Giving Thanks Always

I am sitting here, in my living room, listening to Christmas music, and looking at our first tree lit up in the corner. I am so completely joyful and thankful, not only for this holiday season, but for my beautiful and precious family. I have loved this little vacation so much that I do not know how I am going to muster up the energy to put on my "corporate hat" and go back to work tomorrow!

As promised, I give you a little more of a glimpse into our first Thanksgiving and our adventures in visiting both sides of the family.

November 25, 2010: The night before, Jonathon helped me bake an Oreo cheesecake and make cracker candy to contribute to my parents Thanksgiving celebration. We headed on over to the Jones' household to celebrate Thanksgiving with my mom, dad, brother, sister, and family friend, Sonia.

Sometimes they can be a little difficult to take a picture of! We watched the Macy's Day Parade and I helped my Dad order Christmas presents for the family. We ate a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Jon and I left around 3:45 to start our five hour drive to Mount Pleasant, SC.

November 26, 2010: We woke up early in Jon's Grandma's home and headed to Charleston to see the sites and eat some yummy sea food with Jon's mom, dad, sister, and her fiancee. 

Since we only had half the day to explore, we took a quick driving tour of the main historical places in Charleston, stopped by the wonderful Market, drove past the gorgeous homes on "Rainbow Row", bought Oreo fudge at the Charleston Candy shop, and ate amazing sea food. 

November 27, 2010: We ate at the infamous "Melvin's Bar-B-Que", Jon's dad's most favorite place to eat. Then, sadly, we headed back to the ATL.

Seriously, Melvin's had the best onion rings I have ever tasted in my life. So good! 

Since Jon and I started our ornament tradition after we got engaged (read about it here), we decided to make sure we bought ornaments whenever we went to special places. While shopping in the Market on Friday, we came across this precious little thing:

It is handmade and cut from a beautiful little piece of wood with "Charleston, South Carolina" inscribed on it. We just loved it and thought it would be a perfect addition to our little ornament collection. 

Three cheers for Charleston and Thanksgiving!