"I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life;
to put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived." ~Henry David Thoreau

Monday, December 12, 2011

Texas Thanksgiving- A Day In Tolar

Thanksgiving Day was great. I was a little apprehensive about going out to Aunt Brenda and Uncle Jack's for the big day, because of all the memories I have of Joseph last time we were there. The Scotts' house has always been the gathering place for Thanksgiving Dinner for as long as I can remember, and TG 2008 created some absolutely priceless memories for our whole family. It's like it was God's way of giving us that one last "hurrah" while we still had Joseph on this earth to laugh with. We pulled up that day last month and my heart was heavy. The weather was the same, the air felt the same, the sun cast the same shadows across the lawn just like it had exactly three years prior. Joseph wouldn't be there that day, but is was alright. He would be there in spirit.

As always, we had a fantastic time and fantastic food. Aunt Brenda always goes all out and this year was no exception. Mom always brings a large portion of the food, but this year she hadn't been around to cook on our designated cooking day (Tuesday) because she was in the hospital being treated for more chest pains. That explanation deserves an entire entry of it's own and hopeful I can get to that. Because Mom wasn't there, I spent all day cooking with Cody by my side and with a {very} little bit of help from my siblings.

The weather was completely perfect. It wasn't cold enough for kids to need jackets, but it was crisp enough to feel like Thanksgiving. The kids had a lot of fun feeding the horses and I was amazed at how gently Andrew was while helping the kids. At one point Lauren began to climb on the barb wire fence to reach the horses better, and big and burly Andrew came along and picked her up and just stood there holding her over the fence so she could have an easier time feeding and petting them. He stood there, holding her effortlessly over the fence and I asked him if his arms were tired. In his thick and rugged Texas twang he said "Nope...don't want her to get hurt." Aaaw, what a marshmallow!

The kids had a great time getting reacquainted with the cousins from Emily. Boady is three months older than Hailey and Briar is two months younger than Lauren. I wish we all lived closer so they could know each other better! Emily brought over their pony, Tinkerbell, and of course the girls were enthralled. Emily told me she actually bought her for only $400 from a lady and the pony was in excellent shape. I wish we had land so the kids could have pets like that!

I can't wait to go back to Texas for Thanksgiving because we always have a great time at the Scott's place in Tolar!





























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