Turkey Day X 3

The holiday of Thanksgiving was a beautiful reminder of all that we are thankful for.  We are blessed with our health, home, places of employment, wonderful friends... but above all, our family.  We were able to be reminded of that X 3 this Thanksgiving, with three separate celebrations.

The Tuma family (My mom's side) gathered at my Grandma's assisted living home for a lovely dinner prepared by my Aunt.  A lot of work went into the meal, as my Aunt makes sure not a single traditional Thanksgiving menu item goes unnoticed.  We had a wonderful feast, talked a lot, laughed, watched the kids play, and took some pictures (With my Grandma aging, we never know when it might be our last opportunity.)

Henry with Great Grandma Tuma (Ages 7 months and 92 years.)

Grandma with the Grandkids and Great Grandkids.

My brother Ryan is seeing a girl named Brook, who has a 3 year old daughter named Savannah.  It's a blast getting together with them since the girls hit it off so well.  They share so many interests and play together so well.  They were dancing their hearts out, ran around, and giggled SO much!  I wasn't able to nab a decent picture of them because they were so active, but in this one they were mimicking each other with their dance moves.

Our second celebration was with the Clark side.  We got together on the evening of Thanksgiving for another fabulous meal hosted by Pat's brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Kari.  Earlier in the day, Olivia and I were flower making machines, and Olivia was excited to bring some to her cousins to pick out to keep.  She was especially excited about this purple one she thought Sophie would love.



Olivia is wearing another flower headband piece I made for her, which she loves.
She's also wearing a cute pink dress that belonged to me when I was little. 

When we got to Tom and Kari's the table was set beautifully, complete with place tags with our names on them and a little picture.  (Made by Pat's niece Elizabeth.)  Olivia's had a mermaid.  Mine had a book and the alphabet.  Very cute and thoughtful!

Since Pat and Tom both have November birthdays, Thanksgiving also turns into a birthday celebration.  Pumpkin pies turn into birthday cakes, and gifts are given.  

 Excited about his first Thanksgiving, Henry's rock'en a new bib I made for him!

And later, he rocked the house with his mad keyboarding skills.  Seriously, this little dude LOVED playing!  If they didn't cost so much I'd seriously consider buying him one for Christmas.

Our third and final Thanksgiving celebration was with my immediate family at my parents' house.  We started in the early afternoon with a full family photo-shoot.  It has been a few years in the making, but kept getting postponed for various reasons.  The latest reason was that I was pregnant, and the photo would be out-dated once the baby was born.  It was a beautiful day considering how late into November it was, but still chilly to go without jackets, especially for the kids.  We got inventive, kept bundled till the very last moment, and then threw coats to the side.  Overall it went great, and the pictures look amazing!  A candy cane bribe was all this girl needed to crank out some adorable smiles.

Henry with Aunt Katelyn.  PS: Another flower headband made by O & T. 
I'll have to do a post about all our crafty projects soon.

Well, there you have it.  Another Thanksgiving for the books, and I'm sure the scale will be tipping a few pounds on the heavier side to prove it.  We have so much to be thankful for this year, but above all, our family, big and small, makes us happier than ever.