Decorating for Thanksgiving!

It's time to decorate for Thanksgiving! I know, some people forget poor ole Thanksgiving and go directly from Halloween pumpkins to Christmas trees, but I can't! I have to put out the little pilgrims and fall leaves,etc! And this year, we're having a larger crowd than usual ! We're thrilled that Rachel's Mom/Grandfather/Aunt and brother join us and MIMI! Yes, MIMI is coming! For the first time in so long! I usually ask AFTER she has already been asked by one of the other family members! So, I asked EARLY. Like back in early October! HAHA! Jon and Katie are picking her up  b/c I'll be busy SLAVING (HAHA) in the kitchen! Actually, with all the girls bringing so much I don't have so much to do! I always fix the turkey/dressing (Paula Deen's famous dressing recipe! SHH! It's a secret!) and sweet potatoe casserole and, for Patrick ---DEVILED EGGS! His favorite! (and also Stefanie's favorite, I've heard, too!). And Pumpkin Pie for Terry. I like it O.K., it's not my favorite, but it's HIS favorite. (Cathie, Rachel's mom is bringing THREE desserts! HURRAH!). Nat will bring her Hashbrown Casserole (YUMMY!) and Brad will also fry a turkey. Terry is smoking one, too. Yes, that's 3 turkeys! The Frys love turkey! Kadie is a great cook and will bring some delicious veggie dishes and Rachel is bringing some fruit, etc. (Plus, I HOPE her peanut butter balls!). Katie is fixing Strawberry Pretzel Salad (a Fry favorite!). She loves to cook and is a great little cook already! Besides cooking, I love to decorate the table and get everything ready. ( won't take pictures of the table until Thursday, tho!)..... I remember as a child loving Thanksgiving ALMOST as much as Christmas! Why? Because BOTH sets of grandparents came every year (I don't know how that happened, but they always seemed to come to OUR house each year!). I loved watching out the window for Big Mama and Grand-daddy and Mama and Papa Powell to come. Believe it or not, I would SING "Over the river and through the woods" all morning long, in between running and sneaking TURKEY SKIN and eating it! Daddy would get so mad at me for eating that skin! To this DAY, I love Turkey skin! UMMM! Brown and salty! YUMMY! Mimi would be so busy in the kitchen with her little apron on and we would constantly have to shoo the cat out of the kitchen b/c he loved sneaking bites of the turkey! He would jump on the counter and LICK IT! Yes, he did! In fact, one year, she had it thawing in the sink before it was cooked and we walked in and there was KAT, licking the heck out of it! Mimi screamed, the cat jumped down and she looked at me and said, "Don't you tell ANYBODY that Kat did that! It'll be fine! I'll just scrub it and after it's baked all the germs will be gone!" I guess MAYBE I can finally tell that story. I might remind her that after 40 something years, secrets must be told! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

*By the way, that's Mimi's baby plate on my buffet. Since I took it and hid it when I was about 8 years old, I guess it's time to tell Mimi THAT secret, too! HAHA! I promised it to Charles a long time ago and told him when he/Rachel have a baby he can have it. I GUESS I'll part with it then. Maybe....?