Thanksgiving 2012 - Framily Style

This Thanksgiving was AWESOME.  Like...maybe the best one I have ever had.  Let me explain...

 

I have been working with my therapist to move through my grief about my family stuff in the past.  One of the key points he has brought to my attention is that I have been unsuccessfully attempting to get water out of a stone.  Imagine being unbelievably parched...like you have walked through the desert...and each time you try to get some relief-some sweet, nourishing water-the big ole fat boulder that you try to squeeze gives you nothing.  nada.  zilch. 

His solution was simple.  Go to where the water is.

It turns out, the water is about a 12 hour car ride away.  So my sweet man did what I needed him to do, and he loaded everything up and drove me and my little munchkins to the biggest waterfall in the world (aka: Aunt Steph's house).

This girl.  We have been through it all...but finally decided to make it official and breach the friendship line and dive straight into sisterhood.  And boy, was that a good decision.

Steph and I cooked a monster meal while the kids all played and giggled and just did what cousins do.

The meal was so good and so big, Stephanie had to actually lay down mid-meal and just rest her bones.  That, my friends, is the sign of a good time. 

 

And just when we thought heaven couldn't get any better...the third piece of our famous threesome brought her little family as well.  And now we had more kids, more food and more fun.

 

This girl was Head Kid Wrangler and kinda deserves some sort of prize.

The day before we left, we even got to see MORE friends...which was bliss. 

The Coles lived near us in Waco, but now live just a half hour from Aunt Steph's house.  The kiddos hadn't seen each other in almost 2 years.  And just as we suspected...they picked up right where they left off.

I want to seriously gobble up Asha's squishy, sassy little face. 

It is crazy how when I finally stopped looking to the rock, I actually found that I am SURROUNDED by endless sources of water.  Patiently waiting on me to accept the gift they are willing to freely give.

And so, this year, I finally quenched my thirst.  I received the love from my framily (friend+family=framily) and it turns out it tastes better than anything I can remember.  It tastes like champagne and low expectations.  It smells like hot cocoa and unconditional love.  It sounds like giggles and heart felt compliments.  It feels like happiness.

 

THANK YOU, Stephanie, for waiting for me to get here and then welcoming us so warmly.  I can't wait til next year.