through the years

On our first Thanksgiving I was 272 days pregnant and 2 days away from delivering my first baby. I had spent the previous 3 months on bed rest splitting my time rotating like a rotisserie chicken from my left side to my right, evenly distributing my time between the couch and the bed. Jason was TDY in Texas the entire time and I was allowed 1 weekly trip to Wallyworld to buy groceries and to the doctors office for a check up. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I missed my family, I missed my friends and I wanted to go home. Home was not Arkansas and I I could barely get out of bed that day without sobbing. Our friends invited us over to their house but didn't want to sob through dinner at someone else's house in front of strangers. I opted for a turkey-less thanksgiving of chicken parmesan and what would be one of our last meals just the two of us.

Our second Thanksgiving we tried to cram an entire years worth of time into two weeks. Jason came home for R&R for Isabella's very first birthday and of course, arrived two days before Thanksgiving. (See people sometimes those there is a bonsu to a holiday baby!) What I remember most about this year was wanting to stop time. It just couldn't go slow enough for me. 14 days really isn't enough time when you haven't seen your husband for 9 months and you still have 3 months to go before you know you will see him again. The actual Thanksgiving feast was the first time Bella had actual real food and of course wanted nothing to do with anything Gerber related after that. Still, we had a lot to be thankful for because we were actually together when so many of our friends and their families were not that year.

Our third year we celebrated in our first house here. We celebrated with a ham here and Bella's birthday. The theme this year was a Dora birthday cake and I remember she recieved a Dora tricycle. We completed the day hanging Christmas lights in 70+degree weather. I remember sending family and friends pictures of our lights and the clothes we were wearing during the adventure and people wanted to know where exactly we moved to. It was sunny and we weren't wearing coats?? Welcome to the south.

Thanksgiving number four found me pregnant for the third time. Seriously are we sensing a pattern people? And because all bakeries in this city seemed to shut down after Thanksgiving, I was stuck ordering a cake from Sams. Who in their right mind attempts Sams one week away from delivery with a three year old and an eleven month old all in the name of a birthday cake? A complete moron that is who. (note: this is when a Thanksgiving birthday is not so helpful.) I am prepared though and take coloring books for Bella and toys for Amelia. Walking into the store, I immediately take a shopping cart to the stomach by a lunatic six/seven year old running down the aisle. I stood there in pain and looking between my legs just waiting for water to come gushing out like you see on TV, that's how hard he hit me. After I caught my breath and was sure I wasn't in labor and could actually move again, I waddle myself back to the bakery and begin my wait for the birthday cake I ordered. I'm waiting with about 30 other people. Of course, it's Thanksgiving after all. This is the point of my story, I should point out we were teaching Bella about manners. A lovely old man decided to pass gas. Loudly. Very loudly. Bella's little head shot up and she stands up in the cart and begins to look around to identify the culprit. No one is owning up to it. She knows who it is, points him out and just as loudly as the gas was passed announces "Papa pooted. Excuse him please."

I found out I was pregnant with Drew the week before Thanksgiving number five. Yep still pregnant..it's my lucky holiday I guess. Jason's mom, cousin and her daughter were coming into town and we weren't ready to tell anyone our news. I did the best I could and ate what I could but I had never felt so sick. Poultry is never my friend in my first trimester and this was awful. The smell of the cooking meat and the taste was not my favorite. I remember everywhere we went and everywhere we ate, praying I wouldn't throw up on myself. I was most thankful for Zofran this year.

The sixth Thanksgiving we broke one of our golden rules and traveled to Jason's mom's house. There were two weddings we always said we would go back for and this was one of them, Thanksgiving weekend or not. We enjoyed the wedding and enjoyed spending a lot of time with family that we don't get to see very often.

This year I am not cooking a thing for Thanksgiving. We have been invited to our friends' house and I am beyond excited. She is seriously one of the best cooks I know and has been cooking for two weeks. Five pies await my arrival. FIVE pies and only six adults. Pretty good odds for my sweet tooth. This year I am most thankful for the healthy children who call me mama. The husband who is finally home enough that we actually get on each other's nerves a little bit. To live in a place that finally feels like a home and for the amazing friends we've made here. I'll miss my family in Ohio but I'm happy to be home with my family here too.