Giving Thanks At Thanksgiving Rehearsal Dinner

Friday evening marked the 2nd annual Thanksgiving Rehearsal Dinner, a Thanksgiving "practice", if you will, with friends. L and I were so excited to be hosting it again. We decided to up the ante a little this year and expand the guest list and have it on a weekend evening to be sure the night wouldn't be cut short. We started preparing Thursday evening by getting our Christmas decor up and baking the pumpkin cheesecake. Friday the preparation continued with a few last minute decorating details and the big task of getting the turkey ready. The evening was a success with lots of delicious food and fun times had by all.

Here are a few highlights from the evening:

*L's basting - from almost burning me while basting the turkey to almost burning herself by setting the potholder on fire. (crises averted both times)
*Kyle and Rodderick carving, aka, manhandling the turkey
*KC entertaining the crowd with her story-telling abilities
*The duet JW and I spontaneously performed during dinner
*Witnessing Rodderick's mad dish washing skillz (thanks again Roddy, you are amazing!)
*Naomi getting excited to list off her cards after playing Apples to Apples (Important and Hot I believe...describes her to a tee)
*All of the delicious food we were able to partake in

I couldn't help but sit back during one point in the evening and smile as I looked around our crowded little living room. As I watched my friends gathered together, smiling and laughing and talking with each other, I knew exactly what I was thankful for that night. I am so blessed to have such a stellar group of friends in my life.

To all my friends, I say thank you. Thank you for loving me for who I am and for accepting the good, the bad, and the ugly in me. Thank you for always being there for me, supporting me through good times and bad, and forgiving me when I do you wrong. Thank you for enriching my life and providing me with joy and laughter and fun. But mostly, I thank you for just being a part of my life.