Thanksgiving!

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving this year! It was a little different than we are used to, but it was a great day spent with our wonderful family and friends! I kicked off the day early with the Human Race 10k. It was FREEZING! My car said 5 degrees when I pulled up to the race. BRRRRRRR! I don't think I have ever been so cold during a run before. My best friend {and favorite running partner} Jessica came down to run it with me! {Thanks again Jess!}

Me and Jess before the race

Our good friends Mike and Trisha joined in the fun as well!

I was in charge of bringing rolls to the Smith's this year. I decided to make my Mom's delicious homemade rolls. It's not Thanksgiving in my book without them! This was my first time making them {my Mom has ALWAYS made them in the past}, and it was a complete disaster in the beginning! My Mom accidentally left out a key ingredient when she emailed me the recipe. Luckily it was an easy fix, it just took twice as long to make them. They turned out perfect though. Aren't they pretty?

My siblings also volunteered me to make my Mom's cream pies...PANSIES! None of them dared to try and since I have made them before, it was automatically my job. They turned out beautifully as well!

3 out of the 5 pies that I ended up making

We ate dinner that day with Rob's family and our good friend Mike came along. The food was delicious and the company was even better! Every year we put together hygiene and school kits for the church's Humanitarian Center. I think it's a great tradition and an even better way of showing gratitude for all that we've been given. After we put the kits together, the kids put on some Thanksgiving costumes and Rob's brother David read a cute Thanksgiving story.

Beckett the Indian

All the kiddos with Dave

Wesley the Pilgram {not really sure what the baton was for?}

Yoshi, Grandpa Smith, Rob, and Beckett

Everyone watching Rob and Dave play their annual piano duets

Thanks again to the Smiths for a fabulous Thanksgiving! After dinner we headed to my grandparents house to eat pie with the Rigby family. It was a good time as always and it was fun to visit with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and Jen's family.

We tried to get a picture of our little family, but the boys weren't really cooperating.

Ok, maybe I was the problem in this picture.

Seriously?!?!

almost there...

This is the best we got :)

Wesley ended up getting a wedgie for not cooperating!

We definitely missed having my parents here for Thanksgiving! It was the first time that I truly missed them since they left. It's comforting to know that my Mom will be back next year, cooking a mouth-watering meal that I can already taste! I know that a lot of people have been doing this, but I just wanted to list a few things that I am grateful for:

* My Family, I honestly don't know what I would do without them!

* My Husband...yes he gets his own line :)

* My amazing friends!

* a healthy body {and the healthy bodies of my family}

* Jesus Christ

* The Gospel

* The Scriptures

* Our warm house

* Trials - This is a big one!

* Diet Coke

* Hot showers

* Our cars

* In-n-out

* Dunford Donuts

Although this past year has definitely been difficult, I have truly seen the tender mercies of the Lord. He has truly blessed our lives and I am grateful for that! I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving as well!