three thanksgivings and a boy named harry

There have been some serious celebration here in Provo, Utah the last couple of weeks. It has been so fun. A little stressful at times, I won't lie. But overall I managed the stress (with help and encouragement and logic) and I really have enjoyed the last week.

The story begins a week ago. To the day. Work Thanksgiving Party. Managing about 200 (possibly more, in fact) residents and guests for a tasty Thanksgiving Dinner. It was the activities department that set up, organized the RSVP list and set the seating assignments. It was a wild few hours but so so so rewarding! Honestly, I think that has been my favorite event so far. There was so much love and gratitude and tenderness. It was a joy to see the residents with their families and it was such a huge testimony to me of how important family is. In the end, that's what matters.

I took a detour from Thanksgiving and last Friday I went with my roommate Ni-kki/cole to see famous harry potter. I really enjoyed the movie and am excited for the final installment but fear I will be sad to see them all over and done with.


Back to Thanksgiving. I started preparations on Monday night with shopping for the ward Thanksgiving Dinner that I was throwing Wednesday night. As of Monday night I had about 7-10 people RSVP-ed. Tuesday it was bumped up to about 15-20. Run to the store for a few more ingredients to up the servings of side dishes. Wednesday I got off work a bit early and was still receiving texts of interest to attend up to about 5pm with the dinner starting at 7pm. It got up to about 28 people, but those that in fact showed up were only 24. Oh. My. Goodness. It was so much fun! My first Thanksgiving Dinner. Truly it was such a treat. It was a tight fit in my little home, but it was so cozy and happy. When we gathered for the prayer, I really did feel like a mom or grandma or something, that was just pleased as punch to have all of my posterity gathered together. haha...silly.

veggie tray. fruit. salad. rolls. potatoes. pass over the sink and there was the stuffing. green bean casserole. on the stove was the turkey and the gravy. the night was also complete with hot orange drink.

sorry grandma jan. no sunny silver. but please don't worry. i'm making one saturday. all for myself.

i sat on the floor next to blue shirt boy and there were a few on the stairs. i think a grand total of 15 or 16 in here. so fun. loved it.

And today is the real deal. Happy Thanksgiving! It's 8pm. I'm home. Writing my blog. Definitely a different kind of Thanksgiving. I am used to eating about my 4 or 5 piece of pie right now. Maybe another roll. Shuffling the Pit cards or turning all of the scrabble tiles over to play another round of speed scrabble. I'm used to listening to music and talking to my grandma and laughing. I did go to my aunt's house today. It was so very good to see my family and to try and help out. I am grateful for their invitation and their graciousness. It's sure making me appreciate the good family and loved ones that I have and I get to spend the holiday's with, both here in Utah and in Arizona. How lucky to have family.