Thanksgiving 2011: The Conclusion of the Matter

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."  So said William James, and I do believe he was right.  With that in mind, I'm going to sit myself down and stay at the computer until this task--so long hanging over my head--is done.  That's right, I'm finally going to finish my Thanksgiving posts.  It's still 2011 so technically I'm not late, am I?  ;-)

In case you don't remember (who would?), these posts started long ago with Part One...Part Two...Part Three...Part Four...Part Five...Part Six...and Part Seven.  Whew, that's a lot of thanksgiving.  :)  And now, to finish!

After the race and the jubilant, tearful (on my part), exciting accomplishment of Josiah and David's first ever official mile run, we returned to my brother David's house for the traditional part of Thanksgiving:  feasting (oh, the food was so good!), fellowshipping, and falling asleep on the couch, of course.  ;-)

You all know what Thanksgiving is all about, and I'm thinking that your celebrations looked pretty similar, so I'm not going to say much about all of this.  At least, I'll try to keep my fingers from typing every thought that flies into my head.  ;-)

We're always serious around the Thanksgiving table...

...and never indulge in a bit of silliness.  ;-)

The six oldest boy cousins always get to eat together at this table, and I love to hear the fun they have together.

There was plenty of time for just kicking back...

...and hanging out with family.

My sister-in-law Lori's dad did a good job of "guarding" the table with the snacks on it.  :)

Shav and my dad had on nearly matching outfits, through no previous planning.

There was some parade-watching, some football-watching, some dog-show watching.  Wait, that's not a Thanksgiving tradition.  How did the dog show get in there?  :)

One thing I dearly love about my boys is how affectionate they are.  If they know that we know someone and trust them, they are quick to show love and, in many cases, climb right up in someone's lap.  Of course, Tobin knows who Uncle David is; but really, we don't see this side of the family very often.  As a matter of fact, we only see Lori's parents and her sister and family once a year, for Thanksgiving.  But regardless, my boys warm right up to them and don't hold back out of shyness.  For me, who used to be painfully shy, to witness this in my children is astonishing.  :)

Josiah and David always head downstairs to hang out with the older kids.  Why?  Because of the Wii, of course!  :)

These next pictures aren't very good at all technically.  I know they're blurry, but I wanted to include them anyway because they capture an important part of this Thanksgiving.  Tobin and Buddy, my brother's Labradoodle, were almost inseparable.  My wise sister-in-law had told Tobin that he could help her by watching Buddy and making sure he didn't get into anything he shouldn't.  Tobin took her very seriously and stuck right by Buddy.  Every once in a while, Lori would tell Tobin what a good job he was doing; and he would beam.  He's always loved animals though, so it's no surprise that he had such fun with Buddy on this day.  :)

What's Thanksgiving without a little nap?  I took one while sitting up on the couch; I simply could not keep my eyes open anymore.  I think almost all the adults in the household ended up dozing off at some point or another, either on the couch or the recliner or on the floor.  I discovered Lori waking up from her nap on the floor of the dining room; that would have killed my back, but she didn't seem phased at all.  :)

This is Lori's dad having a great time playing with Shav.  He would lift Shav up high in the air, and Shav LOVED it.  I know Shav couldn't possibly have remembered who Alan was from the last time we saw them, but that didn't stop him from having a blast.

Lori and her mom...

Tobin reports to Aunt Lori about how Buddy is doing.  :)

This is Lori's sister's husband Keith, and once again, Shav loved being with him, especially when Keith would turn him upside down and then lower him to touch Frankie, Keith's dog.  :)

Tobin climbed up into this chair with his cousin Elizabeth and made himself right at home.

And Shav hung out with Uncle David.

Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without taking some group pictures.  This is our side of the family (although unfortunately, we're missing quite a few members).  :(

And this is Lori's side.

The annual cousins photo.

And last, but by no means least, the picture of The Davids.  No family gathering could be considered complete without that; and although I usually forget it, my little David is good at reminding me, and I'm grateful.  :)

After that, we gave hugs all around, said goodbye, and departed for Virginia.  Jeff drove, and most of the rest of us slept on the way home.  I wonder if, even in our sleep, we were smiling as we remembered how special the Thanksgiving of 2011 was.  :)

And with that, I am done!  The eight-part saga is over, with just 25 hours to spare until 2012 comes knocking.  Take that, you "uncompleted task."  I beat you this time!  ;-)