We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and upheld many of the family traditions.  There was all the usual food and most of the usual family.  It is always wonderful to spend time together and get see the generations.

This year, however, there were several new things.  First, John and Jackie hosted Thanksgiving for the first time in their house in Powell.  It was the Hartley turn to host, and Tom and I offered to host it at our house.  But John and Jackie love to have people over and have a much bigger house so they were glad to have it.  There was plenty of room for all the food on their kitchen island and we all fit in the dining / formal living room.

A second new thing was bringing Kira and Sully over to our house to stay while John and Jackie’s house was full of people.  John and Jackie were particularly concerned with the dogs knocking Mom and Dad over.  Even though Mom and Dad weren’t there, it would have been a lot of excitement for the dogs.  John and Tom dropped them off in the morning and then picked them up later in the day.

Another new thing was the absence of Mom and Dad.  We have never had a Thanksgiving gathering without Mom and Dad before.  Mom woke up on Thanksgiving with such bad vertigo that she couldn’t even walk.  Julia and Mike stopped by the house to assess the situation and pick up the pies, which Mom and Dad were bringing to the feast.  Although we really missed them, Mom started feeling better later in the day.  She is fully recovered from whatever it was now.

The fourth new thing was baby Eloise.  Eloise was born in July to my niece Julia Buckley, Steve and Kathy’s daughter.  Eloise was definitely the hit of the gathering, especially among the older generation.  Julia had plenty of baby-free time as the rest of us took turns holding and enjoying Eloise.  Eloise didn’t want to miss a thing the whole day.  She kept herself awake so she could watch everyone.

Julia (my sister) and Mike left first so they could take a Thanksgiving feast to Mom and Dad and check up on them.  Then Julia, Carson, and Eloise headed out.  Eloise was fighting so hard to stay awake and she really needed a nap.  Steve, Kathy, and Grace left next.  At which point John looked at Tom and I and told us it was time for us to go.  John and Jackie like spending time with their cousins without the old folks around.  So Tom and I headed home as well.

It was really a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We are so thankful for our extended family and how much we all enjoy being together.  Even though we were missing Mom and Dad, it was a joy to welcome our newest family member.