Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving

Joanna, Dylan, Jaclyn, and Derek

Derek, the lady's man

I think all that turkey did uncle Wes in!

Josh and I do the holiday swap with our families. I'm sure most of you do the same thing. We spend Thanksgiving with one family and Christmas at the other. Each year it swaps, so this year is Turkey Day with the Teeters clan and Christmas with the Ramsey's! This Thanksgiving feast was especially heartwarming because both of my brothers have recently returned home safely from the Marines. We also had my uncle Roy and aunt Barb and her husband Wes over at my parent's house to help celebrate. I think you'd all agree, we have been blessed in countless ways this year, and we give thanks to Heavenly Father for all of them. Funny story about "giving thanks..."

My good friend Lore shared with me one of her family Thanksgiving traditions. As everyone is seated around her mother's table and before everyone starts eating, they take turns sharing three things that they're thankful for. Oh, and they can't be any of the obvious answers, either. (family, friends, the gospel, etc.) I thought to myself, what an excellent idea!! So as my family was getting ready to dig in, I made the announcement that we were going to share one thing we were thankful for this year. (I figured I'd make it easy on them and just share ONE.) Forgetting that my family (minus my mom) is not religious at all, the reaction I got was a bunch of deer-in-headlights-looks!!! Uh oh. Talk about AWKWARD. Luckily my mom jumped right in and started us off, expressing her gratitude that my brothers came home safely to her, while this year so many parents will have to sit down to their first Thanksgiving dinner without their son or daughter killed in action. She added how hard it would have been if she had to set one less place setting for dinner that night. As we went around the table one of my uncles asked to be skipped over, both of my brothers chimed in with cynical comments, and I think I got a few cave-man-like grunts out of my dad. Sheesh. After that awkward social experiment, I decided that what I was most thankful for (in that moment, anyway) was my mother's innate ability to always have something to say!!!!! I love you mom!!!!!

I'm bummed that I didn't take any pictures of my mom's spread. She is super creative and festive when it comes to decorating and arranging her table for holiday meals, and this year's was no exception. All of the food she prepared was wonderful and tasty, and the table was beautifully done. I have to admire the work of women in making the holidays feel merry and special. Although it requires a ton of work and planning getting it all together, in the end, we're building memories and passing on good traditions that warm the heart and hearth.

We stayed a few days at my parent's house in Olympia and had a great time. It was the first time since last Christmas that all of us were together under one roof. Joanna and Jaclyn, and all of their girly cuteness, made even the toughest of Marine hearts melt. My brothers have an on-going contest to be the better uncle to these little ladies, so they were constantly playing with them and cuddling with them. Too comical!!