The Empty Turkey Nest

It's turkey lurkey time! Wes and I are spending it alone this year. First time ever having Thanksgiving with just the two of us. Our kids are at the Ulriches and were supposed to spend half the day with us, but sadly, Pop Pop is sick, and we can NOT make a pregnant woman who is about to give birth sick, nor a two year old! So they are staying put. Darn. They are so close, but yet so far! *sigh* It would be kind of fun to have it with just the two of us if one of us wasn't sick. I'm feeling a little bummed today. I really like having all my people around me. Wes is not great company right now. Poor guy. But we are trying to make the best of it, and we are grateful that we have each other. Poor Wes has been sick since Halloween. His sinuses blew up and the first doctor, a new one for us, made him wait 11 days for an antibiotic. 11 days! So 11 days later, he went back in and said "see?" But by that time the infection had had 11 days to fester. I really think if he would have just gotten an antibiotic the first time around, he would be fine by now. Grrrr... He's been starting to feel a little better, but then earlier this week, the infection reared its ugly head again, and we ended up in Instacare Tuesday night. Even more sad, Wes has a tooth abscess all at the same time! So he's now on 2 antibiotics, a steroid, an inhaler, plus lots of Airborne, cough drops, hand sanitizer, me following him around with disinfectant wipes... We thought by today the fever would be down and he would be starting to feel better. But no. At least he is breathing a little easier. I was pretty worried about that the other night. We haven't slept much either. It just stinks.

This is how a lot of the day has been spent.

But the food was glorious! This was my favorite turkey and gravy ever! I gotta remember what I did for next year. So flavorful, and melt in your mouth delicious. We kept things low key, we didn't cook everything, just our favorites. I think it actually tasted pretty good to Wes. He has not wanted food for a couple of days.

This year we are grateful for our family, our most prized possession, and the creation we are most proud of. We love each one of them so much. Since this photo was taken, we've added 2, almost 3 more girls! The new baby comes this weekend! We are spread around the globe today, but we'll be together again soon. We are grateful and proud of  where each of our kids are at in their lives. Colton has a new job which he is liking a lot. He and Karlee are excellent parents, Livi is such a delight, and we can't wait to greet the new little one. Our missionaries have served well. Their testimonies have grown, and they are awesome examples to us. Their emails home are full of enthusiasm for the gospel. Wes and I are still in love and happy to have each other, even in the empty turkey nest!