the hornacek family: give thanks with a grateful heart.

we had two thanksgivings this year...one at nana's house and one at our house. my mom and her husband mike were going to be on their cruise on thanksgiving, so we shared a meal together the week before. always a good time! my mom cooked the turkey and we all brought a side to share. i made a delicious sweet potato casserole. so not a healthy dish, but worth all the calories! the kids played kinect pretty much the whole evening, while we sat around filling our bellies even more with apple cinnamon cake and pumpkin pie. we celebrated with stephanie and devin as they are now ENGAGED! so excited for them! it was such a relaxing day with my family. love our time together, talking and cooking in the kitchen. so thankful to have family close.

can't wait for their wedding next summer!

kaden and his nana.

mike and kyri were a pretty good team on the kinect.

such a joy to host thanksgiving for my family! my dad, dana, steph, devin, and melody came over on thanksgiving day. so much fun (and a lot of work) for me to host my very first thanksgiving in our new home. i decorated the table as creative as i could with what i had. love the place cards! easy way to personalize your table. we brought in a folding table so we had an adult table and a kids table. the kids always love that! for dinner, i cooked a juicy turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gluten free stuffing, cranberry sauce, as well as gluten free rolls. i also baked 2 gluten free pies...pumpkin (a must) and coconut cream (my dad's favorite). the coconut pie was a labor of love. the crust, the coconut cream, the whipping cream...all homemade. i pretty much spent 2 straight days in the kitchen, but that is where i was born to be! i definitely have a great appreciation for my mom and all of her hard work on thanksgiving growing up. it's a lot of prep and cooking to have everything ready at just the right time. thanks mom!

we did not have a shortage of food, that's for sure. steph and devin brought a fresh green salad and drinks. my dad brought all the appetizers. well, i just had to also have the hot artichoke jalepeno dip from costco. have you had that? oh my, it is the best dip ever! everyone came over early so we were able to cook in the kitchen together. some of the best memories are in the kitchen or while sitting around the dinner table. food really does bring people together. i'm so thankful for my loving family and that they were able to join us for thanksgiving. it will be one that i will cherish forever. looking forward to hosting many more thanksgivings for my family!