Full of Thanks and all that good stuff

We had an amazing Thanksgiving here in the Kincaid house, and by amazing, I mean we were on our feet all day, in and out of the kitchen, there were 4 kids aged 3 and under, 8 adults and Mike and I (mostly Mike since I was taking kids to the doctors) cleaned the whole day before (and after, again Mike takes the cake). And when I say all that, I truly do mean it was AMAZING! It was the best Thanksgiving I've ever had, and that's not giving credit to myself. This was a community Thanksgiving in the Kincaid family and Mike, Debbie, Katie, and I all took part in it. Every single piece of the day and the meal was seamless and blessed and it was an accumulation to me of this whole Thanksgiving season to have a day that went so splendidly. My kids behaved wonderfully. Brayden did pretty great with his cousins all day and only had to be reminded to share or play more gently a couple of times. Paytin was an angel, sleeping when I was busiest in the kitchen, eating like a champ, and being super content in her exersaucer and in the many hands that held her. Living on the wild side, every recipe I cooked this Thanksgiving, I had never tried before. Crazy right? But that's how the Kincaid clan runs and I decided to go with it. From the recipe we injected the turkey with, to the green beans and bacon, yes even the sacred mashed potatoes and the scrumptious mini apple pies, none of it had I tried before. Can I just say, every single thing turned out better than I expected? For someone who is NOT confident in the kitchen at all and is by far an amateur, this blessed me also. I thanked God that evening for allowing me that small victory in my culinary skills because it made me excited and more willing to want to step out in my cooking again. But, I have to say, what have I been nibbling on from our fridge days later? My mother in law's butternut squash soup. She's made it the last several years, and it's always my favorite. This year, it was even better than the best! And she left a whole tub of it for me, what a gem :). We had desserts that weren't enough for one table and I am sure I have gained at least 3 lbs eating pie for breakfast the past two days :). With no cable and everything, we not only survived but had a great time. Even Mike had to work, but was able to be home throughout the day. And did I mention our deep fried turkey? I am not usually even a huge turkey fan and this year I was dissapointed there wasn't more leftovers. This had to be the most MOIST turkey ever and Mike injected it with this amazing homemade marinade we had made the night before and cooked it perfectly. It was a beautiful bird and we enjoyed it's sacrifice ;) (whether voluntary or not). At the end of the night, I broke out in some weird hives, that while they havent gotten worse, they havent gone away either. I'm just thankful I'm not allergic to any of the pies or the butternut squash soup ;). Hope you all had a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving too!!