I'm excited to be hosting special guests for the next several Wednesdays! Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth Perry Maddrey!
***
Tomorrow
is Thanksgiving.
I’ll
let that sink in for a moment, because if you’re like me, that totally snuck up
on you. Every year, I have these great plans about how I’m going to plan my
menu at the start of the month and I’m going to shop early so I’m not stuck
deciding between a thirty-four pound turkey or two six-pound turkeys to feed
the twelve people that generally make up our family Thanksgiving dinner. Every
year…I fail. Miserably.
And
so, it’s good that Jill asked me to write this ahead of time, because chances
are, right now? I’m standing in the grocery store along with nineteen million
men (it’s always men. I guess most of the women had their act together and just
had to send their hubby out for one or two items.) trying to pick through the
emaciated sweet potatoes that no one wanted, hoping to find one or two that are
actually worth eating. You’ll know it’s me because I have the two screaming
children in the cart, both incredibly unhappy about being at the grocery store
when they should be at home eating dinner. And I’d have happily left them
there, except my own husband is stuck in the insane traffic that plagues the DC
area on any kind of day ending in ‘y’, but especially on holiday weekends.
This
has become my Thanksgiving tradition. I’m not sure it’s a good one to have, but
I’ll admit that, to me at least, it still kind of beats the one my mom tried so
hard to instill when we were kids (everyone got kernels of corn at their dinner
seat, then we had to say one thankful thing for each kernel. Nice idea. Crazy
cheesy to the two sarcastic teens that she birthed.)
But
even with the craziness that has come to define my shopping (and it usually
trickles into the cooking and serving portion of the meal, if we’re honest), I
have to say I love Thanksgiving. I love that there’s a whole day set aside to
encourage us to be thankful – and the older I get, I begin to understand Mom
and her corn kernels a bit better. Because in addition to reminding myself to
be thankful (something that’s so easy to forget to do when you’re wrapped up in
the day-to-day of life), I love hearing other people talk about the things
they’re thankful for. Inevitably, that reminds me of even more that I
appreciate. And so on, and so forth.
And
then, let’s be honest, there’s pie. I’m very thankful that someone invented
pie.
So
tomorrow, I’ll be sitting down with my husband and our kids, my parents, my
sister and her husband, my husband’s parents, and his two sisters. And we’ll
have lots of (hopefully) delicious food that I’ve made and, more likely than
not, we’ll spend a few minutes talking about the last year and the specific
things we’re thankful for. For me, that will include gratitude for my second
year as a published author with two more full-length novels and a novella
already released and my third novel for the year coming out next week. I still
have to stop and pinch myself when I think about the fact that I have
seven—almost eight—books out there in the world for other people to read. (And
I’m even more grateful that people do read them and, beyond that, enjoy them!)
I
hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow, full of turkey and pie and family and,
above all, thankfulness. And if, like me, you’re facing down a trip to the
store today…I hope you find everything you need so you don’t have to try and
substitute parsnips for potatoes.
***
About Elizabeth Maddrey ~
Elizabeth
Maddrey began writing stories as soon as she could form the letters properly
and has never looked back. Though her practical nature and love of math and
organization steered her into computer science for college and graduate school,
she has always had one or more stories in progress to occupy her free time.
When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books and has
mastered the art of reading while undertaking just about any other activity.
She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing
with sin and receiving God’s grace.
Elizabeth
lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. with her husband and their two
incredibly active little boys. She invites you to interact with her at her
website www.ElizabethMaddrey.com, or on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.
Releasing December 2, 2014 – Love
Defined, Book 3 in the Remnants Series
Dreams
Change. Plans Fail.
July
and Gareth have reached the end of their infertility treatment options. With conflicting feelings on adoption, they
struggle to discover common ground in their marriage.
Meanwhile,
July's twin sister, June, and her husband, Toby, are navigating the
uncertainties of adoption and the challenges of new parenthood.
How
much stretching can their relationships endure before they snap?
***
Elizabeth, I can completely relate to the last minute store runs. I'm lucky to stay on top of the kids' homework. Forget the turkeys and potatoes! And I'm giggling at the corn kernel concept. It's such a "mom" thing to do. I hope you enjoy today and avoid those stores!! Thank you so much for sharing with us.
***
Okay, what's your most embarrassing moment when it comes to cooking?
When I was a newlywed, I knew nothing about cooking. I once made a stew with Kielbasa sausage and A1 sauce. Yeah, we ordered pizza that night!
Have a wonderful and very blessed Thanksgiving!!
