Thanksgiving 2010

We had an epic Thanksgiving this year. Dan and I loaded the kids into the car and drove halfway across the country to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a reunion on my dad’s side of the family. It was pretty cool.

There were 28 people there (plus two dogs), so we rented a 14 bedroom house. It was on a remote beach that you can only access with a 4x4 vehicle.

There are wild horses on the island that roam around. We went for a drive in my brother-in-law’s truck to hunt for horses one day, and saw more than 25.

The weather was really nice on the first two days of our visit. The kids even got in their swimsuits and played in the sand.

They didn’t get too wet in the ocean, though. The air felt nice and warm but the ocean was COLD!

On Tuesday, Jackson had an earache and I spent many hours on the phone talking to doctors and pharmacies. Then I was blessed to spend two magical hours alone with Katie. We collected seashells and built fairy sandcastles. Those two hours will be one of my most cherished memories with her.

Our house was located right beside a huge dune called Penny’s Hill.

From the top of Penny’s Hill, you could see the ocean on the east and the sound on the west. It made for beautiful sunsets.

The back side of the dune dropped off sharply. The kids decided that was the perfect place to do some jumping.

I loved sitting at the bottom of the dune and taking their photos.

This photo of my niece and her friend is one of my favorites from the week.

I got to do a photo shoot of my sister and her family.

Then the word got out and I was honored to do photo shoots for the other families too.

The light on the beach was heavenly. I love this photo of my aunt and uncle.

With all the activity, I hardly noticed the Thanksgiving holiday. Gratitude flowed out of my heart all week as I watched my kids, my husband, and my extended family laugh and enjoy themselves. Thanksgiving lasted more than one day this year. It was an entire week long!

What a gift God has given us – the gift of family!

Overall, I took 1,164 photos last week. I won’t show them ALL to you, but you’ve gotten a good sampling here! 

I’ll leave you with this last parting shot. These are donuts from a place called Duck Donuts. They are probably THE best food I’ve ever put in my mouth. Y’all know how much I love Chick-fil-a and creme brulee? And about a thousand other foods? They PALE in comparison to these little morsels of heaven. Thank you, God, for Duck Donuts!