We spent lots of time with family and enjoyed lots and lot of yummy food...which is what the holidays are all about anyways! We always do Thanksgiving with Cody's family the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, and this year was no different. His mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and their three kiddos came over for dinner around 6:30 and we spent the evening spending time together and talking. And...Seiden got lots and lots of love! His sister hadn't seen her since the Saturday after she was born and at that point, no one had even gotten to hold her yet. Not even us :-( So, when Chrissy got there...we knew that there was going to be a fight as to who got to hold her first! Between Cody's parents, Chrissy, and his niece, Airicka, that little girl was in someone's arms the entire night! Precious angel. I usually cook a big, traditional Thanksgiving for his family. But...that didn't happen this year! We decided to order a traditional Thanksgiving dinner from Cracker Barrel, and it was fabulous! It really does taste like you cooked it right in your very own oven. But...Cracker Barrel is always good and it always tastes pretty much as close to home cooking as you're gonna get for going out to eat. I'm not a huge fan of going out to eat...I'd rather cook every meal at home...but sometimes it's just nice to have someone else do all the leg work! And this Thanksgiving was definitely one of those times. We had so much fun with Cody's family and it was so good to see each and everyone of them.
Thanksgiving day was spent relaxing, watching football, eating lots of yummy, home cooked food that my momma cooked, and the entire day with my family. I went for a run that morning and did a little body weight WOD...I figured it was a good excuse to eat more :-) Totally kidding! But...it does feel SO good to be working out again. My six week check-up wasn't until December 2nd...but I figured running and doing body weight stuff was fine. My doctor even told me that I could start doing cardio as soon as I felt up to it. And I felt up to it after it had been about 3.5 weeks since I had Seiden. So, I started off walking super long distances and then eased into slow jogging before I just jumped right back into everything. Working out is part of who I am...so being a mommy and still being able to workout has made me feel absolutely complete! Anyways...my Mimi came in for Thanksgiving and she hadn't seen Seiden since the week after she was born. She had been DYING to hold her. So, as soon as I got back from the gym, we fed the little princess then gave her a bath, then called my parents to see if they wanted to come over. Silly question...they always want to come over! They were over for a couple of hours, then us girls (minus Seiden) went a ran a couple of errands. I needed some last minute groceries...and it's just nice to get out and about. After we got back, mom had to really get going on dinner. So, Cody and I spent a little bit of time at home relaxing before we headed back across the street for Thanksgiving. The Cowboys game started at 3:00 or 3:30 (I don't keep up with the Cowboys...other than knowing they're a sorry excuse for a football team!), so we headed over to their house before the game started. Mom had laid out a bunch of dips and other little snackies to munch on before dinner...and I had to keep away so I wouldn't spoil Thanksgiving! I'm a sucker for a veggie tray and dips...and there were 3 different kinds of dips...YUMMY!!! While mom was getting dinner ready, the girls were all in the kitchen. Seiden included! She just chilled in her little bouncy seat and slept the whole time...little angel! She really is the best baby...so chill, content, and relaxed. But man...when she wants something...she lets you know and she wants it done NOW! Wonder who she gets that from?!? :-) After mom finished getting dinner ready, it was time to EAT! I love Thanksgiving...I could eat turkey and dressing all year long! And my mom's dressing is so, so good...I look forward to it every year. It's funny because when I make dressing, I make more of a stuffing. I don't even use her recipe! I guess I don't want to try to make hers...it would be disappointing if it didn't taste as good! She really doesn't use a recipe. She just puts all the traditional veggies and seasonings in and tastes it along the way until it tastes just right. Dinner was fabulous...as it always is! And then after dinner, my Mimi pretty much held Seiden until we went home about 8:30...precious! She sure loves her great-Mimi.
We have never been the Black Friday type of family. Honestly...it gives me a little bit of anxiety. I know there are so many good deals and you can really get some awesome stuff for hardly any money. But, for me personally, I would rather pay more than fight the crowds. We don't really exchange Christmas presents anymore. We decided a few years ago since we were all grown, it was silly to fret over what to get who when we can all pretty much just go and get what we want anytime. But, before we stopped exchanging presents, I would always have my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. It's just too stressful to me to even fight the crowds after Thanksgiving. The closer it gets to Christmas it just seems like you can't go anywhere where there aren't hundreds of people! So...the whole Black Friday thing just doesn't appeal to me. However, we did get out this year for a few things. It was just my mom, Mimi, and me. And we didn't get out until about 1:30, so we weren't fighting the super big crowds. But, the mall and Target were still jam packed with people. And the check-out lines were crazy! It was fun though to get a few little deals and steals and still not have to fight the insanity of the morning!
Every holiday from now on is going to be so special because we have our precious Seiden Grace here with us. But, this year is just so extremely special because it's her first for everything and we are HOME. We really had no idea how long we would be in the NICU and the fact that we are home and will be home for every holiday from now on is just such a blessing. We are still just so in awe of God and his miraculous healing powers. I just look at Seiden and am just taken aback that He would choose us to be this beautiful, perfect, precious baby girl's parents. She takes my breath away and is just the sweetest, most loving little baby. I never knew that I could love something so much, and yet, I look at her and my heart just overflows. And, I am so lucky to have Cody as a husband and him as Seiden's daddy. He just loves her so much and their daddy-daughter relationship is already so strong and so precious and special. I love to watch him with her. You can just see the love in his eyes that he has for his baby girl. We are truly blessed in so many ways. These are precious times with our sweet families and we are just so thankful! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!!
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