What I am thankful for

I knew Joey was a momma's boy, but I didn't know how much until this week when everyone came. All I can say is...

I AM THANKFUL FOR ZOLOFT!

Thanksgiving 2007

I just need to learn to take the camera out and take pictures of things like this. 20 of my parents 23 grandchildren were at my house, and not a single picture of all of them together with my parents! How sad is that? I am hoping that Hil will post some pictures later when she gets home, but until then, I have none.

My Thanksgiving week began Sunday night when my brother-in-law, Shawn Mc (Heather's husband) came up with their 3 sons. Heather and Holly were to arrive on Tuesday. Shawn Mc arrived so that he could go deer hunting with my Shawn. On Tuesday, Heather & Holly got here, along with my parents, and Brett & his family. On Wednesday Chad & his family arrived. Chad's wife, Kimber, just had a new baby...Ella...on October 5th. She is a cutie. Early Thursday morning, like 5am-ish, Hilary and her family arrived from Ft. Knox, KY. They had a long 10 hr drive and couldn't leave until 5pm Wednesday. They had pulled over a few times a long the way to sleep here and there. They weren't planning that, but it happened, and I rather have them here then dead. And about 8am on Thursday morning, Scott, Val & Jared arrived from Killeen. They left like at 3:30am.

When I was growing up, Thanksgiving dinner at 6pm. Not before ever! Not even 5:59pm! Always 6pm, and always we were dressed nicely and had the house cleaned, and the table set perfectly. If we even ate an olive before dinner, we were in trouble (sorry Mom, but it's true!). Dad would make pies with nasty pie crusts (sorry Dad, but it's true!), but the turkey would be carved perfectly and everything else made just right. Dad just didn't have a good pie crust recipe, and I hated that they were never done right. They were either not cooked right, or they were burned. He would burn a few at first, and then not cook the rest long enough so that the crust would not burn. No one knew what Pampered Chef was back then, and their pie crust protecters (not that I use them because I do make perfect pie crusts!).

Thanksgiving dinner at the Miller Family aka as the Pritchard Family Reunion is now at 12 noon. Besides all my family who comes, but Shawn's family comes too. Plus extended family...like aunts/uncles/cousins from his parents side. Thanksgiving 2006, when I was 8 months pregnant, we had over 60 people eating here. This year because Shawn's mom family did not come (sickness), we had about 30-40. It wasn't as hectic, but I felt I was soooooooooo not prepared!

Dinner was prepared at 12:30 with 3 different types of turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, smashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and oh the desserts! I made 5 pies. I did...and all were eaten and eaten fast! I made 2 pumpkins, 2 pecans (from the pecans that my mom brought up from Killeen) and 1 apple. I also made a Reeses Peanut Butter bar dessert, and then what everyone else brought. I ate a lot, and gained weight.

Speaking of weight... Hilary is like skinny! I knew she had lost like 100 lbs, and 50 of it was at least since April when I saw her, so I hadn't seen her skinny skinny yet (she was like this when she married in 1996). She looks so good, and I am so jealous! And as I am typing this, I am thinking of more food and when I can get to Sonic to get me a drink. So sad, I know.

Pritchard Family Reunion

Next week of Thanksgiving. By Thursday, 35/40 people will be at my house staying. If you get on my Dad's blog, you can read some about it last year. Everyone is coming again except Toddanem. Maybe next year we can get them down. I have to go do grocery shopping Monday. This weekend will be all about cleaning and buying me a robe. OK, I hate robes. I sleep in my G's. I hate everything about PJ's. Can't stand the feel of them. And I had a horrible robe that I got a few years ago that I threw away a few months ago. So, off to robe shopping Saturday. LOL!!

Update on Lauren: Eye looks good. One stitch came out this morning. She is hoping Shawn will take the rest out tonight. Her eye is yellow & purple, with a red streak in the white of her eye. She is hoping that it will look better by tomorrow. Big youth thing tomorrow in Shreveport, and she is afraid that no one will dance with her. She is only 12, but this is the 1 dance that our stake allows the 12-13 yr olds go to because it's an all-day missionary thingy. I told Josh to dance with her, and to line some guys up to dance with her. LOL!! Her picture of her and her buck was also in the paper this week.

Joey cut his first tooth this week! Talk about exciting, and talk about miserable!! Poor baby has had a fever, running nose and yucko diapers all week! Poor baby!! :-(

Josh and his "new" car

Last night, Shelly & Mark got in from Alaska. Shelly is Shawn's sister. She and Mark have lived in Alaska for about 10 or so years. Mark is older, like close to 50. He and Shelly have always worked construction work (they were part of the group that redid the housing at Ft. Wainwright). But the cold is getting to them, so within 2 years they will have all their stuff moved down. So last night they get in. Mark is driving their huge motor home pulling a trailer that has a restored Corvette in it. I want to say it's a '79 or somewhere in the 80's. That is one of many hobbies of Mark's...restoring. We didn't know he was bringing it. In fact we just found out a few days ago that they had left Alaska and were heading down. Last we had heard they weren't coming down this winter. Josh goes outside to help with the directing of the motor home, and Mark drives out the Corvette. "Hey, Josh...wanna drive this to school tomorrow?" Uh, he// yes! What 17 yr old wouldn't? Now Josh is a good kid. Haven't had to wake him up to many times this year to get to seminary (he usually is heading out the door at 5:35am to make it by 6am in Texarkana), but this morning...5:22am he leaves! Yes, showered and everything! OUT THE DOOR! He tells his seminary teacher that he was up all night because he was soooooooooooo excited that he was able to take this Corvette today. LOL! I'll try to post a picture.

New Mastercard Commercial

Gun: $200
Ammo: $25
ER visit for stitches: $800+ (that's how much it cost for Kayley when she got her stitches in 2005!...don't want to know what this will be!)
Getting your first buck: Priceless!

I am filling in for Heidi on this one. She called me this morning to tell me that Lauren got her first buck, a 3 point buck! Paul is jealous! He and Nathan are off going hunting now...no not because Lauren got a buck, but because they had already planned on going hunting. Now he is REALLY hoping to shoot a buck!

But anyway, back to Lauren. She got the buck and the gun kicked back and hit her in the face. Well, the gun didn't hit her, but the scope did. She had to get 6 stitches. But it was well worth the pain and stitches to get her first ever buck! She even beat out Josh on getting a buck! Good job Lauren!

We can't forget about Shawn! He got an 8 point buck with an 18 inch spread. Paul is really salivating to get down there at Thanksgiving in hopes to get himself a buck and to redeem himself for shooting the spots off the one he got last year!! Good job Shawn!!

The day after...

The Ward Halloween Party last night was great! I had a lot of people to thank me and tell me that it was a good one. Time I got home last night though, my feet were sore! Josh was a judge in the chili cook-off & Lindsey won the cutiest costume in the Nursery & below age kids. Her "boyfriend" won the scariest costume. LOL!! I had only 9 people sign up for chili, and we probably had 20 different types of chili! We had so much, and tons of cornbread, crackers, the trimmings for frito pies, brownies and hundreds of cupcakes! It really was fun. Glad it isn't my calling though...don't think I could do a Christmas one in 6 weeks! I have a choir program to worry about anyways...

Few more pictures as well of the small kids and their haircuts. I got Joey's buzzed and Kristen's got hers cut today too, and we added a pink strip of hair. She loves it. Other girls want color in their hair too, so by Thanksgiving, we may have colored hair up here (perfect for family pictures!).