I get comments when I share my family with y’all, that you enjoy seeing the folks that mean the most to me, so I appreciate that and since this blog is inspirational as well as a way to document my life, sharing family is part of that. Once again, those memories are what we hold on to, year after year. This year was no exception, my extended family gathered in Duluth, GA at my cousin, Brenda’s house for a feast and it was a memorable day as always. There were 22 of us this year.
Brenda’s parents, my aunt and uncle, who we just stayed with in Florida for our family reunion, came up to share in the festivities, along with Brenda’s brother, Dennis and his 2 daughters.
I hope you enjoy seeing how we celebrate Thanksgiving and I know that all of you enjoyed the day as well.
My cousin’s pretty front door.
Dining room sideboard decked out for Fall.
Dessert table. My Aunt Mary made these delish chocolate candies. We got the recipe, so I just might have to share it with all of you too. Loved them!
Check out Brenda’s Fall corn display, I loved this idea too.
We did not lack for sweets.
We did not lack for anything. Squash casserole and pineapple casserole. Our family puts out a spread of food every holiday.
I’ve shared this before, but here it is again:
Pineapple Cheese Casserole
2 sticks butter or margarine
2 large cans chunk pineapple
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup each, sugar and flour, mixed together
Crushed Ritz crackers
Layer 1 can pineapple on bottom of round baking dish. Top with 1 cup cheese, 1/2 of the sugar and flour, 1 stick melted butter. Add another layer of pineapple, sugar and flour and melted butter. Top with crushed crackers. Bake @ 350* until brown, around 1 hour. Eat and enjoy!
Deviled eggs, cranberry congealed salad, potato salad, cream corn.
Greens, beans and gravy.
Mashed potatoes and dressing.
Ham and fried turkey.
Sweet potatoes and dressing.
My plate. Ugggg, I was miserable after eating all of this, but it sure was good.
Table centerpiece.
My cousin, Brenda and her mom, Aunt Mary. These 2 can cook up a storm too.
Lauren and Renee.
Cousins, Hailey, Denise, Layna.
Newlyweds Philip and Lauren
We managed to get a family pic just before we left to go home. So glad we did!
(left to right: BIL Bruce, me, Mom, Dad, Renee, Lauren, Philip)
Brenda’s family lives in a pretty John Wieland neighborhood in Gwinnett County and their house sits up on a bluff overlooking the Chattahoochee River. It was an outstandingly beautiful day, so after lunch we hiked down to the river, down 80-something steps.
It’s so pretty down there.
Cousins hanging out together. Lauren and Philip brought their new puppy, Stickers (a girl). She had fun playing outside in the leaves. We are all crazy about Stickers. Lauren named her that because she has always loved playing with stickers. 🙂
Cousins, Layna, Dennis (their dad) Hailey
Philip, Lauren and Stickers, the grandpuppy.
Isn’t she cute? They adopted Stickers in New Orleans about a month ago from a shelter and she is about 6 mos. old. They were told that she is a mix of Chihuahua and Boxer. I know. Think about that one for a minute. Yeah, it’s a crazy thought. But, she’s a really cute puppy. She’s so sweet and cuddly, loves to sit in laps.
She got some exercise playing with sticks.
We had fun playing with her.
And Stickers loves her Aunt Rhodie!
Enjoy your weekend!
Wow! What a festive spread and a beautiful day spent with loves ones! I am always grateful to have my phamily around me. That sweet pup is very cute! My son has a boxer/lab mix! Smokey is huge but so gentle and loving. He thinks he is a lap dog! Ha Ha! The wind is howling here and woke me out of a beautiful sleep! So I thought I would visit. Have a terrific weekend.
Looks like you had a wonderful time with your family!
Stickers is a cutie but…chihuahua & boxer??!!!! Ha!!
Thanks for sharing!
♥’s
Sherry
We have a half chihuahua pup also, who turns 3 in a few days! Not sure what the other half is, but he is a cutie! Looks like a lovely Thanksgiving!!
Rho:
These are the best photos. Love the picture of your family. Such a good looking group. So glad that you are back at home so that you can enjoy all of the blessings that you deserve.
L,
Judy
Your photos make me envious – I wish we had a bigger family to celebrate Thanksgiving with!
Want to hear an even crazier mix? Our new-to-us dog is a Lab-Chihuahua mix with a bit of Dachsund thrown in there! The previous owners got her as a rescue puppy from TX and they were curious about her lineage so they had DNA testing done on her.
Rhoda—what great pictures!! Especially the group shot of your family before you left!! That needs to be framed! Just wanted you to know I had my family here and cooked for the first time in a few years! Always had to work on Thanksgiving in the past! I made your moms dressing and your lima beans from the recipes you put on your blog. They were yummy–thank you!!
Yay, Liz, so glad you tried the recipes & had a great Thanksgiving too. Hold down the fort for me in Birmingham!
Enjoyed your pictures. It’s no nice to see families together enjoying each other. The food looked great, somewhat like we had. We also had a wonderful day with family. God bless you.
You have such a beautiful family Rhoda and all that food looks so yummy!! Your cousin has a gorgeous home! Martina
Beautiful spread for Thanksgiving. I do love reading about your beautiful family!
rhoda, what a beautiful thanksgiving you had! all the food looked delicious. yum! so happy to see you enjoy a wonderful day with your family.
Rhoda! You’re such a beautiful person, inside and out! So fun to see how you and yours celebrate Thanksgiving!
🙂
xoxo
shaunna
I’ve never heard of pineapple casserole! Can you please give us the recipe? Beautiful pictures!
Hi, Matilda, I’ve shared it before, but I added the pineapple casserole in up above!
Glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family! Love that corn in the vase. We did not go to Atlanta this year but all met in Greenville, SC at my sister-in-law’s house instead. Definitely a shorter trip for us! I love that you had deviled eggs at Thanksgiving. And I want one of those chocolate nut candy things. 🙂
Family is what Thanksgiving is all about…what a spread!! Stickers looks like a Chihuahua in the close-up but she has that Pit Bull jaw in the photo where she’s jumping to grab the toy 🙂 Lovely!
Everything looks so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Simply wonderful! A perfect celebration…lovely.
Great photos. Looks like it was a wonderful day. And the food looks very yummy. Her house looks like it is beautiful!!
looks like you had a wonderful time with your family, enjoying each others company and the yummy food – is that typical southern cooking? First time I have heard of pineapple casserole. You are blessed to have your family with you for your Thanksgiving. Take care
Noreen, yep this is completely normal Southern food for our family gatherings. We eat well!
What a beautiful family you have. Thanks for sharing. My hubby adores Pineapple casserole with ham. I eat it for dessert. Stickers playing with sticks is too cute. I thought part pit the first time I looked at her. But, what ever she is, is 100% adorable.
I have grown fond of your sweet niece Lauren through your blog. Being an animal lover myself, I am so happy that she rescued that precious puppy. Your cousin’s house is so pretty. Any more pictures of it? We always have dressing for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but NO ONE can make it like our mothers did!!!