Friday, November 27, 2009

Thanksgiving Recap

We had a great Thanksgiving!

We started out on Wednesday, by helping assemble and deliver Thanksgiving baskets to the families of the Green House, a non-profit that a friend of mine runs. I brought the kids with me and they were good little helpers, finding the different items that I needed and putting them in our boxes. Then when it was time to deliver all the ingredients to make a Thanksgiving feast they were so excited to go door to door. It was a really great experience and I love that it's something I can include the kids in. We talked on the way there about what we were doing and why. Ava and Drew both liked the idea of "helping people." It was such a rewarding experience, I hope to make it a yearly tradition!

Then, on Thanksgiving morning, Dan, his mom, and I ran in the Run to Feed the Hungry. We did the 10k timed run which starts at 8:45 and Uncle Scott stayed at home with the kids. They watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade while we ran in the cold! We ran this race a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, even though it's the largest organized run in Sacramento and had over 30,000 runners and walkers this year! It's a great way to start the day. You get the feeling of being part of a community, you are raising money to support the Sacramento Food Bank and getting some good exercise in before indulging in all those delicious Thanksgiving calories. This year Dan found the best place to park and we walked right over to the starting line. I think Dan was motivated to beat his mom to the finish, so we ran much faster than I am used to. We ended up finishing our 6.2 miles in 58 minutes and 30 seconds, which gives us an average pace of 9:18.


After the run, we got cleaned up and headed up to Amador to celebrate Thanksgiving with my Aunt Marie, Uncle Terry, cousin Heather and her husband John, cousin Adam and Grandma Honey and her friend Gil. Grandma Kathy and Uncle Scott came with us too. There was lots of delicious food and lots of good times! After dinner we went for a walk in the woods and saw a bunch of deer. Then it was time for more food--we had three different kinds of pie! The kids each had two pieces of pumpkin pie! And I confess-I had a sliver of each! It's a good thing we ran in the morning!

Uncle Terry and Aunt Marie with the bird

Heather (with a tiny baby bump) making gravy

Uncle Scott, Dan and Ava

Grandma Kathy, me and Drew

One side of the Thanksgiving table

The other side of the Thanksgiving table

This morning Dan and I hit some of the Black Friday sales. We went to Kohl's, Walmart, Costco and Toys R Us and got some great deals. It was our first experience shopping on Black Friday and it wasn't bad at all. There were some long lines, but they moved quickly and were pretty organized. Except for Toys R Us. That place was packed and we decided to leave instead of shop.

When we got home from our shopping we learned that my grandma had a mild heart attack last night. She should be ok, but she is in the ICU at a hospital here in Sacramento. So this afternoon Heather and John and I visited her at the hospital. She is so sweet and we are so thankful that she is still here with us. She was very sleepy today, so we didn't stay too long, but I am planning to go back and visit her tomorrow. If you could please keep her in your prayers, I would appreciate it!

6 comments:

Katie Scott said...

Looks like you have had a fun and busy few days! I will be praying for a full recovery for your grandma! If you need anyone to watch the kiddos so you can go to the hospital, let me know!!

Kate said...

glad to hear that grandma honey (or grandma cookie, as i call her) is doing relatively well. looks like you all had a great time at thanksgiving too!

ps sorry no callback, will talk to you tomorrow.

:-*

DeAnna said...

Happy Thanksgiving! Praying for your Grandma!

Leslie said...

what a terrific way to spend the holiday. you're getting so many things right, friend. so many things.

The Portas said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your grandma. We'll keep her in our prayers. I'm glad you all had an otherwise very nice holiday weekend, though! I love that you're getting Drew and Ava involved with "helping people" while they are so young. That is so important!! You guys are good people. Happy belated Thanksgiving to you!

Laura said...

I hope your grandma is doing better! I'm keeping her in my prayers!