Good Mornin' Sunshine...

First, I have to say that it was NOT moi, who got up before sunrise to get these awesome images.....that would be mah boyfriend, who gets up at this time every weekend to duck hunt!  Just look at the beauty of the pond where he hunts!!

he also captured a beautiful silhouette of one of the actual hunters...with duck in hand!

Man.....I wish I could get up early....

 

Kids....Some Grass......and a Dawg!

 Can they be any more comfy??!!

And then you have those who just wanna know what the heck grass or a leaf is and can I eat it!!

 

More Thanksgiving Fun!

Since we all gathered together the night before Tom Turkey's Day, that ol' griddle was fired up for burgers, onions and fries by the Cap'n.

notice the Paula Deen butter drop?!!  Adds flavor, dontcha know?!!

Uncle Shanon spending some quality time with mah girlfriend!

Uncle Josh doing a little Berenstain Bear reading!

They've built a wonderful fire pit surrounded by chairs for all of us..

and some quality time was spent around it under the clearest, star filled sky!!

Late this night, my oldest boy and family finally got there...I'd been waiting for some grandson "sugar" for a while!

Early on the agenda for the day was the "making of the turkeys"! Baby daughter in law always makes her turkeys for us and because she's so busy with school, she didn't have time to get them done beforehand...which gave us the opportunity to see how they're done!

 

  

Sir Bromley!

This is my fave pic!!!!  All my boys and the other son, who's not my son but feels like it!!, all working together to get the turkey ready to fry. We laughed and laughed with them right here.  Man, oh man,.......I love those boys!

Tom Turkey sizzling away!

I didn't get a pic of all the final food dishes............once the meal is ready around here, the meal gets EATEN! quickly!!

Do you see why I count my blessings on a daily basis??  Of course, I did on Thanksgiving Day too.........but really....I thank my lucky stars for my family and friends every single day!!

Hope you all had a lovely holiday!!! ....and continuing to pray for the people affected by Hurricane Sandy....

 

 

 

 

Turkey Day 2012....part 1!

Of course, Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for our blessings and bounty.....but before the family and friends gather round, the food prep begins in YaYa's kitchen!  I just so happened to have a sous chef with me one day last week, so we began with one of the boy's fave snacks.....which also turned out to be my sous chef's favorite too!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

She was completely overwhelmed sitting in front of SO many cookies!!!  and was a true food critic!

After ms. sweetcheeks left, I went to work on prep for the actual day.  Because I cook most all of the meal at home and then transport it to the deer camp....I go to work several days ahead.

Of course, there was the requisite baked turkey, which I mostly did this yr just for the drippings for the gravy....because middle son fried one as well.  And that was done on site. But we all know that where it's really at is in the SIDES!!

Baby boy's favorite praline sweet potatoes.  I added a lil twist to the praline topping this yr..

a tres leches liqueur!!

the usual smashed taters with sharp and smoked gouda cheese

 

Deviled the eggs and made an oyster and crawfish dressing. Daughter in laws also made sides...a spinach dish and a pantry casserole, dips and cheese platters...Made two chocolate pies and a peanut butter pie.

Of course, I made my mom's dressing and gravy too.  And for my daughter in laws, I'm going to put a step by step tutorial on how to make it......just so it will continue on thru the generations.  Who knows? Ms. Lilli may need to make it one day!!

Begin with the trinity........chopped white and red onions, bell peppers and celery.  Also a bit of the guardian angel...minced garlic!

Saute until veggies are soft.

Brown ground chuck or, in our case...ground venison.

Drain meat and saute the trinity with meat.

then a lil secret ingredient is added for flavor....if I told ya, I'd have to kill ya!

Season with Tony's and a bit of red pepper flakes..

have a pone of yellow cornbread ready, cooled and ready to break apart.

and combine mixtures together..

Moisten the dressing with some chicken stock..

Then get a big ol' spoonful and bring it to your mouth .... for tasting purposes only!! heh.

Before cooking in 350 degree oven for 25-30 min, add just a tad more broth to moisten.

 

Back tomorrow to add to our Thanksgiving festivities!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Dear and a DEER!!!

  A dear for filling my freezer with DEER meat.....venison!  He has fun hunting and I have fun knowing there is plenty of venison to cook for the coming year....My boyfriend calls this "God's Grocery Store"!!

See all the red packages on right?  That's cubed backstrap...which is the best of the best meat...all packaged up in sizes perfect for us.

and in the other freezer....we have ground sausage and ground meat!!

When the boys were growing up, we would have 7 deers processed and in the freezer every yr...finishing up the last of it right before the next deer season began...whew!

Now, just a couple will last us two seasons...you know....empty nesters, that we are!!

 

 

 

 

YaYa times FOUR!!!! 4!!!!

A little less than 3 yrs ago, I had no grandchildren.............but come July, I will have FOUR grandbebe's!!!!!!!

Yep....that's right!! We just found out that our baby boy and his bride are having a baby!  And do you know how happy we are??!!!  Well,  just over the moon!!

And ya know what I think? 

That my life is truly complete.....my first two sons have babies and now MY baby is having a baby!!

Hard to believe that its been 26 yrs. since I was holding him in my arms...

and come July, he'll be holding his own in his arms!!!

 

Lilli's new baby brother or sister will only be about 2 months older and Austin will be 18 months older......our family gatherings are gonna be so much fun with all these babies so close in age.

WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!

So, as this phase......

 turns to this phase....

our family continues to grow....with love!

 

 

 

 

 

Lucky YaYa x 3!!

A while back, I wrote a post about my two grandchildren and how lucky I was to be a "YaYa times 2"  with my two sweet babies.....that they make me sigh with contentment!  Not only watching them, but also in watching my two boys gleam with pride because of those babies.............not to mention their mamas!!
Well..................do you notice an even bigger gleam in this one's eyes"?

and a little round tummy on this sweet daughter in law??

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!

I'm going to be a YaYa for the 3rd time!!!!!  Right before I left on my trip, they gave us the good news but she didn't go to doctor until after I'd already left..........so I'm just now getting to tell about it!!

And one of the most fun things about it all is this.....

We are so blessed............our family is growing and growing!!

We find out if ms. Lilli will have a baby brother or baby sister close to Turkey Day!!!