First of all Happy Thanksgiving! This is a special Thanks giving for you because it is the first Thanksgiving where you got to chow down! Let's just say you were a BIG FAN. We tried to give you a "pre-Thanksgiving" turkey last night...but...that didn't turn out so well! See, I had BIG plans to make a Thanksgiving dinner to have with Grandpa Marker and Mary. However, I was going to make it ahead of time. That way we could still go out and about on Thanksgiving and not have to slave away in the kitchen all day. I'm not bragging, but I am a fairly good cook. Your dad and I make turkeys even in the summer for sandwich meat so I wasn't very worried about throwing this little dinner together. Unfortunately, your Grandpa Marker wasn't able to make it due to the weather, but because it was thawed and WE LOVE TURKEY I decided to throw that bird in anyway.
I opened the turkey and read the directions on the outside. For some reason I had it in my mind that I was going to cook this bird for 3.5 hours based on the size of the turkey lurkey. I threw it in the oven. I only had a small pan to put the bird in so it almost instantly started dripping from the pan into the oven. That created smoke all over the house. I had a hard time seeing your dad in the dining room through the smoke. I adjusted the bird with the hopes of eliminating the oil drip. When I looked the top of the bird was awfully done. Also, somehow I had lost the little pop out thermometer. I threw some more butter on it and shut the over. The smoke continued to get worse, and I was kind of over the cooking turkey so I took it out. I was relieved that the smoke was gone and left the bird in the kitchen.
A little while later I decided to go back in and check on the bird. It looked weird...I wanted your dad to carve it so I helped him get it on a plate. I noticed that the liquid coming out was not clear...Coming from a long line of under cooked meat panickers so I immediately was certain that the bird was not cooked and that it was mostly likely going to make us all extremely ill if we were to consume any part of the bird.
As I panic about under-cooked food your dad always tries to reason with me.
So he says, "Hey! Where is that little thermometer that is supposed to pop out when it is done?"
And I say, "I don't know! I think it fell out when I was washing the darn thing."
I was about that time that we both noticed that red juice was FLOWING out of the bird and that the thermometer was on the bottom of the bird...OR I HAD COOKED THE TURKEY UPSIDE DOWNE!!! So we turned the bird around and cooked it for another 3.5 hours roughly. I wasn't about to throw this bird away. I put about 3 sticks of butter on it and this time it didn't smoke. Thankfully. Your dad was dying to eat some turkey, but through some miracle I kept him away from the bird.
Before I even started the cooking of the turkey I got some turkey cooking advice from Mrs. Shetler, my friend and colleague at school. She told me to put the bird in a bag and throw it in the roaster. The truth is the roaster is downstairs and I was too lazy to go and get it. Also, when I was at the store I forgot to get a bag for the turkey and wasn't sure which aisle to find it in...Long story short I should have put some more thought into my turkey cooking. In the midst of this disaster I texted Mrs. Shetler and she walked me through it...I actually just remembered that in the middle of texting her she called me at the exact moment you got a nose bleed and I had to call the surgery center to make sure you were okay. (That will be for another blog.) You were fine and eventually so was the bird...although it was a little dry if you can imagine that. In short I am thankful that we didn't have any guests for that debacle.
In all seriousness I have been spending time on Facebook reading all of the things that people are thankful for. Truth is that we have sooo much to be so thankful for. Listing it all seems almost foolish because inevitably we will forget something that we should obviously be thankful for. However, I would like to share some of the things that I am thankful for, both grand scheme of things, and small. I always want you to remember that just by being born to us you will have more in your lifetime than roughly 75% of the world. You are blessed, and that doesn't really even begin to describe it.
For starters...
I am grateful to live in a country where as a woman I have NEARLY the same rights as a man. I can vote, work, participate in any activities I feel appropriate, and I can voice my opinion. Often.
I am also grateful that as a country despite media distractions we were able to elect a decent man into the White House. I think that the country is really headed in the right direction, particularly with the number of women elected into the Senate.
I am thankful that your mom and dad have decent paying jobs and a comfortable house to live in. So often I complain about cleaning and cooking, but we have a home to clean and food to make. I have nothing to complain about. We have more than we will ever need.
I am also thankful for my wonderful family. We are healthy, we are happy, we have fun, we have it all.
I am grateful for good childcare. I am so thankful that grandma Halter watches you. I know you are safe, happy, and spending time with someone who KNOWS you are as special as I know you are. Grandma makes it so much easier for me to be a working mom. I get to have a job I love and you get to go to a place that you love. It is the best of both worlds.
I am perhaps the most grateful for you and your dad. Your dad is an AWESOME dad. He spoils us both and we are extremely lucky to have him. As much as I like to champion myself as independent woman he really makes it so we have it all. We are always his first thought. You are very lucky he's your daddy. He will give you the world. Of that I have no doubt. Where do I begin with you? You have made us into our own family which is pretty darn amazing. We are getting to make our own memories and have so much fun. Each and everyday we are astonished by you, your curiosity, wonder, and discoveries. Recently you took up coloring. Even though it may seem basic you are entertained by it for hours. Thanks, Auntie Katie for that one! It is so much fun to watch you master a new skill. This is one small thing that you do to amaze us. What can we say? We are pretty easily entertained. You have made us blessed beyond our wildest imaginations and for that I am grateful.
Today's lesson: Be grateful.
Mama loves you!
aA
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