thankful

{photo credit: me}

dan and i had a lovely thanksgiving at home with my family. we got home around noon where hot lunch was waiting for us. we held hands in the kitchen and took turns offering up our thanks and our prayers and then we ate. turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn casserole, cranberry sauce, creamed onions (my mom and i are the only ones who like them), green beans, sparkling cider. we ate until we could eat no more. and then we got seconds.

after lunch, my mom and i took to kitchen duty, and the manly men were sent to the garage to fetch the tree, assemble it, and string it with lights. they hauled it into the living room, and we put on some christmas tunes and decorated away. the rest of the afternoon was spent playing games, eating pie and ice cream, opening a few early christmas presents, and taking a walk around the neighborhood to walk off a few of the turkey calories.

feeling very fat and happy in the days following. i have much to be thankful for. hope you had a great holiday with your friends and family as well!

enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. psalm 100:4

the aftermath

{photo credit: me}

the turkey has been demolished, the cranberry sauce is only a few berries left, the mashed potatoes have seen their shining moment come and go, and now my jeans don't want to zip up. what's wrong with you, jeans? i consume 4,000 calories in one day, and you can't manage to work with my new, enlarged waistline? useless.

{photo credit: me and dad}

thanksgiving was a pretty wonderful day for the ostoj clan. i spent time with all of my favorite people (james bond included-go skyfall, go skyfall, go), oohed and ached over my dad's new harley, watched the bad lip synching during the macy's parade, drank lots of black coffee, helped decorate the family christmas tree that was literally put up before all of the thanksgiving dinner dishes were clean and dry, and just enjoyed being safe and warm and cozy at home.

{photo credit: me}

now that thanksgiving is over, it is socially acceptable to listen to christmas music and quote lines from elf, and that excites me. but let's be real. i do these things throughout the year (and so do you?). the next 30 days are some of my most favorite days of the year what with all the cookie baking and christmas parties and general goodwill and cheer. 

but first and foremost, for me christmas celebrates the birth of my Savior. i don't think i can ever give enough thanks for that. i tend to gloss over the details of God's ultimate gift to us and say my thanks without thinking about what a sacrifice it truly was, but i am truly grateful. 

here's to the start of a very merry christmas season and for remembering the meaning behind it all.

thankful does it

{photo credit}

i have so much to be thankful for. my heart runs over.

today, i am thankful for my family. my brothers are home and already there is noise and mess in every room in the house. 

i am thankful for the Lord's providence. He is my guide through life's winding road. He reminds me of His love when i doubt His presence. 

i am thankful for the macy's thanksgiving day parade. it might be my favorite thanksgiving tradition. well, second only to homemade cranberry sauce. 

i am thankful for my amazing, supportive, lifeline friends. my roommate amy, my good college friends chelsea and sarah, my yankee friend liz, my Bible study leader tierney, my sweet and bubbly friend katie, my hilarious friend lori. i love you all. 

i am thankful for gorgeous weather. it's supposed to be 62 today. hello perfect day.

i'm thankful for new creative opportunities.

i'm thankful for my five senses. that certain tasting sense will be especially handy today.

i'm thankful for jimmy fallon. right now, he is singing "we will rock you" with his band on a sweet float in the macy's day parade. 

i hope you can count your blessings today. 

thankful.