We were blessed again this year with a wonderful Thanksgiving day, so I wanted to share some of our highlights of food and spending time with family. Â I hope you all had a great day with family and friends too.
As you can imagine, it was extra special this year with the addition of our sweet baby Parker. She delights all of us and all we want to do is watch her play and kiss her. She’s crawling up a storm and standing up now, so it won’t be long before she is walking.
Our family pic this year was a little challenging. I tried my camera on the tripod with a timer and I couldn’t get it set without keeping the shutter open a long time, which meant everyone had to be really still. Guess who wasn’t really still? Yep, you got it.  That cutie pie in the middle didn’t understand the posing part. Philip used his Nikon to get this pic on the tripod and snapped it pretty fast, so at least we got one decent family pic.  After trying to get several pics with a timer, mom and dad didn’t know when to smile, so that’s why they look so somber. Oh the joys of capturing family pics!
We did a lot of this.
And this. With Parker the star of the day. She’s all over the place now, not walking yet, but crawling and standing up.
I always help Lauren and Philip get a good pic for their family Christmas card, so we took some shots of the family of 3 this year. I’m sure they will find one that is perfect for their Christmas card. Aren’t they an adorable little family?
We did lots of baby kissing too.
She can’t quite decide if she likes this smooching stuff yet, but she’ll tolerate it for a little bit.
We checked out Renee and Bruce’s new master bathroom progress. It’s coming along and the plan is to get it finished before Christmas. Bruce has been working hard on it and it’s going to be gorgeous! He’s putting in the floor tile planks right now. Of course, when it is all done, I’ll share it with all of you.
Bruce cooked the turkey on his big grill and it came out great, as usual. He’s a grillmaster!
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Mom and Dad with Parker.
We had way too much food, as usual too and it sure was delicious. Turkey, Southern dressing, lima beans, the roasted green beans I made, sweet potato casserole.
Mashed potatoes and gravy and collard greens.
Mom made this delicious salted caramel chocolate pecan pie that was outstanding. It’s from Southern Living and I’ll share it later on before Christmas.
She also made another new cake from Southern Living, an apple carrot cake that was also a winner. I’ll share this one later too.
Little miss is eating plenty of solid foods now and her parents are feeding her healthy food.  She loves to pick up small bites and feed herself.  Mom is making her homemade baby food from garden vegetables, so she is getting so much good nutrition. She’s a really good eater too and is still getting milk from her mama as well. Lauren has been such a great mom and still pumps 3 times a day to feed this baby all that good milk.
We didn’t set a fancy table this year. We used big foam plates and enjoyed sitting around the big round table with our little family gathering, enjoying the bounty of the day.  It’s all about spending time together for us.  
The roasted green beans recipe was really good, so I’ll share that one with you. It’s festive looking too and so easy. This one came from Kroger.
Sprinkled with parmesan cheese, it was a healthy winner for our Thanksgiving dinner. Dad was the only one who didn’t like it. He loves his traditional cooked down green beans, but the rest of us like to try new things.
Balsamic Roasted Green Beans
Balsamic Roasted Green Beans
Ingredients
- 2 lbs green beans, trimmed
- 1 orange (or yellow) bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips
- 1 small red onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tspn olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Shredded Parmesan cheese, for garnish if desired
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
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Toss green beans, bell pepper, onion, and garlic in the oil and vinegar mixture, and place on a sheet pan. Roast for about 20 minutes or until vegetables reach desired tenderness. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add Parmesan cheese, if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.
Love the fringed table cloth!
What a fun and festive time for you all! I could just eat up that sweet baby! Those roasted green beans are right up our alley… if we leave off the cheese they’ll be whole30 compliant for us! Thanks for sharing, Rhoda… let’s get together soon.
xo Heidi
What a gorgeous baby! You have a lovely family and are so blessed to have both of your parents. It was cute to see the plates! Sometimes in blogland things seem too perfect! Refreshing to see reality, expecially when there is a new baby!! Cathy
That recipe sounds yummy–I will have to give it a try. Like Cathy mentioned, it was refreshing to see the foam plates. It’s nice to know there are others out there that don’t eat every holiday meal off of Great-Grandmama’s china that came over on the Mayflower. 🙂 Baby Parker is just as precious as she can be–thanks so much for sharing your family with all of us!
Ha, Mimi! We are nothing if not real. Our family is so down to earth. We’ve been known to set a pretty table, but often we go for ease and non-fussy.
Little Parker is beyond precious and adorable…AND a beauty like her mamma and Aunt Rhoda. Happy Holidays!
It looks like you had a lovely and relaxing day! Parker is adorable! Love the photo with you kissing her cheek! The food looks outstanding! Can’t wait to see the recipe for the desserts your mom made. I just might try one for one of the any gatherings this holiday season. Love the portrait you did of your niece, Parker and her dad. Parker is not a common name. My dear aunt Ann’s given name was Parker but we called her by her middle name Ann. I actually love the name Parker!
Great pics of your Thanksgiving. Parker is adorable. Can’t wait to try that chocolate pecan pie! Yum.
Hugs,
Kat
We are eating leftovers and they are still good. Love looking at your family. Such love is sweet to see. I love the description of cooked down green beans. My husband said that is the only way to have them.
That picture of you kissing Parker…her face is priceless! Loved the peek into your holiday – thanks for sharing!
I will be trying those green beans this week. Love roasted veggies! I enjoy your blog. Thanks for posting most every day. I follow a lot of blogs and yours is still my favorite.
Yay for paper plates sometimes. 🙂
Looks like y’all had a wonderful day. Our niece and nephew have a daughter who will be 2 in February. She’s the star of the show too. It’s wonderful having a little one around again.
Beautiful family pictures that are priceless.
I’m going to make the green beans this week.
Looks like a wonderful Thanksgiving feast and little Parker is just adorable.
I loved seeing pictures from your Thanksgiving – it looked happy and relaxing! Can’t wait to try your recipe for green beans – they look so yummy!!
xo. Leslie
Segreto Finishes
Parker clearly steels the show in this post! What an adorable little girl! Look forward to the recipes.
You had me at southern dressing! Have you share that recipe before.? Beautiful pict
HI, Teresa, I have shared the dressing before, here it is, my mom’s cornbread chicken and dressing:
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/southern-cornbread-and-chicken-dressing/
Glad you had a lovely thanksgiving, being with close family is the most important thing in life and you are lucky to have all your family around you. I miss my mum terribly, it will be the third Christmas this year without her.
Parker is absolutely adorable, she is just the cutest little girl. Love the photos, the food looks divine.
Lee 🙂