My Favorite Holiday!!

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, and it always has been. Most people like Christmas or even the fourth of July, but I'm partial to Thanksgiving. You might assume its because I LOVE food and eating, but that's not it. The Firebaugh family has great traditions for Thanksgiving and I LOVE IT!!! It all starts on Thanksgiving morning with the Macy's Day parade, I can remember going over to Mom's Grandparents house (Gigi and Papa) and sitting in the kitchen with Gigi while she carved the turkey, or sliced the ham while Mom and Dad were busy brining in the extra table and chairs from outside, Ben and Papa would sit in Papa's special chair and usually take an early morning nap. After we would eat lunch with Mom's side of the family we would load up the family into the van and head over to Dad's aunts house (C.B's). There we would all crowd around and watch the Dallas game (GO COWBOYS!!) and Dad and I would talk trash to the rest of the family (they're all Redskins fans). Then C.B. would gather us all into one room and she would read Granny Jean's recipe for a happy home:
4 cups of love
2 cups of loyalty
3 cups of forgiveness
1 cup of friendship
5 tablespoons of hope
2 tablespoons of tenderness
4 quarts of faith
1 barrel of laughter
*Take love and loyalty, mix it thoroughly with faith. Blend it with tenderness, kindness, and understanding. Add friendship and hope, sprinkle abundantly with laughter, bake it with s sunshine, and serve it daily with generous helpings.
Then would come my favorite tradition of all...the corn. Everyone in the family takes 3 kernels of corn and those kernels represent three things that you are thankful for, and we share those three things with the whole family. Then Grandbud would say the blessing, and we would get to eat and the chaos would ensue. Then, the day after Thanksgiving would consist of early morning shopping and afternoon/evening putting up Christmas decorations.

Things have changed a lot since those days of watching the parade with Gigi, Haley and Riley are here, Brad and I are married, and family members have passed away, but the traditions still hold. I still watch the parade, and we still do the kernels of corn, Grandbud still prays, and the food is ALWAYS good :)

This year will be even more different, but some how it will still be the same, full of family, thankfulness, and memories.

Three things I am thankful for this year are: an amazing husband, rich family traditions, and a family (that is even bigger this year) that loves me and that I love very very much!