Tons of Turkey 2010

Turkey day 2010
Gobble Gobble. Who doesn't loooove Thanksgiving? This year was (in my humble opinion) Val's best Turkey and best Ham. Super juicy Turkey and yummy ham. On top of that, everything else turned out just great. Even (Heidi's) Grandma's fruit cake was yummy (well- minus all the fruit).
After dinner most of us played Apples to Apples while the others played Wii. We also checked out the Black Friday ads. I wasn't very impressed with the sales this year...there were a few things but not much. Oh, and how could I forget- We had some yummy dessert! There was pumpkin, apple and peanut butter/chocolate pie. Amy made a pumpkin roll and my cousin Allison brought some delicious cupcakes she had made. Amy's PB/Choc. was great and should have been called death by Peanut Butter.

It was a nice relaxing Thanksgiving.

I got this vest for Jett the day before Thanksgiving. He needed an outfit to match his good looks for his first Turkey day :)

Jett is super sleepy...must have been the turkey.

Meema and the rugrats.

They do love each other, even though all they do is fight.

Aunt Andrea and Lauren

Like father...like son...

This is how Ella always holds her hands when she says "I want to hold him."

(Cirdan)

This year I was looking forward to the Holidays more than ever. I have so much to be thankful for. My son's health is the first thing that comes to mind. His surgery relatively speaking wasn't very serious but it was still quite a surprise. One moment Heidi and I are on the couch on a normal Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning we are in the emergency room. Next we are taken in an ambulance to Swedish to see "sub specialists" which I knew at that point meant Jett wasn't just allergic to dairy or had come down with a virus- this was serious. I had a feeling that he needed surgery so maybe that eliminated the element of surprise for me. Then again I am not usually one to react in emotional manner. The entire experience was surreal, it was like one very long day (Saturday to Wednesday). It was tough seeing Heidi go through the ups and downs of watching and listening to her baby boy go through this whole experience. It hurt me just as much to see her pain as it did to see Jett suffer. An experience like that really showed me how much love my wife has for my kids. That is one thing I am also very thankful for. Mother's intuition is very real, she is tapped in to our little guy. He isn't very loud and didn't cry a whole lot at the hospital as well as leading up to the hospital. When it counted most Heidi just knew something was wrong. This came up after the surgery when his arm was being filled with fluid. Heidi is the one who caught it...not the nurses. (sigh) I am grateful Jett is healthy and recovered so quickly. He is eating like there is no tomorrow and the skinny guy has even started lifting weights and packing the pounds (okay minus the weights)

I'm thankful for my company and the success we have had thus far. Our family has been blessed during tough economic times. We have what we need and more. I'm thankful that I have my daughter, Ava in my life. A number of things have seemingly "fallen into place" over the last year or so. I have the ability to spend time with my kids daily. I don't miss too much which is pretty awesome. Time is something all of us wish we had more of. I am blessed with more than the time I need for my kids and my family.

(Heidi)

Things I am thankful for...

My family - Cirdan, Kaiya, Ava, Ella and Jett.

My extended family

Being able to be a stay at home mom and have a husband who works hard for me to be able to

Our health - it was an eye opener to be sitting in the hospital and look out the window at all the people walking along the street outside. I wanted to be outside. It made me feel almost selfish because there are so many people who have to spend their time at the hospital day in and out. People who can't leave or people who have to be there all the time. We were only there for a few days. I can't imagine. I respect those people so much more now. My heart goes out to them and the trials they have to go through. I think about my aunt and uncle who have spent many hours and days at the hospital with their daughter (my cousin) Lindsey.

My Grandma - I love my Grandma and have many great memories of her. She is currently in a nursing home right now and has spend the past week or so at the hospital. Her heart is failing. I know that she will be in a better place and with my Grandpa who she has missed so much since he died. I am trying not to be selfish. I missed not being able to call her on Thanksgiving to hear her answer the phone saying...gobble gobble. I am grateful that she was there for me over the years...I knew that if I needed someone to talk to Grandma would answer her phone. Even if I didn't get a word in during the conversation just hearing her voice was comforting. :)