A day of Thanksgiving.

What a great holiday! A wonderful day to enjoy food and family and enjoy the things we've been given in life. Today I reflected mainly on the joy of the living things in my life and what they have brought me. Justen is the best husband that could have been made for me; kind, patient, and hard working. Garrison sure took his sweet time joining our family but boy does he attack life with vigor! And at the end of the day I sure am thankful he goes to bed early and gives me a little time to enjoy the hobbies I have. Tia made a menace of herself begging in the kitchen, but she brought me the realization of how grateful I am for my animals, and the place we are in life that we can have them. Now, there are days when it's hard to find something good to say about Tia the psycho dog, but when Justen is teaching night classes or at late activities it sure is nice having a doberman around the house, and she does kind of grow on you (like fungus). Even though the only people she's ever scared are the ladies from church who stop by to check on me (and boy does she have fun with them!). Abby is one of those amazing border collies that you just can't help but love. She's not Elle and I still miss her some days, but Abby is still a good dog. I am so thankful that she was old enough to be a real help with the sheep by the time Garrison was born so I didn't have to go out and help when I was to sick to. She makes our lives so much easier by doing all the hard running and heavy lifting of caring for such dumb critters. Now about the dumb critters, I sure am attached to them. Itty Bitty is starting to look old, and it sure makes me sad. I am ever so grateful for the enjoyment they provide us, and the freezer full of meat. Which brings me to Nacho, I'm so glad that I don't have to worry about dogs getting in with our sheep any more, it is a releif to know that he will stomp them to death if they go near HIS sheep. And finally the cats, I'm a little miffed at them because I found a mouse in my house the other day, but all in all they do their job, when compared with how many mice we had when we first moved in. So for all the living things in my life I am thankful.
As I was cooking dinner today, and loving everything about my kitchen, I reflected on the years it took us to get here. Our first kitchen in logan left something to be desired but we got by. Then of course you had to love our bothwell house with cupboards that swelled shut. Our St. George house will always be unforgettable, built in well, 1860, 1900, 1920s, 1950, and 1970 as each consective addition was put on, and none of them by professionals or even people who owned a level or measuring tape, but boy what a learning experience that house was. Our 9 month stint in the RV was of course unique but at least the cupboards didn't swell shut- and it sure is easy to keep a 36' X 8' space clean. Our brief stay at Nanny's house was probably the best kitchen to that point but it wasn't ours. The best part about that kitchen is it was always well stocked with yummy food! But now I have a kitchen to LOVE. But as I thought about how much I enjoyed our home here, I realized that even with all the interesting places we've lived we've enjoyed each place we've been in. We've always had a place to live, food to eat, and blessed with all the things we need, and many of the things we want. We have a lot to be greatful for we've been very blessed in everything we do. I thought I'd give you all a pic of thankgsiving dinner and share a few of the recipes I used (mother- this part is for you so you have the spinich pinwheel recipe I used)


Now for a couple of the recipes I made today:
For the turkey, I used this blog. It turned out FANTASTIC! So moist and juicy. I think next year I want to try an orange glazed one thought, that sounds yummy.
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moms_roast_turkey/

I made the spinich pinwheels using this recipe:
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/pampered-chef-recipes/cheese-spinach-pinwheels.htm

They were fantastic, I did make a few changes though. I used reduced fat crossant dough and cream cheese. And I sauted bacon and onions (chopped) drained, and sprinkled that on in place of the ham.

I did Loraines blueberry Jello recipe, but used frozen mixed berries instead of canned blueberries, I will be doing that from now on. It was good.

I used my super secret recipe for the stuffing. I'll share the secret with you though: stovetop turkey flavor. Anyway, those are the basics. Hope everyone had a wonderful day.