Thanksgiving Eve

MY FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR: Thanksgiving Eve. Actually, if I'm being honest, the EVE of Thanksgiving Eve is probably my favorite.

It's literal perfection. The anticipation, the planning, the prepping, the cleaning, the CAFFEINE. We don't stop drinking coffee until way, way after the kids are in bed. By this point, I'm peeling potatoes like a machine and Paul has decided not to involve himself with kitchen activities, so he starts putting a puzzle together at the dining room table.

We're talking about desserts for our Thanksgiving night bakeoff, we're texting friends and family to solidify plans, we're listening to Christmas music and letting the kids stay up way too late. We're on Foodnetwork.com, I'm frantically searching for a new and incredibly innovative recipe for Brussel sprouts or carrots (it never fails. Last year, the bourbon maple carrots I found were a hit). I'm gagging at turkey prep (will I ever be mature enough to clean/cook my own turkey?!)

Photo: www.cookingandbeer.com

Do you have any day-before-Thanksgiving traditions that you love? What about tried and true recipes? I need some more for my arsenal! There are only so many veggies I can transform with brown sugar, maple syrup and bourbon.

Thanksgiving 2013

Hey hey hey! I hope everyone had an amazing Holiday weekend. It always goes by so quickly.

I had so much fun helping to prep for an amazing dinner with both sides of our family, as well as to celebrate Porter's first Thanksgiving. I even got him the cute little outfit proclaiming it as such. I bought it a few months ago and I was worried it wouldn't fit, since he's actually in 12-18 month clothing now (not 9 month, which was the size of the onesie), but it fit like a glove. A perfect outfit for our little Butterball.

We had all the good stuff - turkey, stuffing, sweet potato soufflé, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, candied carrots, Aunt Carolyn's Deviled Eggs, pumpkin pie, fudge, brownies, lemon cookies, cherry kiss cookies, etc, etc, etc. The menu was perfect. Porter loved the stuffing, which made Paul pretty happy, since he cooked the stuffing and turkey this year. I've also been feeding Porter leftover mashed and sweet potatoes for the past few days; it's basically been the best weekend of his life.

We wrapped up the evening, on the couch watching White Christmas - a Burton family tradition. Except, this year, we all turned in early - before it finished. I blame the infants/toddlers that we had running the show this year... Porter and Amelia, namely.

I started that thing, this year, where I tried to list something I was grateful for each day. I lasted until, like, the tenth day. It wasn't because I was having a hard time finding things I was grateful for, it was because I could have went on and on and on and on...

I'm thankful for family. I'm thankful for tradition, old and new. I'm thankful for love, and selflessness and warm hugs and hot coffee and a cheesy smile on the face of my 11 month old. I'm thankful that God decided I was worthy of molding and caring for the most precious little human life, and that I got to experience the first of many holidays with him. I'm thankful that I am a wife, and that my husband if my best friend. I'm thankful for cold weather and wagon rides and a loyal family dog...

See? I could go on and on. :)

I hope you all had a fabulous holiday!

Sheer Beauty

I can't believe October is already gone.

One more month to go, and I become the mother of a one year old. That, my friends, blows my mind. I thought time flew by when I was a newlywed... I knew nothing about flying time until I created a human and was put in charge of all of his days. Now, I can't believe how quickly Mondays fade into Fridays; it seems like I just took Porter's weekly picture yesterday, and now here it is... time for another? Already?

Thank you, God. My days are good.

I get up, I make coffee when the house is still quiet. I pull back the curtains, I let Lennon out, I settle in to work from the comfort of my own living room, I turn on the Today Show. Now, since it's November, I start up the Christmas music from my favorite Spotify playlist (the one that taunts me all year, until it's acceptable to listen to again, come Halloween).

I savor every single moment that I possibly can.

I'm so thankful. My heart is happy.

I am a working mom. I am a work from home mom. I can hardly remember the days where I rushed around to get ready to get to a job that I dreaded, wearing clothes that I hated. Counting down minutes, hours, until I could come home. It seems like another lifetime.

Life is truly too short to spend a minute doing something because you have to. Find a way to do the things you want to do... set some goals, and tackle them. Even if you're afraid. And if you can get someone behind you to give you a little shove when you seem to stall out (hey, we all do it. No shame), it's even better. I could never do this alone. My husband is a constant force that keeps me moving -- even when I would rather collapse into a puddle into the middle of the living room, pounding my fists into the carpet while sobbing "I DON'T WANNA..." (Don't take notes, Porter, your mama can be a big baby and you're much better than that). You may not wanna, but most of the time God doesn't move until you do.

The twinkling lights over my TV change with the seasons. Right now, they're orange and white. They keep a constant flow of merry in our house, year 'round; it's one of my favorite parts of my living room. Sometimes I clean up just so I can turn off the lights, sink into my couch, and stare. It's my happy place. It's normally about this time, when I am able to take the refreshingly deep breath, that Porter wakes up. Then, my day truly begins.

But, briefly, I was able to spend a few quiet moments alone... being thankful for the present.

Enter with the password: “Thank you!”

Make yourselves at home, talking praise.

Thank him. Worship him.

For God is sheer beauty,

all-generous in love,

loyal always and ever.
–Psalm 100:4 (MSG)