This is Matt making orange juice from our thrift store juicer. He's so wonderful!!
This is Julianna playing the piano, being as cute as ever.
Then we have our wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and our family photo!! It was all wonderful!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Andy, Naomi, and Julianna came into town to help the Green family celebrate! It was wonderful to spend time together and eat lots of food! Mom G had made most of the food ahead of time so it was nice to not be in the kitchen all day for her and us. This gave us girls some time to slip upstairs and make some Christmas gift tags. Naomi, Mom G, and I spend several hours using the multitude of supplies mom has, to make gift tags. Matt, Andy, and Dad G played some tag football outside while Julianna napped. It was so much fun and we really made some great tags, enough to last quite a while I think.
Matt and I made a bean/apple dish and some vegan mashed potatoes. (yes, west family, I made mashed potatoes) I didn't know how to make mashed potatoes without adding milk, butter, sour cream and/or a bunch of other unhealthy-yummy stuff, but I figured it out. I used vegetable broth rosemary and thyme which went together to make a fantastic dish!! I was pretty shocked and actually loved them. Usually I don't eat mashed potatoes, I've never liked them and always avoided anything that had to do with them growing up, that's why its funny that I was the one who volunteered to make them!!
Many of you might be wondering what else goes into a vegan/vegetarian, gluten free, mostly sugar free thanksgiving. Many of us have food sensitivities so it is always fun to cook around them and explore new things. I took a picture of our table so that you can see what we ate but I'll explain it too! Besides the mashed potatoes and the bean/apple bake we made Mom G made biscuits, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole (amazing even thought I hate sweet potatoes), nut and rice loaf, steamed green beans, dressing (made by Dad G- some of the best I've ever had- gluten free or not), cubed squash bake (so wonderful), and the most amazing gravy I've ever tasted (made by Dad G I think!)! It was all amazing and wonderful. Mom G then made 3 pies pecan, apple, pumpkin, and we splurged with a little cool whip!!! The apple was my favorite, as usual, but they were all amazing. My mother-in-law is such an amazing cook, especially given all of the food allergies and special diets(vegetarian, vegan, sugar free, macrobiotic, dairy free, nut free) in our family.
With all of my boasting in food and delights I must make one point very clear: Thanks be to God for all of my many blessings. I am so grateful for everything I have but especially all the food allergies/special
diets less pain. My praise is ultimately going to my Heavenly Father.
Naomi and I decided to wake up and hit the stores at 4:00 AM!!! We had a blast fighting the crowds, traffic, and lines to get some great deals and Christmas shopping done. It's amazing how crazy people are about shopping! I saw some fanatics with claws out, ready to destroy whoever stood in their way of the deals!! We stood in line at Khols for over an hour. It was actually very fun. Naomi and I made friends with the ladies standing near us and we chatted away, sharing with each other our deals and holding the line for each other while another stepped out of line to grab something else. We even shopped along the way because the line started in the back of the store so as we passed different sections we'd grab things we saw along the way. Naomi and I each had a couple things in our hands when we first got it line, but ended up with many things and big boxes by the time we got to the cash registers. It was a great sister bonding time, memory making time, and Christmas shopping time. Then we got home around 7:30. But at noon we headed out again with Mom G to go to Michael's and the thrift store. We found more great stuff and had a blast bonding once again!!
That night we all went to the "feed bag" ( or Golden Corrale sp?) for dinner. We love eating there! Then Matt and I had to rush home so Matt could get some sleep. He works at 4 AM so he goes to bed early most nights while I stay up and do stuff. Going to be at 7/8 is not my idea of fun. Well, I can't wait to hear how everyone else's Holiday went. I am so excited to be getting into the Christmas season. It's the most wonderful time of the year!!
