Thanksgiving… truly the ultimate Thankful Thursday. This year Brandon and I will be enjoying dinner at Brandon’s Brothers house. We are so excited…there will be between 13-15 of us. We are looking forward to making memories and I have no doubt a good funny story will come of this. You can’t get 13-15 of us together with out something crazy happening.

One thanksgiving the dogs were the stars of the show. Each Horn family has a least one dog if not two, and one year everyone brought their dogs with them. Yes it was dog fest crazy. After a full day of dogs + kids running around like hooligans it was time to sit and enjoy a beautiful meal with the entire family. Momo (that’s Brandon’s moms nickname) brought out half of the turkey it was golden brown, steaming with warmth and beautifully sliced on a gorgeous silver platter. The other half was in the kitchen keeping warm under tinfoil on the counter, as it would not be long before that half was cut and served.

While we all enjoyed the first half of the turkey with smooth delicious gravy, marshmallow covered sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, apple walnut salad, cranberry jam and butter biscuits… I began to notice that the dogs were not all under the table awaiting for a crumb to fall to the floor. Instead they were sitting at the doorway that led from the dining room into the kitchen. However, not all the dogs were in the doorway. A few minutes would go by and I would look back at the door way and the dogs that were there had been replaced with the ones that were not there the first time I looked. So I mentioned to the family that for some reason the dogs were taking shifts at sitting in front of the door rather then collecting under our feet at the table.

Something was definitely going on!

I pardoned myself from the table and headed toward the kitchen. All the dogs scattered throughout the house. As I turned the corner into the kitchen there it was. The full other half of the turkey lay on the floor almost completely devoured! Oh yes, the mongrels had pulled the turkey off the counter and were taking turns eating while the other half kept watch and they were rotating shift!!

If we had not all seen with with our own eyes we would have never believed it. That Thanksgiving will go down in the Horn history for sure! This leads me into what we are so thankful for this year…

• The Holidays! Yes I (Michelle) am one of those people who starts playing christmas music in November. The holidays make me feel warn, cozy, loving and joy filled. Spending time with family + friends is one of my favorite things to do.
• Trials – Tribulation – Struggles.  A strange thing to be thankful for, I know. But What I have learned is that in time of trial, tribulation and struggle we have the opportunity to grown in deep bonds with each other, our family and most importantly with God. Our love just gets stronger because of them.
• Mass. Adoration. The Rosary.
• Our daughter and grand babies. Yep, we are young grandparents and it is a huge blessing. I had Kayliegh just as I turned 20. She has our first Grand baby just as she entered her 20’s. So here we are with grand babies who are so adorable and so much fun, mean while all our friends have kids who are ages 2-10 years old.
• Adoption. We are hoping to finish our add on next year and finally be able to adopt. Brandon and I have tried to have more children over the years but we were not able too. So now we are looking to adopt while we still have so much energy and life to give.
• All our family members on both sides.
• Soup. It is starting to get cold here in the North Georgia Mountains, like the lows in the 30’s at night. So for dinners I have been making a lot of delicious warm soups to keep us toast in the evenings.
• Breakfast in Bed.
• Orangish Pink Roses!
• Apple Pie.

To be honest my list could go on for pages and pages, but I am sure y’all would get board with that! I love thinking about all the things I am thankful for and I make an effort to think of them often, if not daily at least every other day. This brings me so much joy. I still have a lot of challenges, struggles and hard times, but those things only help me grow, I look at them as a positive too. Looking at life this way has made a world of difference for me and our family as well. Cheers to a Happy Thanksgiving!