Texas Thanksgiving

I've spent the last two days right outside Houston at my cousin's house. He has three cute little kids and a lovely home in an area called The Wo.odlands. They took us to a fantastic Mexican restaurant when we arrived last night. The place was called Lupe Tortilla, and I don't think I can ever eat Mexican north of Texas again. There is just nothing like homemade tortillas!

Aunt Jill and I stayed up until 1am talking to Cousin JP last night. He is one of the funniest people I know, and it was great to hear his stories about work and listen to his advice about my job situation and just life in general. It's nice to know that he's always looked out for me.

This morning, we were served a yummy crescent/cream cheese dish and fruit for breakfast, and I played football with the boys in the yard for quite awhile. Little Jake (4) was hit in the face with the ball and cried "It's not fair! I'm always the only one who gets boo-boo'd." But he's a tough little guy, and when his dad asked him "Player, do you wanna take a break or get back out there?", it didn't take him long to decide to keep playing.

Thanksgiving dinner was one of the best I've ever had. We prepared the turkey with rosemary and other spices and made a delicious mashed potato recipe from the "Real Simple" magazine. I have never liked sweet potatoes until today, but Aunt Jill makes a recipe with just the right amount of sweetness. Every dish was so flavorful, and it was hard to not go back for seconds. I also discovered that I love pecan pie! Especially with Blue Bell ice cream! Grandma called and asked me if the turkey was better than hers, "but you don't have to answer that" she said. I told her it was just "different".

Around the table, we listed three things we were thankful for and one of mine was just being able to be here.

But another is that my family loves the Lord more than anything . . and being surrounded by that is the most priceless gift of all.