23 - Traditions (Thanksgiving Thankful Thursday #166)

What's a Tradition You Are Grateful For?

I love a good tradition... and I'm loose in how I define that.  If we've done something two years in a row and I enjoy it, then it's a beloved tradition! lol  One tradition for us is decorating super early for Christmas.  I have Vegas traditions and holiday traditions with friends and family, and tons of traditional photos (bc others are more likely to get on board when you say it's a tradition). lol Anyway, here are a few of my favorites lately:

1.  Christmas Pancakes -- One of our longest-running traditions is the Christmas morning pancake breakfast with the fam!  I enjoy brunchy foods always, but this is one of the only days that we actually make them ourselves, so it stands out... and we're often in PJs or cozy hoodies since it's just the immediate fam, so it's a cozy fun tradition I enjoy!

2.  Friendsgiving at the Wilsons -- typically the weekend before Thanksgiving, Chet and Karli host our friend group for a meal (usually Italian or Mexican food) and we all say something we're thankful for... and my heart is always brimming with gratitude for the richness of these friendships, so it's fantastic!  This year's event was #12, but I didn't get a group pic.  So the one below is our group photo by the Wilsons' "harvest tree" from 2021... fun!!

3.  Family Christmas Carols -- A very old-school tradition since we no longer own a piano, but for several years, I would learn and play a few Christmas carols, and Mom's fam (JB & co. + Babah and Grandad) would all gather around and listen and/or sing.  Very You've Got Mail, and just a nice memory as I look back!  It would always digress into us playing Chopsticks and the Titanic song and whatever other randomness we wanted to play, but those Christmas Eve memories in "the piano room" of 9121 are lovely! =)

4.  M&M Pics -- One of my fav Vegas traditions is pics at the M&M store (where we try to match the expression on the shirt).  Yay for lots of friends who humor me for this nonsense! lol

5.  Mockey Little Christmas -- a slow-growing tradition is my annual party with the Wilsons and Mosses, all of whom I adore.  Looking forward to that next weekend! =)

6.  Nursing Home Carols -- Singing carols at nursing homes with lifegroup friends - I know of at least 3x this happened, and they're all good memories, so I'm throwing it in here!

7.  Christmas Eve Eve -- And finally, our Christmas Eve Eve dinner with the fam + Bill and Jill is a newer tradition that I appreciate... there's talk of The Ranch this year, and I'm fully on board! ;-)

I'm short on time, but HAPPY THANKSGIVING, FRIENDS AND FAMILY!  I'm guessing there's about two of you who are truly reading these gratitude posts, but they've been good for me to write either way.  I feel extra grateful this year, and today is off to a delightful start.  I slept in a bit, met the fam at Saltgrass for lunch, went on a refreshing walk at Central Park (hooray for nice weather), ran to Crest for some buttermilk, baked a PW sheetcake (yum!) while listening to the Big Boo podcast, showered and got ready for tonight, then stopped to write this blog!  My cousin, Mandy, is coming to stay with me for the next couple days, then the Wilsons are joining me for the final home game in Stillwater this weekend - YAY!  Hope you're having a wonderful holiday weekend, and that God's goodness and mercy feel evident to you as you look around today!

❤