Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Most people would say that one of the most significant things about Thanksgiving is spending time with loved ones. This year, I was fortunate enough to get to spend time with my family in Hawaii leading up to Thanksgiving, and then with Jason's family upon our return. Since moving to Fresno after Jason and I got married 10 years ago, we haven't returned to Edmonton during the winter, so we've never celebrated Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or New Year's with my side of the family. This year was the closest we've gotten! We had to board our plane on the evening of Thanksgiving Day, so knowing that we wouldn't have a lot of time, we made no "special" plans for dinner. It was a simple meal out, but significant to me because it was spent with my parents, brother, new sis-in-law, and sister. We got back to Fresno on Friday morning, so the rest of that day was spent relaxing, napping, and unpacking. On Saturday, we headed up to Jason's sister's house for Jason's family's annual Thanksgiving Dinner. It is my favorite meal in the entire year! We chat, hang out, and play games while eating appetizers. Then later in the day, it's time for the big meal. The turkey has been prepared the same way for 12 years (because it's so delicious, I can't imagine Thanksgiving without it), and we always have green bean casserole (yes, of course the can-type!), pine nut and sausage dressing, sweet potatoes (up until this year, only Jason's mom and I ate it- this year, Grace and Jeremy loved it, too), mashed potatoes, salad (with Asian pears, feta cheese, cranberries), and bread... The desserts are always amazing, too! I always stuff myself and this year was no exception.

I love Thanksgiving! It doesn't matter what a person's religious beliefs are- Thanksgiving is a special time to reflect on what you've been blessed with. Hope everyone enjoyed time with family this past week! Happy Belated Thanksgiving!