We drove to Houston Wednesday after Nelson got home from work, and spent the evening having dinner with Dennis and Kim and playing games. It was super low key and exactly my kind of fun :)
Thursday morning, Nelson and I met up Sally and Andrew for coffee / chai. I haven't seen her in so long, we had A LOT to catch up on. It was so good to see her and made me realize how much I miss talking to her regularly <3 The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging and napping. Nelson's mom got the turkey from Kroger and it was a "meal deal" that included the sides, so I just cooked a pecan pie at home and brought that. Everything else just had to be re-heated. We feasted, and then Nelson and I went on a short walk to get the blood flowing to places outside of the tummies.
Friday afternoon, Nelson and I went back to Dennis' to watch the UT game, and that was pretty much it for that day - perfect!
Yesterday morning, we all went to the YMCA to work some of that Thanksgiving meal off, and that evening went over to my dad's and Patty's for dinner. He smoked the best turkey and Patty made all her delicious sides, including a really yummy pie. It was like a Thanksgiving meal without all the hustle bustle of the actual day. It was fun seeing them and showing off my growing tummy, too :)
This morning, Nelson and I went to Clear Lake Chinese Church with his mom. Evidently they went there when he was born before switching to Houston Chinese Church, so it was funny to see all the women react to how much he had grown. And then they all had to tell me what a huge baby he was. The sermon was following up on the theme of Thanksgiving, and the pastor announced that everyone would be coming up to the front to tell the congregation what they give thanks to God for. After giving Nelson a glaring look that said, "Where did you bring me?!" and looking around to make sure there weren't too many people in attendance, I started thinking about the past year. While there have been sad events, like the passing of both Grandma and Nǎinai and Lindsay moving to Southlake, there have been so many things with which I've been blessed. Nelson and I both have great jobs, we're in the process of building a new house, and we have a healthy baby girl on the way; our families are all healthy and happy; and we have wonderful and supportive friends in our lives. We were sitting up near the front, so were maybe the fourth or fifth ones to go. I walked up to the microphone, bent down (tall people problems), and said, "I give thanks to God for my healthy and growing family." Short, brief, and to the point. And it couldn't be more true.
We met up Leanne and Rudy for lunch before heading back to Austin to prep for the work week ahead of us. It was a great Thanksgiving holiday spent exactly how I think it should be spent - with family, with lots of food, and with no agenda.
