Thanksgiving with the Atkins

Kenny and I went to Wyoming to spend Thanksgiving with his brother's family, Jason, Tonya and their kids. It was a great weekend. It was the first time I was one of the people in charge of cooking. I usually just show up and eat but not this year. I was a guest cook in Tonya's kitchen. We did a great job. She told me what was on the menu and I tried my best to remember how to cook, add ingredients, and find my way around her kitchen.

After some effort, we produced delicious green beans, stuffing, apple tarts, rolls, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy. The boys were in charge of making the turkey. We had smoked turkey - probably the best I've ever eaten.


I think my favorite part of that weekend was washing dishes. We washed dishes by hand. Morgan pulled up a chair to the sink and rinsed after Tonya washed. I was in charge of drying and seeing if I could figure out where things went in the cupboards. But my favorite part was seeing Morgan and Tonya sing as they did dishes. It gave me a very warm feeling of the love they have in their home and the fun they have together as a family. It made me grateful to be there at that moment to witness that happiness and be reminded of the small things that count in life.