Thanksgiving has never been my favorite holiday. Yes, the food is yummy, but it's always had the feeling of the "also ran" holiday for me - a few weeks before Christmas/Hanukkah, a four day break instead of two weeks, no gifts (and let's be honest - I've always LOVED the gifts, both giving and receiving!) . . . I've been much more apt to look at it as the precursor to my beloved winter celebrations. I've definitely been guilty of not really honoring the spirit of the day, not really taking time to be thankful for all of the blessings in my life.
But this year was different. It was a Thanksgiving of firsts for me. It was the first time Jeff and I hosted Thanksgiving. It was the first holiday celebration in our new house. It was the first time Rob and Brie visited our new home. It was the first holiday we've spent with both our Sherwin and Lang families. And it was our first holiday with a full-blown toddler! There was so much to thankful for - a beautiful home, stable jobs, a precocious, adorable, healthy child, our four and a half year marriage, and most of all, our family. While we missed all of our family members who couldn't travel out to MD for the long weekend, Jeff and I felt so grateful for the ones who did and treasured every moment they were here. We loved watching Reed play with both sets of grandparents and his aunt and uncle. We savored every meal, every laugh. While technology that allows Skype and Facetime is fantastic, it's not a substitute for the real thing. Living far away from family is hard, and this Thanksgiving, we were thankful to have ours here, in the flesh.
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend, along with a fun video of Reed calling the Redskins game with the fam.
Reed teaches Uncle Robby and Aunt Brie a thing or two about Angry Birds
