Thankful

The boys and I greeted Thanksgiving morning with homemade cinnamon buns. What exactly made me believe it was a good idea to have my children play with flour, mere hours before we would host dinner for 12? I have no idea. I plead insanity.

But those sugary, buttery cinnamon goodness may have made my flour caked floors all worth it in the end. As we ate our creations, the boys and I discussed Thanksgiving and the meaning of the term "thankful."

Aidan announced, "I am thankful for you and daddy loving me. And clothes and food. My toys and our family."

Brennan smiled and said, "I am thankful for hugs." (I know it is impossible to believe this statement can get any cuter, but picture Brennan saying it with a face stained with cinnamon and cream cheese frosting on his nose.)

I turned to Griffin and asked, "Griffin, what are you thankful for?"

Griffin, with a mouth full, managed to mutter, "Cimmamom bums."

After breakfast, we spent the morning rounding up the toys and legos and warrior men littering our home in order to make it look (somewhat) presentable. We set the table. We dressed the kiddies. We cloroxed wiped the house. And then we awaited the food.

My mother and father in law arrived shortly thereafter bearing cooked turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and well, a whole host of turkey day dinner materials. (It's a snap to host when you aren't really cooking all that much.)

We ate and ate some more. Griffin devoured his entire plateful of Thanksgiving dinner and Aidan had TWO helpings of turkey. We had to admit to shock to see Aidan request, eat, and then enjoy his first ever helping of pumpkin pie. Griffin preferred the berry pie, while Brennan just stuck to the freshly whipped cream. (heaps and heaps of it. I ate a nice big slab of apple. Color me happy with some apple crumb pie. Yum.)

I have to admit that one of our more favorite parts of hosting a major dinner like this is the promise of leftovers. A glance in my fridge confirms we may be eating turkey, potatoes and pie for a week at least. I think I may be just a little bit thankful for that as well.