Happy Thanksgiving

I am so happy this Thanksgiving. We had a great day yesterday! I was woken up by Tyrus tapping me on my forehead saying, "Mama, its 6:30. It's up time." I groaned and looked at the clock and it was actually 8:00! Woo Hoo! That is actually really late for us. Tyrus and I got up and went downstairs. He watched "Wall-E" as I started cleaning up the downstairs. We had a ton to do because we were hosting The Tingle Family Thanksgiving at 4:00. Meanwhile, Neil and Mary (sleepy heads) slept until 9:00. Neil had an excuse because he had to get up at 5:00 to put the turkey in the oven. Mary had no excuse because she was the first to go to bed the night before and the last to get up the next morning.

Our day was spent cleaning the inside and outside of our new home getting it ready for our family to see it for the first time. I was so excited! My Dad showed up around 12:30 and I was able to spend some good time with him. He and I took Tyrus for a walk when Mary went down for her nap. When we got back Tyrus went down for a nap and I started cooking. Mom (my grandmother) came over early and I really enjoyed spending time with her in my new kitchen cooking Thanksgiving dinner. We talked about everything from our family members that are still here and we told stories about family members that had already left us. It was a really special couple of hours.

At 4:00 I rushed to get ready and to get the kids ready. I had to wake Tyrus up and he was so sleepy that he told me, "I gonna be shy for a little while". He totally was and insisted on me carrying him down the stairs. Once he saw the twins, Sabrina and Samantha, he was good to go and I don't think he stopped running the rest of the night! Mary was a little clingy because her teeth are hurting, but she let my Dad hold her and play with her while I put the finishing touches together.

Everyone started showing up and everyone LOVED our new house! They were all really happy for us. All the families brought dishes and we had a TON of food to choose from. Tyrus, in the middle of running, stopped with Sabrina and enjoyed a piece of ham, but other than that I only saw him eat a croissant all night. He was way to busy to eat. Mary thoroughly enjoyed a croissant, squash, macaroni, and scalloped potatoes.

As the night started winding down Mary just refused anyone else and insisted that I carry her. I was totally okay with that because my feet hurt and it felt good to sit down. I sat on the fireplace hearth and rocked her. Neil was spending time with his brothers and I was spending time with my sister-in-laws. The kids were going crazy in the playroom and I knew that things were getting out of hand when Tyrus took all of his clothes off and proclaimed, "I naked boy!"

Everyone started leaving and I think everyone was gone by 9:30. Neil and I were exhausted, but it was so worth it to celebrate with our family. We both love the holidays and there is nothing better than a Tingle Family Holiday. You have never felt so much love and heard so much laughter. I can't believe that next year we will have one more - baby Amelia (Peyton and Bobbie) will be here in February! I can't wait to meet her. She has a ton of cousins that are waiting to spoil her rotten.

I hope that every one's Thanksgiving was as much fun, loud, full of food, and blessed as ours was.