Happy Thanksgiving!

It's impossible for me to ever sleep in.

So Dad, Me & my kids were up early.

Let the cooking begin!

Again,

I was chef co-captain.

Or maybe just photographer.

Or cheerleader.

But I was at least in the kitchen!!

We got that 'ole bird cleaned, stuffed, seasoned & in the roaster oven!

Then we headed to the park for some

Family Turkey Bowl!

Kyrrigan was the content little Cheerleader

while the rest of us, and our out of shape bodies, attempted to play football!

We quickly realized that Anden & Taylee are way too competitive.

So I spent most of my time breaking up fights,

reminding them this is 2 hand touch not 2 hand shove or 2 hand punch,

reminding them NOT to tackle each other,

reminding them that you don't get to touch the ball every play,

and complimenting how athletically inclined they are!

(I had to force myself to find the positive! lol)

Taylee got too hot and took a break to play with Baby K!

Then eventually we all got too hot and decided to call it quits! 

The Mighty Football Players!

Cooking for some,

Playing for others

resumed when we got back home.

Two hours and counting until Thanksgiving dinner!

I got to work setting the table.

That part of "entertaining" I can handle!

The Kids Table

Thanksgiving dinner was set for noon.

About 11am the boys go rushing outside with the bb gun.

They were on a hunt for one of the many wildlife in my backyard.

I made the mistake of walking out a few minutes later to check on them.

O.M.G.

NOT the Thanksgiving prep I wanted to find.

(and if I had to see it, you do too! lol)

They were so proud of the rabbit that they caught and harvested.

Ick!

I wasn't as impressed as they were and headed back inside.

Now I'm going to digress for a bit

and share with you how my day took a dramatic turn right here....

We were all busily doing our own things getting ready for dinner.

The girls and dad were inside the kitchen,

the boys were still outside.

Dad & I were cooking away.

Taylee was standing by the sliding glass door watching the boys.

Then the unimaginable happened.

I hear a loud "ping" noise and immediate glass shattering noise.

I whip around and have a split second to desperately survey the situation.

One child is on the outside of the door holding a bb gun

the other child is on the inside of the door.

My jaw dropped in complete shock as I realized what happened.

Anden point blank shot the dual pane sliding glass 10 ft door.

I was completely stunned and didn't know whether to scream or cry.

Same with everyone else.

We all were standing right there and all saw the same thing.

Anden, now realizing he did something majorly wrong,

dropped the gun and took off running across the yard.

I dropped the spatula and ran after him.

The boys immediately grabbed Taylee out of the way

and started to tape up the door so glass didn't fall out everywhere.

I caught up with Anden on the side of the house hiding by the boat.

He was so scared, confused and shocked.

I grabbed both of his shoulders while trying to contain my anger and sternly asked

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!?!"

He quietly whimpered a nervous and scared reply,

"Taylee told me to!"

That made me more upset thinking he was just trying to shift the blame.

So I questioned him again.

"Mommy I promise. Taylee told me to shoot her!"

At that point, my anger instantly shifted into complete devastation.

Reality set in.

My son tired to shoot my daughter.

I just started sobbing

which scared Anden even more.

All sorts of things were racing through my mind.

I blurted out that he was on the naughty list

(I know I know not very mature but I was a mess!)

Well apparently that hit home for him because he started crying too.

How could this possibly have happened?!

Jeremy had bought him the bb gun without my knowledge or consent.

Anden told me he uses it often.

I therefore assumed he was trained and knowledgeable.

Anden seems older than he is.

But he's still 6 yrs old.

He clearly didn't realize how serious this was.

The boys didn't know to watch him more carefully.

Everyone was busy working on something.

I didn't even know the bb gun was outside.

So many errors had taken place.

And within a split second,

Anden picked up the gun and shot it into the glass door.

I was originally mad how awful his choice was to shoot the door.

And how expensive it was going to be for me to replace it.

But that was on the back burner now.

I was digesting the fact that

my son tried to shoot my daughter with a gun though a glass door.

He honestly had no idea he could have seriously hurt her.

I needed a moment to think and collect myself.

I told him not to move and I would be back.

I slowly walked my humbled, shocked, devastated self back in to face my family.

I just started crying when I told them what happened.

The waterworks were officially turned on and weren't turning off anytime soon.

It was now 30 mins until dinner was to be ready

and other guests were to be arriving.

My sliding glass door was completely shattered.

I'm sobbing.

One child is outside in trouble crying.

The other child is hiding in my room.

My shocked family are desperately trying to figure out how to help.

So they lovingly took over finishing dinner and securing the door,

while I tried to regain my composure and be a good parent.

I went into my bedroom to get Taylee.

We had a stern yet loving talk alone.

She immediately blurted out and started to cry too,

"Mommy I'm sorry I told Anden to shoot me!"

Which made me cry even more.

As much as she fights with Anden,

she is very protective of her brother!

She literally took the blame before I even said a word.

I just hugged her and sobbed and told her how much I loved her

and that we all make mistakes.

And that it was still Anden's choice to pull the trigger.

Then she and I went outside to get Anden.

I sat them both down and explained the reality of what happened

and what COULD have happened.

I couldn't stop crying thinking about what a nightmare this really could have been.

I could have lost a child.

I hugged them so close and told them how much I loved them.

Then we talked about how there were going to be punishments

so that we could learn from our mistakes.

The gun was permanently taken away.

I suggested Anden could ask Santa for a door instead of toys this year.

He was devastated about that.

And pleaded with me with big tears in his eyes,

"Can I still have just one toy?!"

I wanted to die.

I felt so bad for everyone involved in this situation!

So I told him yes he could ask for one toy.

Then we agreed that as a family

we were going to earn money to help Santa replace the door.

I gathered up my precious babies and took them directly into my room

through my patio door so they didn't have to face the family quite yet.

I gave them baths and settled them into my bed

watching movies while I went back into the kitchen

to attempt to salvage Thanksgiving day.

My family had everything under control

and were still highly concerned and very loving about the entire situation.

I realized right then

that on this Thanksgiving day

I was truly thankful they were there with me when this happened.

And most importantly I remembered at that moment that it really doesn't matter

if you have the perfect holiday dinner

ready at the perfect time

with the perfect table decor

and the perfectly cleaned house.

Because what I had right then actually was perfect.

Shattered glass door and all.

I was surrounded by people who truly love me.

And my amazing children,

whom I love more than life itself,

were safe and sound. 

I was immediately overwhelmed with gratitude

For I am truly blessed.

So at that moment I made the choice not stress

about how I was going to pay for the door,

 that dinner was now off schedule,

that guests were arriving soon

and I hadn't even combed through my hair yet that day

and that I smelled like grass stains, dirt and sweat.

Instead I decided,

as with everything else in life,

you can either cry or laugh.

Fall down or pick yourself up.

So I chose to pick myself up and laugh.

Crying makes my head hurt.

So I took a picture of the door

and texted it to my out of town family & friends

 forcing myself to find the humor in this.

"Well it's not really Thanksgiving until someone shoots the door out!"

I adore that my loved ones are full of sarcasm, wit and humor!

From there the jokes started.

And the wound started to become more distant.

The Mortensens arrived shortly after.

Dinner was ready not long after that.

And after everything that occurred,

 we had an awesome Thanksgiving !!

We stuffed ourselves over and over

(and a third time over for some!)

We chatted.

We laughed.

We loved.

I had everyone add a leaf to

The Gratitude Tree

before they left.

Because we all have so much to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!