Thanksgiving 2007 was a roller coaster of emotions. I am so thankful to have a very loving and patient hubby. He knew this would be a difficult holiday for me. Wednesday proved to be a day that would have been better spent in bed under the covers. Stresses at the clinic--the joy of being a poor non-profit trying to take care of God's children with a shoestring budget--and the private heart ache of the first Thanksgiving without my Daddy, were almost more than I could bare. Even waterproof mascara did not mask my tearful state. When Dylan picked up on my sadness he responded with, "It's okay Mommy, Granddaddy will always love you." More tears........

We awoke to several inches of snow on the ground Wednesday morning, but it did not interfere with plans for Dylan to spend the holiday with his Dad in Nebraska. It allowed Kelly and I to have a low-key Thanksgiving. We spent the morning in our pj's. A perfect place to be since it was 3 degrees with a wind-chill of -14! We traveled south to Ft. Collins to share a Thanksgiving meal with Kelly's parents. His mom honored my Southern Heritage by making Paula Dean's cornbread and sausage dressing. It was very tasty. My sweet potato casserole and pumpkin roll were a big hit--especially with Kelly's sister Susie. Two of Kelly's siblings had other obligations, so it was a quiet afternoon. Eight year old Olivia challenged us to a game of Horseopoly. I quickly concluded it was cheaper to stay in jail than land on all the horses and property I did not own! I knew there was a reason I did not like horses! After we were stuffed with the holiday bounty, we carefully studied the after Thanksgiving ads to plan our shopping strategy.

Kelly and I gave into temptation and joined the masses. We were at our first store at 4:50 am Friday morning. We were a great team as we hit 7 stores plus Starbucks in 2.5 hours. Mission accomplished! I swore I would NEVER be one of those CRAZY PEOPLE when I was in retail. Never say never.......