Yesterday Was Thanksgiving

If yesterday was Thanksgiving, then today is our Day After Christmas, wherein Paul and I sleep in and the boys get up early to play with their new toys.

  

At 2:00pm our curtains are still closed,

signaling to our town that we are not open for business today.

Please come back tomorrow.

 

 When Paul and I did get up,

we made these super tasty biscuit twists

with walnuts, cinnamon, and powdered sugar glaze.

I only make them once a year

because that wonderful crispy flakiness doesn't happen

without a couple sticks of butter.

Ugh, but so yum.

 

 And what's a special holiday brunch

without our newest Lego creations joining us at the table?

And wearing yesterday's clothes

because he fell asleep in the car last night.

Pete's still in pjs.

Just like Christmas, right?

We moved the traditional American ceremony of opening stocking gifts and wrapped presents to Thanksgiving Day instead of on Christmas Day.

{Excuse me, Reuben needs me to fold him an airplane...}

Four years ago we stopped doing presents of any kind for Christmas.  We really wanted to use Christmas as a time to honor and worship Christ.  We felt that the hoopla of presents at Christmas is so distracting from the celebration of Christ that we took that part out.  We use Peter and Reuben's birthdays to focus on celebrating them.

Then last year Peter read through the Little House on the Prairie books and learned about the tradition of hanging up a sock to be filled during the night.  He asked if we could do that.  So we talked about when a good time would be to do that.  Valentine's Day as a way to show love to each other?  Thanksgiving to show we are thankful for each other?  I think since Thanksgiving was coming first, he decided that was to be the day.

Yesterday morning the boys had a giddy time of exploring their stocking treats.

Then we headed south to feast with Paul's family:

his parents,

his brother and girlfriend,

and his sister's family.

We all met at a church to have some family pictures done.

We won't be making copies of this one,

thank you funny Peter.

Reuben with his cousin Samuel.

 The Secret Agents.

When Peter gets together with his cousins

Aidan and Benen

they put on their agent gear

and zip around Nana's house in stealth mode.

You probably can't even see them in this picture.

Just plants.

So we supped and enjoyed the day together.

 Then we drove home in the snow.

With about this much visibility.

Welcome Winter.

And that brings us back to today.

The Day after Christmas.

Snow on the ground.

Legos and K'nex scattered around.

Laziness and leisure.