Thanksgiving in Storden (November 27)

We enjoyed a fun afternoon in Storden at the First Baptist Church where Mark's uncle is the pastor on Thanksgiving day this year.

We started the day with some snuggles and Netflix mixed in with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and enjoyed a butter braid and fruit for breakfast. It was such a nice, laid-back morning, even with some crazy little boys running around :) I was super excited about my new owl mug and just exactly how much coffee it holds :)

We loaded up and hit the road around noon for the half hour drive to Storden. We arrived to the smell of a bonfire inside the church, which is one of those things that will stick in our minds for years to come, I'm sure, even if it wasn't really that big a deal to us :) The flue was apparently not working properly on the fireplace, filling the church with smoke - ooops! It certainly added a little extra rustic feel to the meal :)

We had a nice-sized group this year (16) and a nice variety of food as well! The menu consisted of turkey (of course), stuffing, mashed potatoes, a fluffy jello salad, Grandma Vi's rolls, a festive mixed green salad, veggie and relish trays, freezer corn, sweet potato casserole, and, of course, we topped it all off with a variety of pies (of which my favorite was the pecan - YUM!). It was all so delicious!! Granted, we had to enjoy it in spurts, as we now have two little toddlers to wrangle, and both of them were well past their nap times.

It is fun (and let's be honest - completely exhausting haha) to watch the next generation of Johnsons grow. I, for one, am looking forward to the family gatherings when I get to eat my food before it gets cold and when I don't spend an hour putting the boys down for naps {a drive in the country for the win!}, but I'm also trying to remember to be present in my harried state of mind and body. I know these days are so short-lived and that I will look back on these days fondly and think to myself how fortunate I was to be able to be so humbled by such sweet boys :) We are all healthy and joyful, and for that, I am SO THANKFUL!

It is always such a blessing to be surrounded by family :) A HUGE thanks to Dave and Chris for hosting this year, and to everyone for all the delicious food, fun and fellowship :) We had a great time :)