Thanksgiving Soon to Arrive!

Can you tell I REALLY like Thanksgiving?? I have enjoyed the company of my mom for the last few days, and my brother and his family will arrive soon. Wow, our house is already busting at the seams with people! (Michael has threatened to head for the deer stand for the entire weekend, but I know he'll be back for dinner)!!!

I talked in my last post about preparation. I am truly enjoying the fruit of my labors. I have been busy, but because of the planning I haven't been overwhelmed. I will be preparing some of my Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. For instance, I wil saute my celery and onions for my dressing. I already have the cornbread in the freezer, and I will toast up the bread that is needed early. I will have these things together so that I can put my dressing together quickly and stuff my bird right before putting it in the oven. I have a 20 pound turkey bird so I plan on baking it around 6:00 a.m. This will give me time to get my pies and some blueberry muffins prepared before my oven is occupied. I guess the biggest turkey tip I have for anyone who should need one is to let that bird rest at least 15 minutes after you pull it out of the oven. (How do I know this you might be asking yourself)??? Well, last year we all skipped breakfast and were waiting with all the side dishes on the table. What were we waiting for you might be wondering? Yes, we were waiting for the turkey. It was beautiful and cooked to perfection. I knew I should let the bird rest, but I cut it anyway. This causes the juices to runout of the bird instead of staying in the meat. Now, I have to admit I didn't really put too much stock in this. After eating a very dry turkey last year, I now believe that a 15-30 minute rest period for the bird is a great idea! The other great thing is that by waiting on the bird to rest it allows time to bake those homemade yeast rolls that everybody so enjoys.

I know that this post has been all about food and preparation stuff, but that truly isn't my heart concerning Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for all that God has done in my life. It overwhelms me sometimes to taste and see just how good God has been to us. So many decisions have been made over the years that seemed crazy to most people, but God's eye was guiding us through each and every step. (Perhaps someday Michael will share our marriage story. Most people thought we were out of our tree, but we knew that we knew that we were made for each other)! I am so VERY thankful that God brought Michael into my life, and after almost 20 years of marriage he is without a shadow of doubt still my best friend and soul mate. I never knew until after we were married that Michael wanted a farm. Wow, that was always my dream too, and here we are living it on a daily basis. Then I look at these 5 children that we have in our home, and I realize that they are such a gift from the Lord. Words are not enough to express my feeling of awe that God Himself would live in my heart, and want a relationship with me. Now that is something to be thankful for everyday of our life.

Happy Thanksgiving,
julie