Well we had our first Thanksgiving with the military this year, which also meant our first Thanksgiving without "family" with us. It was a bittersweet day for sure. On the one hand I was just so thankful to be spending that time with Brandon, and getting to open our home to new friends. Yet on the other hand I was not seeing my family for the first time on Thanksgiving. Life has changed a lot in a very short time for us, although it is a good change and one we are excited about, there are also new emotions to be faced around each corner. My family (as most of you know) are freakishly close. We all live within 30 minutes of each other, and are constantly nosing our way into each others business! So living away is difficult, however no amount of distance can change that fact! So what is a freakishly close family to do when apart...drum roll enter SKYPE! Not a new development but a new one to be used in the McKinley/Smart clans! On Thanksgiving morning we were blessed with the opportunity to talk with a lot of Brandon's family (the Alabama family) and talked on the phone with his grandparents!!! Then after lunch...ok like 3:00 we skyped with the McKinley Clan. Now originally we were going to talk as soon as they finished lunch at one...however due to a few wimps who couldn't stay awake we had to postpone the call a while. (You know who you are, but I am going to mention you still! TRAVIS & SCOTT...the little girls don't count they are 1&2) It was really fun to see everyone and talk...of course the person we saw the most of (he he in 2 ways, cause there is so much of her to see these days) was my sister (and bestfriend) Nikki...now before anyone thinks I am too mean with the fat joke, she is pregnant and showing a lot and this is the only chance anyone has ever had to call her fat so I for one am going to make the most of this opportunity!! Everyone there took turns getting on the computer to talk to us, then rotated out to let someone else on, everyone except Nikki that is...she stayed on the whole time :) Unfortunately we had to end the conversation because I had guests arriving at 5:00 and had a lot of Thanksgiving goodness to create! Now I want to take a moment to mention that we could have had longer if two young men had been able to stay awake...but I'm not pointing fingers or anything!
So on to the Texas Thanksgiving day. Although this was not my first time cooking a Thanksgiving dinner (That was last year for the in-laws...can you say mega pressure there!) it was still a little nerve racking. Now I am going to toot my own horn a bit here and say that the meal went super smooth and I pulled the last item out of the oven at 5:01...which is pretty amazing being as i can't get dinner out on time when it is something simple. This all came together so smoothly due to my amazing planning and prep work...good job Laura! Ok ok so it really isn't that amazing, since I don't have a job and have way too much time on my hands, so I had all day the day before to prep stuff and of course all day Thanksgiving as well! The menu was simple but hit all the must haves (well in my opinion that is) Of course the star the Turkey, cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, and rolls! Brandon has a friend who went through basic with him that is also stationed here for training with the intelligence program, and his wife is also living down here. We have hung out with them several times and it is a real blessing to have friends in a new town! So Megan and Justin came to celebrate a family Thanksgiving with us. It was nice to come together and have a family style meal with friends who were away from family for the first time too. That is one great thing I am learning about the military, we are all one big family and are all in the same boat! Overall I would say it was a hit and I didn't have to make any emergency calls to my mom this year about how to cook a turkey (this is really saying something beings how last year I called her like 20 times!) Now I wouldn't be me if I didn't stick the camera in people's faces every chance I got, however Meagan and Justin skillfully got out of taking any pics...eventually I will get them in one!!
A few family photos to remember our Texas Thanksgiving!!!
On to the Dinner
Cornbread Dressing in the making!
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