Thanksgiving 2011

I have put off writing this post until I found the time to do it justice, but am realizing that I may never get it done at that rate. I just hate to give short shrift to such a wonderful holiday week. My heart is so full of gratitude to the Millers and Hugheses -- all the more so since this might be our last Thanksgiving with them. This is quite likely Joseph's last year at Duke, and among the many places he has applied to work are locations as far away as California, Canada, and even Singapore. Who knows whether future Thanksgivings will have us so conveniently positioned?

Whether we find ourselves in Tennessee next year or not, however, I shall take this moment to express my love for the people who make the annual nine-hour car trip so completely worth it: Grandma Miller, who keeps us bundled on our walks and gave Edward his first addictive taste of Saturday morning cartoons; Grandpa Miller, who lets us tag along on Samson's morning walk and, in Joseph's case, to his Saturday Bible study class; Aunt Shelly, whose dinners are unsurpassed and whose conversation I treasure; Uncle Bill, whose insane goofiness never fails to entertain my boys; Andy, whose graciousness in keeping Edward entertained for hours on end -- including squeezing himself into the much-too-small tube slide 30+ times to bring joy to a rather demanding three-year-old -- truly awed me; Julie, for her much appreciated picture-taking skills; and Becky, for her witty Apples-to-Apples dialogue and Robert-whispering skills.

Thank you, all. You have made Thanksgiving live up to its name for the last 5 years: I hope we can arrange for many more to come.

And now for a million pictures: