Giving Thanks

Left is all the kids on the joggling board, they loved playing on that!

Flag football.....(above) our neighbor let them play basketball and football in THEIR yard!!

I woke up so excited on Thanksgiving day. We were having our FIRST big holiday in our new home and I was thrilled to be hosting. I don't have a formal dining room, we are not formal people anyway, however I did have to put some thought into fitting 24 people in to eat......

Well, I opened up the french doors(below) and put a table on the patio and it was amazing. It felt like we were bringing the outside in and the inside out!! I rushed and got a camera to take a picture b/c I was so hapy. Then I put a table in the great room a (left) and we were all comfy.... Praying, Eating, cooking, playing basketball, football, swinging, fishing, running, climbing trees, all of the simple things that kids love to do- all of this was going on all day long. Lots of dirty hands and feet, pluff mud tracked in, dogs running loose, the things that make a house a home, happened to my home on Thursday. Bruce and I sat back and watched and talked about how this has been our dream for so long. We love having an OLD home, it has weathered children, storms, many holidays. We love having a creek and old oaks for the children to play in and climb and fish.... Thank you to everyone who came, who cooked, who smiled and hugged, for the love and the laughter.

The house was full, our stomaches were full, and most importantly, our hearts were full....

Blessings,

Joanne

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Michelle, my niece came over to help decorate on a dime. She went in the yard and we found the gorgeous Savannah holly with the red berries, camelias which were arranged in vases and some palms. It came out gorgeous with tealight candles and the beautiful sunny weather. God really sent the perfect weather, sunny, breezy and in the mid seventies.... after eating the kids played outside for hours.