The Year Aunt Jo Didn't Eat All Of The Fudge

Every Thanksgiving, my family gets together the day before Thanksgiving and gets all of the baked goods, well, baked...

Aside from the baked goods, we always make fudge.

Always.

It has been my special duty to create the chocolaty-get-in-my-mouth-already-before-aunt-jo-eats-it fudge.

But this year, two things that NEVER happen,

happened.

One, I got a special helper who has never been in on the festivities due to the fact he's always on the road...

(He said he'd string me up if I posted this picture on any of "those sites you post pictures on."  But he looks too cute in his little apron to let this picture go to waste...)

My Dad!  

He choices were to do the pies or fudge.

He chose wisely and teamed up with me.

The usual EASY 10 minute fudge recipe got misplaced this year so Grandma found another one that was labeled "Easy Fudge" so we went with it.

30 minutes later...

My Dad was still stirring waiting for it to get to the "soft ball stage." 

Whatever that meant.

We had to have a little more help this year than previously needed.

Enter Grandma to help us with our cooking vocabulary.

In the end we got one of the best batches of fudge ever.  Until my mother destroyed it by adding pecans to half of it.  Nuts in chocolate?

Whoever invented that should be shot.

And TWO, Aunt Jo wasn't at Grandma's for Thanksgiving this year which meant...

More fudge for the rest of us!

(Although it does stink having the Dewey's so far away.  Again.  I'd rather have Aunt Jo back than a pan of fudge).

Of course you can't forget the other hands that helped with the cooking...

I love these women.  They are probably the three most influential people in my life.  My aunt Karen has been my mentor through teaching and basically got me through my first year of teaching.  My Mom is the perfect example of service and love.  And my Grandma has overcome so many trials and hardships in her life and she is a rock.  Immovable and strong in so many ways.

Today has been a day of thanksgiving.  I hate the term "Turkey Day."  This is one day where we all can express gratitude and thankfulness.  And although I'm a fan of turkey, there's no way I want Thanksgiving to become a day just about the turkey!

I'm thankful for family, friends, and my testimony of the gospel.  I know and have felt my Heavenly Father in my everyday life (which is easy being around so many little 2nd grade spirits every day).  I love my Savior and I strive to live my life like He did.  It's a life-long process and I love how He shapes me every day.  He blesses me more than I think I deserve and He never deserts us in our time of need!

I couldn't be happier being married to my best friend and the one man who never fails to treat me like an equal and his queen.  T is the brown sugar in my oatmeal, the mallows on my yams, and the whipped cream in my cocoa.

He adds a special sweetness to life that is just plain hard to live without!

Happy Thanksgiving.