Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Come, ye thankful people...

Happy Thanksgiving! Chris had to work (grumble, grumble, grumble), so we had a very non-traditional day. Our big family meal was actually breakfast-- complete with yummy Belgian waffles with strawberries and cream, bacon, sausage, eggs and hot chocolate. We listened to Christmas music while eating, then watched a little bit of the Macy's parade. It was a lovely, relaxing morning.

After Chris went to work, I made a special dinner for the boys and me-- chicken! We're actually headed to my in-laws today for an actual Thanksgiving dinner (thank you to Gary and Marilyn for delaying your feast a couple of days so we could join you!). The boys requested their favorite chicken dish, so I made that and some yummy sides. I did venture out a little bit and made my neighbor's recipe for homemade rolls. They turned out marvelously, which was very exciting because I'm a little inexperienced and nervous when it comes to yeast. I decorated the table with Thanksgiving placemats and candles, and we drank our milk out of the fancy glasses. It was fun to see how careful and polite the boys tried to be for a special dinner. Neiler slept the whole time-- good little boy!

We also made a little paper turkey and wrote on his feathers things we are thankful for. Even though we each only had a few feathers, it was kind of amazing how huge our turkey became! It reminded me again how blessed we are and how important it is to remember to show gratitude in everyday life. We love our families and our friends, and we hope you know how grateful we are for your part in our lives! Thank you!

I should have taken some pictures of our Thanksgiving chicken dinner, but between cooking and setting up, I just didn't. However, there are a few pictures from last weekend I haven't shared yet:

Little Neilio has the cutest grumpy, bed-head face in the world! Aren't those big lips just kissable?



Chris's parents have a fantastic grandparent house. One of the features is a great backyard with a bunch of trees-- perfect shade in the summer, and perfect leaf-producing in the fall. There are few things my kids look forward to more than the prospect of jumping into a big pile of crunchy leaves. This year, Gramm left the leaves out for our boys to enjoy. They had a great time raking the leaves into a big pile, then jumping in, getting buried, and building a tunnel. So fun!





Are these two sweet, or what?




I can't believe that it's finally completely appropriate to listen to Christmas music all the time. Okay, so we started a teeny bit early...

Yesterday, we broke out some of our decorations and I started on the annual newsletter and music mix. It's such a fun time of year!

IMPORTANT: If you moved in the last year, or if you didn't receive a Christmas card from us last year but would like to this year, I NEED YOUR ADDRESS. Please send it to me at elisehansen1 at hotmail ASAP. Grazi.

10 comments:

Jen said...

Cute pics! Love the new background by the way! GO UTES!

Jen and Bryan said...

How FUN! I wish ourleaves changed... but alas they do not. :) BTW, you REALLY need a new blog background... traitor!

Marilyn said...

I TOLD you not to get me in that picture! Yuck! Anyway, we did have a great time, didn't we? We had a pretty great weekend yesterday and today,too -- even with the lovely flood! Thanks for all your help and for having such loving, well-behaved, sweet, and affectionate boys!!

jILl PeTeRsEn said...

I love fall pics! Your boys are too cute! Your chicken dinner sounds so sweet! Sorry you had to work. It's so nice to have awesome inlaws!!! You look so cute btw standing in the background of one of the pictures! I really do love your hair.

shannon said...

so fun! i love that everyone was in red in those leaf photos...so very hansen-esque. and that breakfast sounds superb! shouldn't you post that recipe for those rolls???

can't wait for the annual christmas mix this year. still jammin' to the alien mix from last year!

Me said...

Great pictures! Leaves are always a sure thing. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Ute template - did you design that? If you are in I.F. for the holidays you should stop by and see our tribute to the UTES in Christmas lighting...Sugar Bowl here we come!

Elena said...

I'm sorry you hubby had to work, but sounds like you made the best of things. When are you coming to visit next? I so need to see that baby!

Esther Ogden said...

I love fall for that very reason! We are super excited for your holiday mix!!! =)

Amanda and Andy Hansen said...

How fun. I like the idea of a Thanksgiving breakfast.

Ashley said...

I love it! I think everyone, upon their entry into RS, should get a mandatory one-on-one tutor session titled:
YEAST: Friend Not Foe or
YEAST: Rise Above the Fear (get it?)
I feel the same way!!!