Thanksgiving festivities

"My thighs are tingling!" I resonated with this shivering teenage girl who was walking briskly behind me at the Seveirville, TN outlet mall around one a.m. this morning. Yes, I'm in the smokey mountains with my in-laws and have braved the "black Friday" madness- for the first time ever. Scotty and I left our cabin around 11:30 last night and joined the throngs hoping to find good deals. I thought it wouldn't be too bad as we stepped into a lightly populated Eddie Bauer right before midnight, but changed my mind when I shortly thereafter walked into Gymboree with lines that rivaled Disney World in the summer. Scotty and I split up with the agreement to meet at a certain place every hour and I hoped to spot him among the masses, with loot to show off. Sadly, my initial purchase at Eddie Bauer was all I ended up with- not desperate enough to wait in the lines. I did get a good work out, however, as I practically sprinted around the huge outdoor mall, wanting to warm up and also go in every store possible before needing to meet up with Scotty. I also got somewhat lost, managing to mis-read the map (not surprising) in a hunt for Baby Gap. It was a pretty exhilarating night, between the freezing temps and the boisterous hoots and hollers of a happy shopping crowd. We crashed into bed around 2:30 and decided on-line shopping is looking really good about now.

All that happened before midnight madness, so appropriately named, was great. I had an early morning walk around our cabin grounds while Mimsie and Papi played with Natalie. Mims did a beautiful job putting together our side dishes while Papi manned the turkey. We ate a pretty simple, but delicious lunch, and relaxed for the rest of the day- taking in a game of eucre and a good documentary on forgiveness in Rwanda before moving on to the wee hour shopping activities. I am so very thankful for my family and being together with them this year. We've spent half of 2009 in the states, which is pretty hard to believe, and God has been so good to us in this time.