Thanksgiving 2009

Wow - What a whirlwind week we weathered! On Tuesday evening we left for Dumas and arrived at my MeeMee's house. We got all 13 of us bedded down for the night in MeeMee's house. spread amongst beds, air mattresses and couches.

On Wednesday All of the others went to tour a dairy while Jerrad and I went to Amarillo to go pickup shopping. We were about to give up when we met up with an unfortunate blessing at Texas Dodge. THE pickup Jerrad wanted was there. He said he wanted to test drive it but the salesman showed him a few other pickups first. Then he went in to get the key for THE pickup and came out with some shocking news. It was gone. They had just wholesaled it to a dealership in Lubbock and it was on its way to Lubbock right then. Just 5 minutes after Jerrad said he wanted to test drive it. They said they could get the guy to turn around with it only if we agreed to buy it. But we could buy it for the wholesale price that the other dealership had agreed to.

So we went and ate dinner and discussed it. I was STARVING and Red Robin was just down the frontage road... it was a sign from God! So we agreed that this seemed to be a great deal and exactly what Jerrad was looking for. I hadn't even seen the pickup because I was taking a nap while he was shopping!

Then we went back to the dealership and told them we wanted that pickup and to turn it around. So while the guy was driving back with our pickup we filled out all of the paperwork. We bought the pickup without test driving it and without me even seeing it. But it is great and Jerrad really likes it! I don't have pictures because I just really haven't gotten to it. And most of the time it's in our driveway, it's already dark outside

That took most of our day Wednesday so we decided to extend our stay in Dumas until Friday afternoon sometime.

Thursday started out kind of early. The guys went out shooting and the women started on the meal. It was a long HOT morning. I ended up having to get a pan from WalMart so my lil cousin, Jessica, and I got out of the house for a bit. That was a much needed break! When we got back I got the rest of my rolls done and rising. It was hot enough in the house we could've put them in the refrigerator and they would've been fine!

We got the rest of the meal done and on the table when the heat, stress, exhaustion and high emotions mixed with a few hormones (wherever those came from) overwhelmed me. Let's just say I spent Thanksgiving dinner in the bathroom liquefying my mascara and sweating to death. Then realizing how much I hadn't slept since we got there, I went to bed for a bit. Didn't sleep but I rested well.

Later on we went to visit some of my mom's family that I hadn't seen in way too long! We had a nice visit in their cool (temperature and style) house and watched the Cowboys game. When we got back to MeeMee's the women devised a Black Friday plan. Since we were sticking around Friday to spend time with family I figured it'd be best to stick with them in whatever they were doing.

Friday morning I woke up at 3:15 and we were out the door by 4:00 on our way to Amarillo. Bryant, Shayla, Mary, Suzy and me! WalMart and Target were a mess and pretty much pointless. You had to get there long before the sale in order to take advantage of the sale. That would've meant just staying up Thursday evening and staying the night in WalMart. Knowing how much I enjoy WM, you can tell what I would've done =)

I did, however, manage to pick up the last glider rocker at Babies R Us for 1/2 off! So now we have a crib and a rocker! That was my only "Black Friday" purchase. The rest was "Ooooh, I love that scarf!" and "Oh yah, we need cereal." and "We've been wanting to see that movie." I got some Tech onesies at Academy and a fleece camo outfit as well. But mostly got some great time with family!

I can't brag on Bryant enough for how he treated all of us like queens, carting us women around Amarillo on the craziest day of the year. He only got mad once, and it was at a guy he THOUGHT was parking in the "Expectant Mothers" stall at BRU without an expectant mother. We had to check for some sort of vandalism when we got back out to the car!

So what am I thankful for this year? I had thought about this before we left just in case we had to go around the table like in the old days. I have so much to be thankful for this year. I have a healthy baby inside of me. I have had a very smooth pregnancy. I have a family that loves me, even my in laws! I have a sister in law that has turned into a best friend. I'm thankful for my aunts that sneak in to check on me when I have a meltdown on Thanksgiving Day and know that they aren't overstepping their boundaries when they do. I have great cousins that are always fun to be around. I have an awesome cousin who is TOO awesome to spend Thanksgiving with us because she is in Korea. A job and boss that have made it possible for us to feel free to live and go on with our life and not feel oppressed. A church that loves us and that we get to encourage each time we are there. And a loving God who has blessed me with all of this and soooo much more!

But what I am thankful for the most this year is my husband. He is patient with me. He has stepped up so much since we decided to have kids. He protects not just me, but our family. When I don't see that we need protecting, he does and protects anyway. He loves me... ME! A girl that has had to learn so much about being a woman and wife worth loving. Is it always paradise... Ha! Nope! But we have built our relationship by leaps and bounds in the last 6 1/2 years we have been together. I cherish the times that we had before children and anxiously anticipate what times are to come with our children. This man is mine forever and I wouldn't have it any other way!