Turkey Day

Matt and I decided that we'd cook at home this year for Thanksgiving, and head to Shawn and Ashley's house for dessert later on. Originally, I thought I'd just do something simple, and get a tenderloin or something cooked by the grocery store's deli. BUT a couple days before Thanksgiving, I thought I'd be brave and go for the real thing. I bought a fresh, 12 pound turkey, and figured whatever we didn't finish, we could have for leftovers or freeze for when the new baby comes.

So the big day came, and I planned my cooking schedule mentally. Matt went golfing with Shawn, and I decided to get the house cleaned up while he was gone, and do all the food prep so we could eat around 4:00. I got our table set, and started chopping apples. I knew the time was coming to clean the turkey, and I was having a little anxiety about that! I can't tell you how many different Google searches I did on "how to cook a Thanksgiving turkey" or "how to remove giblets". I prepared my game plan, took off my wedding rings (or just my engagement ring, since my chubby fingers can't fit more than that), and got started! It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and really thought that I MUST be missing some internal organs in there, since I wasn't dry heaving like I thought I would. (I didn't miss anything). I found a tasty-sounding recipe, and got my glaze made. The turkey went in the oven around noon, and I figured the hard part was over! Everything else fell into place beautifully, timing-wise. Matt came home from golfing in time to bring Sydnie downstairs after her nap, and to keep an eye on the dishes cooking while I got myself dressed.

We were ready to eat right on schedule, and I was HUNGRY! Our Thanksgiving menu consisted of: turkey (duh), stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stewed cinnamon apples, biscuits, and cranberry. I also baked some apple crisp for dessert, and pumpkin bars with a cream cheese frosting to take with us to Shawn and Ashley's.

While it wasn't our first Thanksgiving as a family of three, it was so sweet to have our daughter eating with us at the dinner table this year! What a special time the holidays are. While we were missing our families back home TERRIBLY, it is a blessing to have our little family together!

Here are a few pictures from the day