Sometimes when you least expect it...

...you find out you're bigger than life.

Ben had plans to go play with a friend one day in July.  The day before, the friend's mom called to say he was asked on the spur of the moment to take part in a commercial shoot at that time at a local pizza place, but that they could use Ben too.  Well, there were a bunch of kids there, and there was really no telling which ones they would decide to use.  I didn't think that much about it, to be honest.  They paid him with a $20 gift card, and after we got our free pizza, I sort of forgot about it.  Until the kids saw this when they were watching TV:

Then, a few days ago in the mail, out of the blue, we got this package with these:

That was nice, I thought, to make a miniature billboard for him.  But I got to thinking maybe it would be a good idea to check with them and see if he was actually ON a billboard.  And wouldn't you know, he is!  It's not near us, and not someplace we would ever drive by, so it's a good thing I asked!  It's close to the friend, but in the wrong direction from their house, away from their beaten path.  
So there you go.  Ben has endorsements already.  Move over Joe Mauer, there's a new kid in town!

How Thanksgiving really went around here

1.  The day before Thanksgiving, I blogged about how I was giving thanks by giving myself to my family.  I made most of the food ahead of time so I wouldn't stress the day of.  I cleaned so I wouldn't drive them crazy stressing over the little jobs that hadn't gotten done.  And I stashed stuff places, abandoning some of the little jobs that didn't get done, so I wouldn't bark orders at my family.  Now I am afraid to open some of my doors.

2.  I made regular cranberries at the request of my husband, who apparently doesn't love the cranberry relish that I...relish.  I had totally forgotten that cranberries pop when you cook them.  That was entertaining.  :-)

3.  It was about 60º when we woke up.  Gorgeous day!

4.  We had monkey bread and bacon for brunch.  I told each of my family members why I'm thankful for them.  They had this massive deer in the headlights look like they were supposed to say something back.  It was pretty funny.  Lee sort of tried to manage the situation, but Bethany just came right out and said, "Um, I'm not really the sappy type."  It's true, she is not.  It reminded me that my family can feel the weight of expectations I never mean to place on them when I mean well--but I quickly assured them nothing was expected in return.  Rituals 'R' not Us.

5.  My sister came over nice and early with her half of the food, so she could help me get ready.  It went smoothly and stress-free just like I planned.  We even played a game as a whole family before we got all busy in the kitchen.

6.  It went smoothly and stress-free, that is, until the turkey refused to be done until about a half hour past dinner time.  When we were finally getting all the food on the table this was dubbed "The Year of Spilling" and we had to strip the table and clean up chairs and carpet while the food got cold.

7.  Hot gravy is awesome for warming up turkey, stuffing and potatoes that get cold.

8.  My nephews plus a girlfriend and her puppy joined us for games and dessert.  We had a blast!

9.  Sometimes a girlfriend and a puppy are just what God knows a family needs.

10.  It was maybe 25º with snow on the ground by the time everyone went home.  Winter can come all in a few hours' time!

11.  It was a really great Thanksgiving.  I truly am thankful.

12.  Now I need to face those doors I'm afraid to open.