This morning, we drove down to League City after breakfast and getting Andrew dressed. We wanted to get down there early so we can start helping with all the cooking and other preparations. Since Papa was in St. Croix this year, I charged Daddy and Uncle Anh Tuan with deep frying the turkeys and Ngoai and I would handle all the sides and desserts. Uncle Anh Tuan drove into town late last night and headed straight to League City so he could get things started with the turkey early and supposedly, Ngoai said he needed him for a surprise for Andrew. I figured that Ngoai had bought Andrew some toy that she needed Anh Tuan's help to put together. Boy was I off! When we walked into my folks' house, there was our first treat...Papa!
It turned out that my dad wasn't needed at the refinery this weekend and was able to book a last minute ticket home. Anh Tuan picked him up from the airport on the way into Houston. Andrew immediately went to him and after that, didn't want to let Papa out of his sights. All day long, he wanted Papa to hold him and play with him. It was so sweet. Papa was so happy too! He totally eats it up that Andrew loves him so much!
We also had two more guests that were visiting from out of town. Uncle Hung's sister was visiting from Ottawa and Uncle Hung's sister's niece (from the husband's side) was visiting from France--basically, David's and Mary Ann's cousin's cousin (not blood related). Both women were so nice. Andrew was a tad bit shy at first, but then opened up to them in his usual manner.
Andrew also had tons of fun playing with all the dogs--Daisy, Madison, and Bennett. He chased them around, petted them, hugged them, and even tried to kiss them a few times too! He was in doggy heaven with three of them running around.
Anyhow, Papa took over turkey duties and did a fantastic job! Mary Ann made sweet potato casserole, deviled eggs, and pumpkin bread, all of which were fantastic. I made potatoes au gratin and cornbread casserole and helped Ngoai with the green bean casserole, who also made the stuffing and pasta salad. For dessert, we had apple and pumpkin pie as well as a Parsi bread pudding. Everything was delicious! Andrew really enjoyed the turkey, green bean casserole, and rolls. He was funny with the turkey gobbling it up after Papa finished cooking it.
After the feast, we all took much needed naps! Then, we went to Uncle Hung's and Aunt Hong's house for dinner--some yummy Vietnamese food. After dinner, it was getting late so we drove home to put Andrew down for the night. Afterwards, we sat down to watch the UT vs. A&M game. We had heard some score updates and knew it was close. It was already in the 4th quarter so I told James that I didn't want to watch the entire game just to see us lose. He was nice enough to watch it live with me and then go back and watch the beginning of the game. To make our Thanksgiving even better, the Horns pulled out another win! I had an eerie feeling about this game since you can never tell with the Aggies and our rivalty.
But on a more serious note, we really do have a lot to be grateful for this year. Here are some of the things that I am so very thankful for:
- My wonderful husband and best friend in the whole world;
- Our son, our greatest gift;
- The life we have;
- Our health;
- Our loving and supportive family, especially Ngoai and Papa (who I am so happy could be home with us);
- Our dear wonderful friends;
- Those men and women defending our great nation, especially Uncle Rick; and
- Our freedom and living in this great country of ours!
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