The Day After Thanksgiving....

The morning after, and I sit here with a cup of coffee, listening to the wind whip the leaves into a frenzy outside....

And I am so thankful for the day we spent yesterday, preparing for and enjoying our family. 

In a break with tradition, we had an early evening meal, as opposed to the usual midday feast.  I still prepared a turkey, cornbread dressing and the usual side dishes.  But, the pace was slower, a bit more relaxed, since we were dining late in the day.  There were moments of rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off, but, overall, it was very enjoyable. 

Bonnie drifted in earliest.  She was alone since Matt was working the store's super early holiday shopping schedule and the kids are with their dad's family for this holiday.  She was tired, so tired.  Wrapping up her first trimester, she feels a bone-deep exhaustion.  So, I put her in the back bedroom for a brief nap before it was time for her to prepare her contribution to the meal - green bean casserole.  She fell asleep quickly and I couldn't resist grabbing my camera......

Mother arrived right on time with her famous fruit salad.  Then Sam and Savanna....and Ben.  Daddy was missed, but he drove down to Austin early yesterday morning to spend the holiday with my sister and her family. 

We sat together and ate until we couldn't take another bite, talking and laughing the entire time.  Then, we cleared and cleaned and watched a little bit of a movie before heading back into the kitchen for Round Two with desserts. 

Bonnie and Ben had planned on heading out to WalMart at 8:00 pm to hit the Black Friday sales, but Bonnie was so sleepy and has a full day planned today.  So, they decided to pass.  Everyone said good night around 8:00 and headed home to sleep off the effects of the turkey dinner.  Poor Eddie had to be at the store this morning at 4:30, so he retired super early, too.  And, I was left alone to reflect on the day in the quiet of the evening.....

Lights on the Christmas tree and garlands in the living room....the holiday season officially underway.  And the peace and quiet of our cozy little living room is the ultimate blessing at the end of a long day. 

I crept quietly into the bedroom, where Eddie slept and the lights from our tabletop tree still twinkled.  I crawled into bed and laid down my head, thankful and content.

My goal for the remainder of this long weekend is to get the front porch decorated.  I must pack away all the Autumn decorations, putting away the crates and bins in the storage shed, and "dress" the entry and windows with greenery, new red ribbons and lights.  Eddie will hang the lights on the house on Sunday since he is off.  All the boxes out on the covered patio need to be put away, too, and perhaps this is the task I find most daunting.  I've been digging through them all week as I worked on the decor inside the house and it's rather a mess at the moment.  But, overall, the bulk of the work has been done to ready our cottage for the holidays.

Now we can simply sit back and enjoy the results!