This year Josh and I were lucky enough to host my family for Thanksgiving lunch, well most of us - we were minus Aggie - but still Thankful she had a big girl job that kept here in Huntsville.
LuLu was able to make the trip and brought along her friend Sibylla from Australia.
Josh was all kinds of geared up on cooking that turkey on his big green egg - his 30th bday gift- if he made one trip (a day) he made a hundred to Outdoor Home for advice, brine, equipment, etc. It all payed off in the end because the meal could not have been tastier!
Preparation.. a man and his bird.
Charlie looking on for moral support
It snowed on Thanksgiving which is really rare in Missouri, but so beautiful.
Here is a pic of Josh's grill smoke billowing up into the frosty air.
My table - Complete with the beautiful flowers sent by Barbie and Brent
She's done
Intense concentration and detailed carving training from my father!
The special sister...
On Sunday we packed up the car and headed to Kansas City to be with my dad's side of the family. It was just what Josh and I needed, laughing and togetherness with the one's you love most. It had been a long weekend for us.
Most of you know the story by now but I know there are some of you out there who I communicate with only through the blog so here it goes...
I worked on Black Friday at the shop and then came home for an early left over dinner. Josh was stir crazy from being home with Charlie all day so we opted to bundle up and get out of the house for a bit. I of course wanted to shop so we headed to Target for some holiday items and then decided to run across the street and grab a tree at Lowe's. By this time it was 8:15 p.m.
We headed in and grabbed a tree and some trimmings and rushed out the door. When we got to our car I got Charlie settled inside in his seat and Josh started the car to keep him warm. I unloaded a few things and Josh began strapping the tree to the top. I wheeled the carts to their home and came back to get in the car. Josh and I were standing side by side when we were approached by a clean cut, 20 something year old, white male with a jack russell terrior. He asked us if we had any kids in the car. We responded yes, still questioning exactly where this was going. He then told us to get the kids out of the car because he was taking it. Josh responded with "no your not" and he told us he would kill us all if we didn't give him the car. With that I rushed to the other side to grab Charlie and ran inside the store. Josh stayed in the parking lot and called the police as he watched this horrible person drive off in our car.
It was by far one of the worse experiences I have ever had to endure in my short sheltered life and a lesson I will never forget. Since that day I have struggled with the realization that nothing of this world is permanent. This instance has made me see just how trivial material possessions are and how valuable my family and those I love can be.
We have settled with the insurance company and my new car is here in Springfield, we just don't have it yet. I received a call just last Friday saying that our car has been found. It was parked in a residential area and then keys were on the console. The detective that was working our case is out of town so we have no idea what kind of shape the car is in.
Needless to say we don't go out much after dark any more, we are much more careful and aware of our surroundings... our home has new locks and a new alarm system as well!
So, that's that... Here are some pics of my lovingly lovely Armstrong side Thanksgiving!
All the grandchildren, husbands and two great grandsons!
Charlie after a walk in the neighborhood
Two cousins, and great friends with their boys!
