A Praise-Worthy Thanksgiving: Part I

We were fortunate enough to get to do Thanksgiving x 2! Our first stop was San Antonio! Typically, we spend the first part of Thanksgiving in Abilene, but this year was a special year for our family. One in which I am sure none of us will soon forget. In July, our family was chosen to be a part of a journey that would end in a miracle. Baby Ryan, born well under 2 pounds is home, growing (he is over 8 pounds now), off his oxygen and is as normal as any other 4 month old. And did I mention he was PAINFULLY CUTE?!! Oh my, is he ever! So our family had to part ways this year to ensure that Ryan would stay as protected as possible during what we all know to be a bad time of year for the sniffles! While we are sure to have missed our Thanksgiving memories this year we could not have been more thankful for Ryan's life and feel certain that our celebrating will be all the more special in the Spring when he is ready to be around more people! For this and so MANY other reasons, not forgetting the two additional babies that were added to our family this year with Kaki and Kendall, this Thanksgiving was certainly praise-worthy!! Lord, we are humbled by your generosity!!

This was also a special time in San Antonio, because it may have been our last as a family... KK and Albi are moving to Houston!! And this lands us in the land of humility once again as God has so graciously blessed Albi with a new job and both Albi and KK with a new adventure! We are excited to explore the sites and sounds of Houston AND we are especially excited that with my parents being closer to Josh and Emily that we will get to see them MUCH more! In fact, God was so strategic with this job for my dad that he found them a place literally SMACK dab in the middle of the two of us...

Thanksgiving really is about more than just the food, isn't it?! But let's be real... the FOOD is REALLY, REALLY good... especially when you got KK and Gram in the kitchen! Oh... so that is one of the greatest details about this Thanksgiving... we got Gram! :) Which meant that we got as close to the REAL Thanksgiving meal as we could get! And we are especially appreciative of the rest of the clan for letting us have her! :) And yes... the food was delish!

Thanksgiving Day in our house ALWAYS begins with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade... I had been pumping Caden up about it for weeks... he was excited for the h-wade, BUT let's just say that NBC needs to TONE it down on the interviews and show us more of the parade... or else a h-wade obsessed toddler can become a bit impatient and decide that playing tennis/football with his Albi is a much better Thanksgiving Day tradish!

While we still had him I figured I should start taking a few pics... KK was ON ME this time about being BETTER about taking pictures! We hardly EVER have pics from our get-togethers and have tons with the Cox-side of the family... well, this year it's flipped! Now if I can just get them both to have tons of pics I'll be doing good!

I am not sure everyone will appreciate these pics, but we do clean up REAL nice-like later in the day... promise! One of the many perks of being BEHIND the camera!

Caden and his Aunt Emily... enjoying videos on the iPad!

Uncle Josh chillin' with Kaki while I play photographer!

And KK... gettin' busy in that kitchen! Go KK, Go KK, Go KK!

In KK and Albi's neighborhood they have strict rules on leaving your cars parked on the street overnight... just ask Aunt Emily what happens when you do... SO... in a very strategic, albeit redneck fashion we managed to get all five cars off the street... they didn't say anything about parking them in your yard!! Welcome to the Evans' Redneck Thanksgiving! Y'all come back now, ya hear! The boys were certainly proud of their masterpiece!

Just before dinner and after we all had a chance to clean up a bit (OR A LOT) we headed out to the front to take some family pics... KK and Caden were my test subjects...

After several attempts this is the best picture we got... sweet Kaki had a hard time keeping her focus... we have SEVERAL shots of the back of her head... apparently the stone wall was super exciting, thus why we switched it up and let the kiddos sit in the g-rents' laps! Regardless, I still think we clean up pretty nice... (see above pictures for proof!)

And now for the three Katherines and a Caroline... four generations of Whitaker women! Can't beat it! I have never really thought I look too much like an odd ball in comparison to the other women in the family but for some reason these pictures make me stick out like a sore thumb... I promise I am related! If you put me, Albi and others from his side of the fam I wouldn't look so odd! :)

Close-up!
KK, Albi and the kiddos... best one!

And a few with Great-Gram... impossible to get all three looking so I just started snapping and got some cute ones, I think.

Attempt at family pics... again our best one... :)

And now... the President and the First Lady! (This is a running joke... some of the first pictures we ever saw of Josh and Emily after they first started dating they looked like the president and the first lady... and so it stuck... ) It really just means that they are a super attractive couple... with some star power!! :)

After pics it was time to get the last few things in the oven and prepare to eat... this guy was READY!

KK, lookin' all snaz-ma-faz in her apron...

And cute Gram... everyone's busy!!

Except for Emily and I who were just sittin' around looking cute... :)

Oh and Caden too...
And Albi was playing bartender... God bless him!

After a FABULOUS meal... seriously yummy... Gram and Kaki both needed to walk off a long day... and girlfriend fell fast asleep... must be all of that motherly, grandmotherly and not great-grandmotherly experience...

Sweetest little rosy-cheeked punkin' ever!!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was truly one to cherish! But don't worry folks... it doesn't end there... we've got a Black Friday post and another round of Thanksgiving to go...

Thank you KK and Gram for a fabulous meal!! Thank you Albi for providing the means in which to pay for the meal! Thank you Josh and Emily for entertaining and loving my kids! Thank you Justin for looking so sexy in your skinny jeans! And thank you Jesus for blessing us with these friends we are fortunate enough to call family!! We love y'all!!

Happy Thanksgiving!