THANKSGIVING

This Thanksgiving our family has been blessed with the addition of a healthy grandson. We spent several days in Kansas with our daughter and her family. The downside of that being that since we were just together, no one made the trip again for Thanksgiving.
I have been the self-appointed chief Thanksgiving cook since it became too difficult for my mother several years back. We've had a houseful of family each year with my brother and his family always coming, our kids and grandkids, my mother-in-law, some years our son-in-law's parents, and a few times my brother's mother-in-law. I have always enjoyed tackling, with much help from handyman husband, the turkey dinner. Since we were unsure if we would be back from Kansas I had informed other family members that I wouldn't be cooking this year. My niece, Tracey, graciously volunteered to take on the task. She did a fantastic job. Although some things were different -- some were the same. She used my mother's chocolate pie recipe, which turned out just like mother's used to. Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, fried squash, cranberry sauce, hot rolls, pumpkin pie, and apple dumplings. YUM!! It was a smaller gathering this year, but I enjoyed seeing my brother's family since this is usually the only time of year that we see them. We missed our Kansas family but did get to talk to them on Skype this afternoon when we got back from Nashville. Then 2 year old granddaughter, Gabby, surprised us with another phone call a little later. Calling me was her reward for using the potty!! How wonderful that I mean so much to this little one that I can be an incentive for her to do something.
We did miss having turkey leftovers for dinner. Guess I'll have to buy a little turkey and fix a mini-feast later.