Thankful

for this 15 lb., juicy, Shelton turkey...

for eating Thanksgiving dinner using Dave's Grandma Davis' lace tablecloth, a vase from our friend Grayce full of garden herbs that survived last week's frost, flame-less candles (especially thankful after Emma dumped both water and paper in them), and the beautiful bird dishes given to us by Dave's Aunt Peggy...

for Emma using my childhood silverware to eat dinner...

for spinach salad with feta/roasted walnuts/cranberries and rosemary-balsamic dressing, for the turkey, for my mom's homemade rice/rye bread stuffing, for marina-marinated brussels sprouts, for homemade cranberry sauce with orange zest, for mashed potatoes and gravy, for sweet potatoes, and olives brought from California by our friend Carey...

for seconds...

for Dave (we celebrated his birthday a day early with my mom's Chocolate-Kahlua cheesecake with fudge sauce, didn't really miss the pumpkin pie all that much) and for enthusiastic Emma... 

for my mom and my brother, Joe... for my dad and Ben...

really thankful for a nice, relaxing day spent with family, a great start to the very welcome hustle and bustle of the next few weeks...