Thanksgiving in Alabama

I know all of you are on the edge of your seats waiting for the Alabama Thanksgiving pictures to be posted. So here they are!



We had so much fun! Down-home cookin', family and laughter make the perfect Thanksgiving holiday.

My First Poem!

A little background - I've always been scared of writing poems. Since I was in elementary school the idea of writing something that had a pattern or a rhyming scheme just scared me. I just wanted to write what I wanted to write and that was that. I've since decided that I should give poetry another try. My muse? My husband and wanting the feeling that I've overcome a long-time obstacle in my writing. So here it is! (Please keep the constructive criticism to a minimum.)

To my "Forever & Always"

I love the way I feel when I'm wrapped in your arms so tight,
It's like you're protecting me from the world with all your might.

Your smile always brightens my day,
And reminds me how I love you in every way.

The perfect Saturday morning chef,
Your pancakes, biscuits, and burritos are the best.

When you kiss my forehead, my toes start to tingle.
And I feel as happy as jolly 'ol Kris Kringle.

What on Earth would I do
If I had to live my life without you?

I love you more as each passing year goes by.
I'll be with you forever my snuggly, teddy-bear guy!

-Jill

A few of my favorite things...

...I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad....

Holiday to-go cups at Starbucks
The smell of coffee
Baking cookies
The warmth and coziness of a house filled with loving friends and family
Snuggling with Sheldon on Sunday mornings (was that TMI?)
Watching traditional Christmas movies with family
The smell of a new book and the silky feel of its pages
My mom's voice on the other end of the telephone line

In the Spirit of Giving Thanks

The holidays are fast-approaching. Commercials have flooded the TV screen promising the best sales around. The baking aisle at the grocery store is jam-packed and the shelves are empty. The weather is cool, and I got my first holiday-themed Starbucks cup of the season today filled with a creamy eggnog latte heated to the perfect temperature. I love the holidays!

As I sit curled up in my warm house, in my jammies, with a cinnamon candle glowing in the background and my husband next to me watching a good movie, I can't help but be thankful for everything around me. I'm looking forward to spending Thanksgiving in Alabama with my family. This holiday used to just be merely a day when we ate lots of food. Of course, as a child, I was more excited about Christmas and what Santa had in his big bag of gifts for me.

Now, as I've grown older, Thanksgiving has become the holiday I look most forward to. It has a certain innocence about it. People aren't wearing costumes or expecting gifts. It's just about family and friends. It's just about being thankful for all the blessings in our lives.

And it's not only when everything is going great in our lives that I enjoy Thanksgiving. Even during the hard times in our marriage or economically, I still enjoyed the holiday because it always reminded me that my life is still filled with blessings. It was in those times that I became even more grateful for friends and family.

So as the holiday nears, I look forward to spending time with the people that mean the most to me (LG included!) and diggin' in to those sweet potatoes!