<p>We hosted Thanksgiving this year, and it turned out perfectly!? Mom came up Tuesday and we got almost everything put together and ready to go in the oven by noon on Wednesday!? We took that opportunity to do some shopping, and when we came back that night we figured out how to arrange the tables to hold 13 people and we unwrapped the china.</p><p>Thursday morning, we put the turkey in the oven around 6:30 or so, and we did not have a lot to do while we waited for the oven to free up for the other foods. It was a nice, relaxing morning.? Everyone started showing up around 11:30-noon, and dinner was ready at 1:15.? Everything went without a hitch!? It was beautiful!</p><p>My secret gift, you ask?? I have both of my grandmother's recipe boxes, and I typed up all of the recipes and compiled them into one cookbook.? I made a copy for all of her children and her brother, and I put the cookbook on a cd for my cousins.? It was received well, although with a little more emotional outburst than I had planned on.? </p><p>I also started what I hope will become a family tradition.? We all signed a tablecloth, and I am embroidering all of the signatures.? Each year, I will use a different colored thread so we know who came which year.? I'll post a picture of it when I'm done embroidering it.</p><p>After we all ate, my cousins (and husband) helped me clear the tables and do dishes.? This was sort of a crowning moment:?this is a new generation doing dishes this year.? Usually, the kids do dishes, the parents relax.? This is the first year that my mom and her siblings got to relax while we did dishes.? Question for you: Does this feel like a rite of passage or just feel old?? hehehe</p><p>That evening, my great uncle brought his family over to visit, and we had a very enjoyable evening discussing genealogy and exchanging stories.? I would say that this Thanksgiving was definitely worth all of the hard work that was put into it!</p><p>I have posted the pictures in the gallery.? Just click on the link at the top of this page and it will take you there.</p><p>-Amy</p>