It was a cold rainy drive over to Charlie and Deanie's home in Benbrook both coming and going.
I tried to be there on time - noon - but the driving took longer with the weather.
There were flashing signs on the highway saying:
RAIN POUNDING ON ROAD WAY
SLOW DOWN
I didn't have to read that twice!
Still - I was only a very minutes past noon in arriving.
Summer was already there and had made two of these delicious charcuterie boards.....
as in she even made the BOARDS herself!
They are from special Cypress wood. She is learning to do so many things at the Bar-J Ranch.
The shirt she's wearing was made special just for her!
Deanie is looking so beautiful! I love her hair!! And her dimples! And HER!
Andie is home from Texas A&M and is getting into the grove of college life!
A&M is not that far from Mart so I hope to get over there to see you sometime soon.
We all gathered joining hands for prayer.
Charlie had asked me if I would like to lead us and I said yes!
I had dreamed about saying a prayer of Thanksgiving for Nita the night before and that's what I did.
Charlie and Deanie had set up tables for everyone could sit down and eat.
Places for all 30!
Charlie is one of the most thoughtful people I know!
He took my camera and snapped some pics so I would be in them!
Wasn't that sweet?
That's Charlie sitting with the kids....people did a lot of table hopping!
Deanie's grands.....the oldest of the three boys is now 20!!
This is Charlie's bunch - half of them here.....
and the other half here!
It was a fun day with lots of smiles and laughter.
I admit early on several of us shed a few tears as well.
Can you guess what these three are looking at???
Kailey brought her granddad a HUGE piece of pecan pie WITH a dollop of whipped cream!!
Oh, my!
Everyone lingered and visited and a few of us played games and the boys went out in the back yard to throw the football for a bit.
Of course we had football games on!!!
We all love Trish and her quirky sense of humor!
She is SO much fun....
We were missing a few people this year.
Nita, of course, and Mike spent the day with his sister and mother.
We also missed Lonnie being with us.
Still, I believe there were 30 people there.
Leah is recovering nicely from her serious back surgery just last week.
She is one amazing lady!
She even brought a dish!
This was the very first Fort Worth Thanksgiving with all four of my children there.
Between Deanie and Charlie, they have a full crew!
One granddaughter had to leave before we did these family photos.
As did Jesse.....
It was a truly blessed Thanksgiving and I am so grateful to Deanie and Charlie for the gift they gave all of us in hosting. This first Thanksgiving without Nita meant we all needed to be together even more than so than in years past.
You never know when it's the last time we may see each other.
I remember the last time I saw Nita before she got sick.
It was at Andie's graduation and party.
I treasure those memories of that day and have replayed them over and over in my mind.
I drove us home in the pouring rain and was so relieved to get here.
We changed clothes, lit a fire log and settled down to watch the Cowboys game.
It was such a good day but I was so exhausted that I was in bed by 9:00.
And it was noon before I got out of bed.
Louis Dean was up first and brought me coffee in bed and then got his and sat in the corner chair and had coffee with me. We talked and reflected over Thanksgiving Day and ended up drinking TWO cups before he helped me make up the bed and going to the living room for one last cup as we did our Bible reading.
We are having some plumbing problems - as in our toilets aren't working - and Louis Dean insisted on trying to fix it himself. That didn't work and only made a bigger mess so we got all the water up and I will call the plumber tomorrow. I should have done it right away but you know how men are!
Summer and Rayne came over for a visit and she brought me a Port-a-Potty!
Bless her heart!
Plus my neighbor Stephanie is out of town and said to feel free to visit her bathroom!
Thankfully, the bathroom sinks still drain and the kitchen and laundry room seem unaffected.
Summer also brought Taco Casa and .....
....because they brought Sunshine and thought she would be more comfortable outside....
we all joined her!
Rayne is a grown up twelve now!
She is still as sweet as she ever was and it was so fun to visit with her.
She has an amazing life and will leaving tomorrow to go on a hunting trip.
She's been on several already in her young life!
All too soon, they had to go!
I have been working in the kitchen today and I'm going to quit saying a room is 'done' because I keep finding things to add here and there.
It's amazing to me how a room slowly seems to develop a mind of its own as the decorations go up.
It's all coming together and I hope to start the den tomorrow.
We decided not to go to the camper after all.
The heavy rain here happened down there, too, and it's no fun in the mud.
I'm thinking it will be nice to go down for the Christmas pot luck for the bee meeting in December.
Plus we need to get our bathrooms up and working!!
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
It's been fun to visit a few blogs this evening and see all the happy times.
"In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
I Thessalonians 5:18
18 comments:
You really did have an almost perfect Thanksgiving. You have such a large and beautiful family. I hope you don't have to wait till Monday to get the plumbing fixed!
It looks like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. Too bad about all the rain and also the plumbing problem. Hopefully that gets fixed really soon.
I'm looking forward to seeing your decorations.
Now that was one big family gathering! Wonderful time looks like.
Hope you get your plumbing sorted soon. :)
Wow...a perfect day with a perfect family. Linda, you are blessed!!!
It's been raining here too. I need some sunshine!!
Such a great gathering for Thanksgiving and that all your children were there. Plumbimg troubles are no fun and hope you have it fixed soon. Not going to the ranch was probably the best option because like you said "mud is not so fun".
(Oh goodness! There's always something! Trusting that the plumbing issues are an easy fix for the professionals.)
What a great day at Charlie and Deanie's. They are wonderful hosts! It was fun to see you with all your kiddos! Wonderful family photo. ☺️
Laurel brought me home in rain, mist, and fog. Temps were hovering at freezing. Exciting. Glad that I wasn't driving.
Have a blessed weekend, Dear Ones.
It was so nice to see all your happy family together celebrating. We'll be doing that today with my family. The weather here is the opposite of yours we are in the mid fifties and sunny!
Your Thanksgiving sounds wonderful with the love of family shining through.
I sure hope you get your bathrooms fixed..they are kind of necessary.
December is coming so fast...it makes me exhausted just thinking about the things I need to get done.
Sue
Such a beautiful family! Love seeing how you all came together and showed love and support for one another. You are blessed by a lovely big family! Now, about those toilets...yikes! glad you weren't hosting the dinner at your house! LOL. Praying they get fixed w/o a lot of expense and bother. We grow rather accustomed to having our potties ready when we need them, which for me is often. LOL. We've not had any significant rain, but it's been cloudy and coolish...typical November weather. I am feeling some better, but still not 100%. Taking it easy and not pushing it. Just very thankful it wasn't something worse. Hope you have a blessed and wonderful week. You are a blessing to us!
A lovely Thanksgiving and family! Hoping your plumbing issues are resolved quickly.
oooooh what a wonderful holiday...how nice you were able to see so much family!! cute picture of ld...it looks like he loves pecan pie!!
i LOVE board games and card games, especially on the holiday's!!
A blessed Thanksgiving indeed! So nice you could have the whole big family together!
You really do have so much to deal with. I hope things improve this week! Love seeing your family photos. I've had a sad week and thought of you and some of the things you've shared about bursting out in tears. Anyway, I appreciate your friendship and everything you share. Sweet hugs, Diane
Now that's what Thanksgiving is all about! I love that your family all gathered together, it looked like a really nice time. That big piece of pie, oh my, so yummy. Hope you get those bathrooms up and running soon!
Della
What a blessed Thanksgiving. Loved 30 family and friends together. Wish I had some of that pecan pie. Sorry I didn't real all your posts this week we were in Ohio visiting my son and his family.
Wow! That is a huge piece of pie LD is enjoying.
Loved looking at all your family pictures. Seems like you had a very special day And, I'm impressed with Summer's charcuterie boards that she made.
Hope by now the sun is back out, and your plumbing woes have been fixed.
How did Summer manage to get a Port-A-Potty over to you? She must be super strong and have a truck?
How good you enjoyed the company of about 30 family members, everyone looks in happy spirits. "Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from Him." James 1:17 I am sharing that scripture because I have been thinking about it a lot.
What a wonderful family and friends Thanksgiving celebration, Linda. Hope that the plumbing problems get fixed this week, but glad you at least had running water.
Post a Comment