What an incredible blessing it has been to have Trevor home for four whole days! If it were up to me, I might be more inclined to spend most of a four-day vacation doing not-very-much at home, but thankfully, Trevor is not wired that way, and gets us all motivated to have fun family outings whenever possible.
So, at 8:15 AM on Thanksgiving Day, we had all kids strapped into the van and were on our way to the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade (not Macy’s anymore… Ikea now. Who knew?) My family tradition growing up was to watch the parade on TV each year, so it was exciting for me (and I’m sure for the girls as well) to be there in the flesh. Romilly was brave enough to go out and meet some of the Sesame Street characters, but Pippa didn’t work up the nerve until just a bit too late as the parade started moving on. Her favorite thing was the marching bands – that’s my girl!
We also saw Justin Guarini and Mario, who are apparently quite famous, though I confess I had to YouTube both of them after we got home to find out who they were (click their links to see for yourself). I’m glad to report my girls were more excited to see Tinkerbell and Ariel than these guys, especially since there were similarly pint-sized fans lining up to get autographs from Mario.
After the parade we made our way down to a huge tent that the lovely people from Campbell’s had set up to give us lunch for free. Seriously! We had no idea what we were standing in line for, but it seemed like the place to be so we thought we’d check it out. Inside, we were given samples of everything from nachos and chicken dip to turkey pot pie to Christmas cookies. It was just the thing to keep us going until a huge early dinner later on.
Afterwards, we spent a lovely afternoon visiting with Mary’s family (yes, Mrs. Magee, you *do* deserve a mention on our thankfulness garland, and the situation has been remedied!) and meeting their newest addition, Mary’s nephew John Nestor. Beatrix attached herself to Mary’s youngest brother Tom, and all three girls had a fabulous time playing with the cat toys even though Mrs. Magee had gone to great lengths to avail them with plenty of human toys.
Finally, we ended up at my mom’s house for a quiet Thanksgiving feast. We each chose one person to share something we are thankful for about. Pippa and Romilly had chosen Trevor and me respectively, and each actually shared something original and relevant! It was a sweet time of being together with family, and throughout the day we were so aware of what a precious blessing it is to have family and to have them nearby.
On Friday we got another early start and took the girls to the Please Touch Museum. We bought season tickets a few weeks ago when we were going with friends, and we’re off to a flying start at making the most of our 15-month membership. Do you know what I find hilarious about watching the girls play there? Their absolute favorite things to do are the things my life is filled with every single day. You know, the ones I might sometimes be tempted to call mundane? Watching them change diapers and grocery shop with such delight makes me think my job must be an awful lot more fun than I realize sometimes.
After naps, we went to my dad’s house to enjoy a second Thanksgiving feast of our combined leftovers. The girls got to see their great grandparents and great aunt and uncle, and it was another sweet time together with family.
Yesterday and today, we have mostly laid low and let the girls recover from a whirlwind couple of days. We did pay a visit to my mom’s thrift store yesterday for lunch, which is always a treat for us. Last night I finished off the Thanksgiving leftovers by making turkey noodle soup for dinner. Thanks to a secret ingredient (oh, alright, I’ll tell you: it was Trevor’s homemade bread sauce – yum!) it was like eating Thanksgiving from a bowl – delish!
Unfortunately, something in the soup seems to have disagreed with Miss Bea, or else she is having a reaction from a virus, since she woke up this morning with a swollen top lip and hand. We spoke to the doctor, who is not too concerned, but we will take her in tomorrow if she hasn’t improved. The only thing I can think of that she had for the first time ever is the clove in the soup last night. If anyone knows anything about clove allergies, please send that info my way. I have to admit, I’m chuckling to myself at the prospect of having to report on every medical form I fill out for her for the next seventeen years or so that she has a known allergy to cloves. Weird.
Busy-ness and bizarre medical conditions aside, as I consider what I am most thankful for in this season of Thanksgiving, I keep coming back to God. James 1:17 reminds us that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father…” I feel so richly blessed to have a wonderful husband and three precious girls, another sweet little one on the way, dear friends and family, good health and all of our daily needs met. I am thankful for His peace in my heart, and above all the precious gifts God has bestowed upon me, it is this one I am most thankful for today:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9