Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was crazy this year. It's always crazy for us (we travel to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and do three different Thanksgiving meals in three different suburbs in one day), but this year was especially crazy because I was sick with some horrible head cold Tuesday through Thursday, and we were driving around everywhere with me all drugged up, and I forgot to bring wine from Houston so we had to pick some up last minute, and I forgot an egg in one of my pumpkin pies and had to pour the filling out of the crust and add it in and wipe the mess off the crust, and it was just crazy and hectic and I was sick and it was crazy. Haha! 
But we saw so many precious family members, and we thanked God for all of our many blessings, and we had a lovely trip despite the many crazy happenings!
We arrived in McKinney on Wednesday, and I did some preliminary baking/cooking with my mom, sisters, and Gran-mom (that's when the pumpkin pie incident occurred), and then Jeff and I spent the evening and night in Fort Worth with his parents and grandparents.
We woke up on Thanksgiving Day in Fort Worth, had a quick little breakfast, and made the 1.25-hour-long drive to Thanksgiving #1 in Plano. 

My sisters in my grandparents' backyard

With my sisters!

With my sisters and a couple cousins! 

It was a beautiful day, so we took my new camera outside and played around with some cousin photos!

Last year we were able to actually eat all three meals, but Gran did some schedule shifting this year, so Jeff and I unfortunately had to leave Plano before her wonderful meal was served. :( It was pretty weird... that's the first time in my life I've missed Gran and Grandpa's Thanksgiving dinner (with the exception of a couple years when I was very little when my family lived in London, but I don't remember those)! I definitely missed her amazing stuffing and pecan pie, but it was still nice to see everyone!

Then we embarked upon the 1.25-hour drive back to Fort Worth to see Jeff's family. I was still sick at that point, and I was exhausted and tired of being in the car, and I was kind of sad thinking about the whole family eating without us in Plano, and I was getting hungry (such an odd feeling for Thanksgiving Day... haha!), and I regret it, but I was kind of a grumpy wife for an hour or so. I did not handle all the craziness of our Thanksgiving schedule with grace this year. I felt horrible about it afterward... I had so much to feel blessed about (three big family dinners! a reliable car to take us to and from them all! a sweet husband who goes along with the crazy holiday schedule! so much more!), but all I could think about was the congestion in my head and how badly I wanted to sleep and how much law school work was waiting for me at home. Poor Jeff didn't have a very happy Katie during that drive, but he was very understanding.

Before we got to Fort Worth I told myself to snap out of it, and I thanked God for the wonderful things in my life and put a smile on my face, but I couldn't help that I still just felt sick and tired. Arriving in Fort Worth was good though - we walked in just as they were started to fill their plates, and it was so nice to hug everyone and finally get some food!

Jeff's grandma lets me do the table centerpieces, and I always have such fun playing with her pretty vases! 

(Sidenote: I LOVE that I can get pictures like this one with the new camera. LOVE it!)

The food was delicious, as always, and of course we loved spending time with family and some people we don't get to see often! 

Jeff's grandma with the food!

Jeff's dad and grandaddy

Eventually it was time to get back in the car for another 1.25-hour drive, this time to McKinney to see the other side of my extended family! On the way there we passed a beautiful rainbow! After my grumpiness during the earlier car ride and feeling so horrible about it, that rainbow kind of felt like God telling me that it was all okay. Thanks God. :)

We made it to Four Bells Ranch (home of my aunt, uncle, grandparents, and a couple cousins) at dusk. It's so pretty there! 

I only took a couple photos because I was busy tending to the gravy, green bean casseroles, and corn. Gran-Mom explained to me how she makes the gravy, which was great. I try to learn something new about cooking a Thanksgiving meal each year, and the gravy is an important part! 

Me with my Uncle Chris

My mom and Gran-Mom

After a delicious meal, my sisters and I gathered our ads and set out to do some Black Friday shopping! I was exhausted and sick still, but tradition is tradition, so we stood in line at Kohl's for the midnight opening!

After Kohls (where we got all the doorbusters on our list, thank you very much!), we made a quick stop at Best Buy and Target, and then we decided to head home. 

(ugh... don't I look awful here? The cold was getting the best of me!)

Normally we stay out a lot later and do a lot more shopping, but I was tired and sick, and Kristen's phone battery died, and Kristen dropped my phone into a giant cup of cranberry juice (long story - just another thing that made the trip hectic!) so we were without phone communications, and we decided it would be best to just head back to the house and get some sleep! 

So we went back, and I feel asleep pretty much immediately! It was a long, full day. We truly do have so, so much to be thankful for!