Her First Holiday Turkey!!!

Greetings Family! Well we are into the holiday season full swing and boy am I tired!!! Now you know that the holidays are a Foodies favorite time of year. So many recipes so little room in your stomach to try them all! Well......I hosted Thanksgiving this year, at my house, for the first time. This was a major big deal. I thought, ok I have every magazine and cookbook and have watched all of the food network holiday specials two times. I can do this!! I also thought that I would start with a small gathering to ease myself into this tradition. Well the ghosts of Thanksgiving past decided that I should have a house full of people. Ok, plan B to have everyone contribute to the festivities so a Foodie like myself didn't have a melt down. My mother and I planned the menu and gave everyone their assignments. My mother, aka, hostess extraordinaire, helped with the decorating and table setting and seating as well. I have big shoes to fill to follow my Mom. She is my hostess and decorating inspiration in life!! I made my shopping list and hit the store. I must admit however, that I had never cooked a turkey before. How hard could it be. Just like a big chicken right!! Well this is where my mother-in-law came in to save me. She stayed with us over the holiday and cooked her famous potato salad and her greens and cakes. She showed me how to prep and season the turkey. She even got up early in the morning to put the bird in the oven so it would be ready for our company!! I am forever grateful to her for this lesson. Now that is the type of mother-in-law that I hope all of you have! I made glazed carrots, cornbread stuffing and my sweet potato pies! My aunties made baked salmon, sweet potatoes and string beans. Tricia baked us a ham (you must accommodate the pork eating guests!!) and made her fabulous desserts. Yummy!! My mother made fantastic herb roasted chicken and her famous macaroni and cheese. Now I must inform everyone that there was a near riot because my mother only had one pan because she left the other one home! We worked it out though and everyone had plenty. Dawn made her famous..... she whipped up some.....well Dawn brought the bread!! Our creative genius makes body butter not things with real butter in them lol! We prayed over the food and our home and everyone had a great time. Everyone stayed for a long time with their bellies very full which is the sign of a good holiday dinner. They left with plenty of food to take home for left overs. All in all, it was a very successful first Thanksgiving. I couldn't have done any of it without everyone's help. I also want to give a special thanks to my husband who moved more furtniture and hung more curtain rods then he thought possible. Thanks hubby!! Just in case you are wondering….we will be celebrating Christmas at my parents' house!! Here is wishing everyone a good eating, happy and healthy holiday!!!