The First Thanksgiving

I honestly don't know if I have the words to put on paper the thankfulness that I feel this year. I do believe that as you get older, you become so much more reflective of your life, past, present, & future. That pretty much describes where I've landed this Thanksgiving.

As most of you know, I started this blog when my daughter, Rachel, suggested this would be a good way to document our house build. It has, in fact, been an awesome way for me to download my own thoughts & keep a record of this journey. There is still so much work to do. Decorating has been so much fun so I thought on this Thanksgiving post, I would share the dining room process.

 In all of my married life, I've never had a formal dining room. I took so much time picking out the right table for this space. I wanted one that seated 10- 12. Yep. That's a lot and we won't use that often, but I wanted the option. I love how it turned out. Take a look!

Here is a before pic.

I am IN LOVE with my buffalo check curtains. My good friend, Sabrina Morgan, was the sew master of these beauties. They are FABULOUS. Or as she would say, DIVINE.

I found this sideboard at Habitat in Goose Creek. It has a great story.

This is the only before pic that I have. It was $50 in the store. Doug asked if there was a military discount. They told us no, but because he was military she gave him the discount anyway. $40. Once we got it home and cleaned it out, we found a $10 bill in the top drawer. We got this for $30!!! I used chalk paint & distressed it. We redid the stain on top, added the new drawer pulls & it turned out beautiful. 

I found this ugly ole mirror at Goodwill for $15. I painted it with the same paint and hung it above the sideboard. Surrounded it with some of my grandmothers plates & it was simply stunning.

And here it is all pulled together for Thanksgiving. It was so much fun pulling out all my pumpkins, turkeys, & dishes. 

I'm in love with this guy right here. He was a hideous golden brown color when I found him. So I spray painted him to make him feel better. 

As fun as it was putting this table together, it did not compare to the people who were sitting around it. I had invited my parents to come for Easter this past year, but we had not finished the house at that point. They live in Cleveland, TN so it was not a quick trip for them. I was so happy that they came.They had never met their two youngest great- grandchildren, Hannah &Tyler. 

Mom & Dad aka Marvin & Joella. These two are a hoot. They call each other darlin & sweetheart. They repeat themselves a lot. Dad gets mom's coffee every morning. They still hold hands. Mom is the craft queen and dad will watch cowboy movies forever. They are a stunning example of what being in love looks like.

When we sat down for dinner, Doug prayed  from his heart that day. I was a sobbing mess by the time he finished. He prayed over the generations that were represented at the table. Mom & Dad being the foundation for what the rest of us stand on. He prayed about what the table represented. The stories that would be told. Stories being handed down to our Grandchildren. For new friends. Old friends. Our purpose. Grandchildren that are yet to be born. It. Was. Powerful. And then it happened. The stories. My parents told old stories. We told new stories. The kids told stories. We laughed. We cried. We ate. We were FULL. Fullness of heart. 

And then this happened.

And this. Yes. We jump on the furniture at Papa & GG's.

This was also a special moment.
We all got to skype with Justin. As of this posting, he should be out of Afghanistan.
 He will be HOME on Friday, Dec. 5th. He gets home in time to see his second son born in January. This makes for a ridiculously full heart.

What an awesome first Thanksgiving at Clearview. So many things to be thankful for.

One generation passing on to the next & the next.

Every time I look out at this, my view becomes even more clear. We are here for a reason.

 To tell the story to our children. 

"Tell your children about it in the years to come, and let your children tell their children. Pass the story down from generation to generation." Joel 1:3