The Lee Family: Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving started with Connie putting the turkey in the oven and all of us eager for the amazing meal ahead. Connie is the pro of entertaining groups of people throughout the year and of making food ahead of time so that it all feels easy and effortless. CK took our cheesecake out of the fridge and removed it from the springform pan. It was perfect! We were both so excited. He put it on the cake stand and added a few berries to dress it up and then set it on the table full of desserts.

Meanwhile, the table was set and Connie had us put the kids in between adults who aren't their parents. Which is a great idea to create conversation and allow us to spend time with those who we don't get to see often. CK and I made the brussel sprout dish that is one of our favorites and we actually eat it often throughout the year. We cut up bacon, saute it until crispy and then remove it and add the brussel sprouts. The actually cook up perfectly in the pan, although we used to cool them in the oven for months. Once they are done, the are removed, the bacon is added and a light drizzle of balsamic reduction is added. It is so delicious and easy. Once all of the dishes were done and ready, we gathered around the kitchen to say our thanks and then we dug into the delicious food.

We found our seats and of course Olivia was a little sad not to be sitting next to me. She is independent and yet she often gets very attached to me and wants me to sit with her or next to her at meals, but not always. It's actually very sweet and I appreciate that this time won't last forever. Meanwhile, Sofia was perfectly happy sitting at the far end of the table from me sitting between Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Jay. As we ate our delicious Thanksgiving meal, Connie told us to carefully feel under our plates for questions. Each of us had a conversation card that had questions like "What is one of your favorite memories?" or "If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?" It was really fun to hear everyone's answers and really got conversations started. Such a great idea!

Once everyone was done with the great meal, we cleaned up a bit before moving on to dessert. The dessert table was overflowing with great sweets. They were all delicious but the cheesecake really turned out perfectly. We did the dishes and cleaned up all the leftovers and then the kids ran out and played and CK headed out to give Cub rides. I called my Aunt and Uncle, who were in Santa Fe and they said they got several inches of snow and had to postpone their Thanksgiving meal, since none of their friends could make it to their place! They sent pictures and there was a lot of snow. I showed the girls and they were upset, since it's the one year we haven't gone to Santa Fe for Thanksgiving and they would have LOVED playing in the snow. I missed watching my Uncle make my Grandma's apple pie from scratch and his pumpkin pie recipe, which is new each year as he experiments with different recipes. Then all of us would cook in the small kitchen and talk about various Thanksgivings past or any other topic. I was surprised at how much I missed those traditions we've made but happy to be at the farm and make new memories and enjoy Thanksgiving with CK's family. It really was the perfect Thanksgiving.

The turkey goes into the oven!