Grateful For This Day

My big girls are off school all week for the Thanksgiving holiday, but the boys had to go Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. While it might seem annoying to have kids on two different school calendars, it actually works really well for our large family as I’m always grateful for time with a smaller crew every now and then. It is nice to get to know them without all the hustle and bustle of so many siblings all the time.

Yesterday, while the boys enjoyed what was probably a pretty laid back day at school before the long holiday weekend, the girls and I took care of all our Thanksgiving preparations. My sister Colleen is generous enough to host 18 kids and 8 adults at her home tonight, but my sisters and I all divided up the workload in terms of food prep. I am bringing oysters & shrimp, cranberries, stuffing (vegetarian and non-veg versions), corn casserole and creamed onions (a tradition on my husband’s side of the family).

While Christmas music hummed inthe background, Evie managed the twins and Vivian and I started on the recipes. Evie came up with a craft project for the girls to do (Christmas tree thumbprint painting), and she lead them just like an art teacher would. They are so lucky to have such an involved big sister! And now I have some festive decorations for the house!


Vivian pretty much made the cranberry sauce on her own. It is a simple and straightforward recipe that my sunshiny 7-year-old easily managed. We poured it into a dish owned by my great-great grandma Elsie, and I was so happy for this opportunity to reminisce about the women in my family who likely did similar holiday rituals together. I have to think Elsie felt delighted seeing me and her great great great granddaughter putting her treasured dish to good use again!

Vivian and I also prepared my grandma’s corn casserole recipe. Again, this was super easy for a 7-year-old to follow pretty much on her own. I just had to help her with pouring the doubled recipe into the prepared baking dish.

Grandma’s Scalloped Corn Casserole

1 stick butter, melted
8 oz sour cream
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 16 oz can creamed corn
1 16 oz can whole kernel corn

Mix everything together and pour in a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

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1 Comment for this entry

  1. Mana says:

    Thank you for painting this pretty picture of your morning with your girls. I love it ❤️ And I love you all.

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