Giving Thanks

For thanksgiving, we went down to Florida to spend it with the family in Jacksonville. We flew down on the Saturday before and Nonni and Grandaddy rented a condo in town because the river house was full of family already. It was a great location, and had a cute little playground:

The girls got to spend lots of quality time with their grandparents and we got to spend time alone together and to see Sean's cousin William, who is like a brother to him. William and his wife, Erin have a sweet little boy who is 1 year old, and are pregnant with #2. Sunday night before thanksgiving we went to their place for dinner and ate amazing food (William is a fabulous cook), got to catch up, and I got to see their very cool house in Avondale.

Monday the grandparents took the kids to the children's museum and Sean and I got to relax and go see a movie. At the theater! (If you are not a parent of young children, this feat means nothing to you). Monday night we relaxed and ate some of Grandaddy's fabulous pork tenderloin and enjoyed being together.

Tuesday, Suzi, Sean, the girls and I went up to St. Mary's, GA to visit Suzi's sister Alyce and her daughter Jennifer and grandsons (Cooper and Cannon) in a cute little town called St. Mary's. Gillian and her second cousin Cooper seem to still be sweet on eachother, which is fine by me-we know they have a good family ;-) It was nice to see the kids enjoying the backyard and getting to know eachother-and watching Nonni bust a move on the trampoline!!! (she's still got it y'all!) We also went to a great little restaurant by golf cart (it's a small charming town, and golf carts are not unusual for getting around town)!

Tuesday evening Sean and I went out to a jam session William goes to all the time (William is a great musician, and he and Sean love playing old time music together). I even played a little guitar and banjo (William has an awesome banjo that I could play for hours!).

Wednesday, Suzi and I took the kids to Toys R' Us (or TOYZRUSS, as it were) for a little gift from the grandparents, and then we headed down to the family's river house to hang out with William, Erin, and their little son Shephard and visit with the O'Learys (Sean's dad's sister, husband, sons, and great-nephew, Connor). Lots of joking, reminiscing, and a brand new generation of young children to enjoy the peace and magic of the place (it is a wonderful place to get away and just breathe)...

Some cute pics of the cousins:

And here's one of William, Erin and  baby Shep:

And some scenes in the evening:

The girls learned to play bumper pool from their older second cousins:

After a wonderful day and evening of catching up and lots of playing, we headed back to town for a good night of sleep. The followign morning we went back down to the river for Thanksgiving festivities. Grandaddy was hard at work a couple of weeks before and created a treasure hunt for the girls. He found a map and helped them navigate!

(Navigating maps is easier with a mimosa)

Addie uses her gynormous muscles to dig the treasure up....

Swings hung for the girls to play on (clever-they added two=no fighting):

All this while our masterful hosts of the year (Mimi and Dave, below) friend two huge turkeys!

Auntie Kim got some play and snuggle time in before dinner:

And everyone got to catch up:

Then we had dinner and took some family photos. The Farm has been in desperate need of a plumbing overhaul, and at long last, it happened. That was enough reason to celebrate-WATER PRESSURE!!!! Wheeee!

As the day wound down, I was reminded of how lucky we are-we have a place where we belong-to eachother. We have a home where we can go to recharge our love batteries-together. That means something to me, having grown up in a family that wasn't close at all...so, you know I love my family. I want my girls to know where they come from, and to have the security to KNOW they are loved-to be told every day. To be kissed and hugged and adored. To be kids. I don't take this for granted.  So, we give thanks for the many ways blessings enter our life, and for all the places we find warmth in life.

Our trip ended the next day after a nice morning at the zoo, and a very tearful drop off at the airport. Addie and Gillian were beside themselves. And though it made my heart ache to see them sad, the tears came from a place of love. They love and are loved. They know where they come from, and what makes them safe. I am grateful for that.