Final Prep - Family Arrives Today!

First Post of the Day

At last! Today is the day that people begin rolling in for the Thanksgiving holiday. Mountain Mama Jessica and her crew fly into Indy this afternoon and we will be going to pick them up. Frank, Teacher Daughter Lisa's friend, arrives from North Carolina later in the afternoon, but he's driving and won't need a ride home from the airport.

While Craig did finish hanging all our outdoor Christmas lights (they look wonderful!), I STILL haven't cleaned the fridge, but that's first on my list for today. 

The guest bedrooms are ready to go as Lisa vacuumed them after school yesterday for me. (I have a rotator cuff injury from playing tug with the dogs and can't vacuum for a while.)

All my sewing supplies and things are tucked away so that this room can go back to being a bedroom for a week.

A whole week?! It feels a little odd being unable to sit down and stitch away for that long.

Extra towels and washcloths have been set out on the overlook, and that pile of blankets? Those are for dogs to lie on. (We will have six dogs here, all of them big. But pets are always welcome. One year Mountain Mama Jessica brought a guinea pig!)

November is chilly in Indiana, so I put out an extra coat tree for all the coats and jackets that will be coming through my front door.

Craig and I are on the family spreadsheet for cooking dinner this evening and I will be putting a pork shoulder in the crock pot in just a few minutes. I'm making Craig's mom's recipe for pulled pork sandwiches. 

Phyllis's recipe is delicious, but not everyone likes celery in their pulled pork so I will leave that out. (And not so much onion, either.) This will simmer in the crock pot all day and the house will smell delicious!

I will also be making a favorite family recipe for dessert - pumpkin bars!

In a big family, you learn to put who likes what on your recipe cards. Saves time in deciding what to make in the future! (The pumpkin bars recipe is easily halved if you are not cooking for the masses like I am. Haha!)

I never make the frosting recipe for them - we prefer a dusting of powdered sugar instead.

It's going to be a very busy Saturday, but I don't care. My family is coming home and my heart is full to bursting.