus the no sleep! We haven't been sleeping well at our house this week either. J has gotten so big! Time just flies! Have a great week!

Audrey Louise said...

I am not a nice human when I lack sleep or food or quiet time. (That's probably why I'm not a mom yet. Lol.) The table settings are SO adorable! And I love the little turkey cakeballs! What a fun weekend!

Amie said...

Bowen slept horribly over the holiday also..worst ever!! haha Back to normal now though thanks goodness! What a great success with the Turkey Trot!! J has gotten so big, wow that seems fast!

Torrie said...

That's so cool you guys host that run! I was thinking this year that I really need to start an exercise tradition in the morning so I don't feel so huge all day, ha ha.

Bethany Carson said...

That is so neat that you host the turkey trot! My family has run in one the past two Thanksgiving mornings. I ran last year, but this year I ended up taking pictures for the paper. Awesome that you guys go with a potluck as well. We do that at our family reunion and it saves a lot of work.

Carolann Chambers said...

I'm so glad you had a great Thanksgiving! Even though I couldn't be with my family, we had a great time with our military family in Hawaii. I think that the best Thanksgivings are potlucks because it's not too much pressure on any one person!

Carolann Chambers said...

I'm so glad you had a great Thanksgiving! Even though I couldn't be with my family, we had a great time with our military family in Hawaii. I think that the best Thanksgivings are potlucks because it's not too much pressure on any one person!

Rach said...

So much to be thankful for, indeed! So glad you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving together! And so awesome that the Turkey Trot continues to be such a hit! :)

・ DESIGNED BY ECLAIR DESIGNS