Yes, it is that time of year. Time to gather with family and friends to reflect on those things you are most thankful for. I sincerely hope that 2009 has been as blessed for all of you as it has for me and my family! To celebrate this special occasion, I thought I’d share a few of my family’s memories from our early Thanksgiving celebration this past Sunday.
This year, I am thankful to officially be called a grown-up. It’s not because I’m married. It’s not because I’m officially a home-owner. It’s not even because I’m a tax-paying business owner approaching my thirties more quickly than I’d prefer. Nope. This year, I’ve reached grown-up status because I cooked my first Thanksgiving turkey! I began my foray into holiday dinner hosting in May of 2008 with my first Easter ham, and this year I graduated to the most challenging of poultry dishes. According to Mom, I passed with flying colors- but she’s my mom, she has to say that.Â
I grew up watching Martha Stewart with my mom, so the bar was always set high for an attractive holiday table. It was fun to put together a little theme and let my creative juices flow!
Quite a while ago, I bought a set of silver placecard holders (ya gotta love Target clearance). I had no idea when I’d use them, but luckily they were easily accessible for this special occasion. I decided to incorporate images from our 2007 Thanksgiving celebration. Mom is preparing her famous mashed potatoes in her photo:
I think she really liked hers!
Attention brides: don’t be afraid to register for that nice crystal or the silver candlesticks. If you make occasion to use them, you’ll enjoy it! Thanks, Gramma Marge and Emily and Cheryl (or Mom Haberman).
A quick shot of our fireplace mantle all dressed up for the upcoming holidays:
Moms are always an enormous help at the holidays and on big occasions like this. Thanks for being there, Mom!
Mom loves all her kids. It’s especially fun to mimic Luke’s froggy smile, though:
The puppies love it when Auntie Mariah visits. She lets Panda get closer to licking her face than anyone else in the family. And she looooves pictures with the puppies!
The puppies’ cousin, Maddie the Chihuahua-Jack-Russel mix, came along for the fun, too.
Meanwhile, the boys relaxed and watched the Packers.
Basting the turkey…it smelled SO good!
Mom wasn’t the only one working, I basted as well. It was my turkey, after all!
While we babysat the turkey, Mariah did a great job of peeling red potatoes for Mom’s famous dish:
We tried to introduce Mariah to good beer, a la Fat Tire. She’s gotta grow out of this PBR phase someday soon!
On the other hand, Luke was drinking something called “Steel Reserve” and felt that deserved a Zoolander “Blue Steel” impression:
Warning, BLURRY image coming up…but I was really proud of my turkey.Â
Isn’t it beautiful? 20 pounds of pure yummy…
And Eric took on the husband’s task…carving!
After we all enjoyed a satisfying meal, we set up a few family portraits, like always…
And with this goofy one ends my Turkey Day Tale. Happy Holidays everyone!
by Mandie Haberman
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