The same and yet different could be the theme for Thanksgiving 2024, but I can say with a full and honest heart that it was a really good one. Per usual, the girls and I headed down to Georgia early, on Tuesday morning. Being in the new house, we shave a solid 1 hour+ off our old drive and less than three hours later we were pulling into mom’s drive.
We wall walked Finley, unloaded, then went to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which was really wholesome and sweet. Did I tear up? Of course I did. Afterwards we walked across the street and demolished some tableside guac and fajitas before calling it a night.
Wednesday morning we were off to Nannie’s house. While we all felt the obvious hole in our hearts by not being welcomed by Nannie’s “well hey there” greeting, her home still filled with the familiar warmth and love as our family trickled in, bringing with them big hugs, rowdy kids, and eventually the delicious aromas of pies.
Wednesday prep day is a staple tradition and we enjoyed doing so as usual. We followed it up with a big bowl of homemade beef and vegetable soup my aunt brought over, a memory filled walk through the old barn where we played cops and robbers as kids, and a hike down to the creek where our kids found a deer skull and thought it was the coolest.
.
Late afternoon, after we finished setting up the table and taste testing one of the pumpkin pies, we headed back to mom’s house for snacks, drinks, and crafts. For two years in a row Hailey has picked out a group craft and it’s been a hit. This year she picked out these cute sock snowmen. So cute!
We ate chili, played Christmas music, laughed hard, and ended the evening with a showing of Home Alone for the kids in one room and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles for the adults in another.
.
On Thanksgiving morning mom’s house felt like the beginning scene of Home Alone and we all scurried around to get ready and head over to Nannie’s
My aunt and uncle had gotten the turkey going early that morning so it already smelled delicious as we all trickled in. Our whole crew was present by late morning and it was the right time to pay tribute to Nannie. We visited the cemetery and told her how much we loved her as we spread a few of her ashes under the beloved pecan tree that she would walk to daily to gather pecans, always gifting us with bags of shelled pecans at every visit. It was predicted to be a rainy day, but it turned out to be the most beautiful of days- cool, clear, and crisp. A blessing.
The remainder of the day was joyful, filled with lively conversation, rambunctious kids, and of course, the best food of the year. I’ve heard it argued that Thanksgiving food is overrated and I promise you no one with that opinion has been to my family’s Thanksgiving table because I look forward to this spread all year long!
.
It’s hard to beat a country Thanksgiving! After eating mid-afternoon the kids and the guys took off to the field to play football while the rest of us cleaned up the kitchen, watched football, and each picked out items of Nannie’s that meant a lot to us. It felt weird looking at her stuff through that lens but I will say that the bedside chair, the old cookbook, and the marble game my Pawpaw made decades ago sure warm my heart when I see it in my room, bake a pie from its pages, and watch my kids try to get their marbles back home as they play the game with each other.
That evening we all went our separate ways and we made the two hour ride back to our new home to unload and get a good night’s sleep. The next day we were off for round two!
We are fortunate that David’s parents are only about 45 minutes away from our new home so we made the quick and easy drive and arrived at the same time as David’s brother and my nieces and nephew (only one nephew as the other is now a college man and wasn’t able to make it. He was missed!)
It was another beautiful day and we took advantage of it with a walk in the brisk air before coming back inside to enjoy Grandpa’s chili, a little bit of Texas Hold ‘Em (betting with candy corn to make it fun), good conversation, and of course, the Georgia/Georgia Tech rivalry game. A little football talk for those that celebrate, but WHAT A GAME. Tech looked dominate for the majority and being surrounded by Tech fans isn’t the easiest watching scenario, so I watched it separated from the crowd, with Hailey who I think took pity on me- ha. Well, 8 (EIGHT) overtimes later, Georgia pulled it out to win 44-42!! It was well worth the super late bedtime to silently cheer and celebrate the win with Hailey.
Saturday all football sins were forgiven and we had everyone over to show them the new house. David and I have been dreaming of getting to host people in our new home and were so excited to turn on football, hike through the woods, and make food for all. David smoked wings for the first time on his new smoker and they turned out SO good. We relaxed until it got dark and the family decided it was time to head out. We all slept well that night, tired and happy from such a fun and family filled week.
And that’s a wrap on what remains my favorite week of the year! I hope your Thanksgiving was a wonderful one, too. And now here we go- officially diving head first into the Christmas season! Proof of that? Our elf was waiting for us when we got home on Thanksgiving night. Let the fun begin!
