Thanksgiving Dinner Tradition

Every year, for the past five or so years, we go to a Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt and uncle's church! It's a time to eat, play some games, and just get to fellowship with others. This year was no different. My grandparents picked us up, since my mom wasn't up for driving and we headed to the church. It was also my old jr. hi, so it always brings back a flood of memories for me, because I'm sentimental like that.
We sat with family and a couple others that we knew and waited for dinner to start. We stood in line for the food, which went extremely quick since they had a new system this year, and sat back down. I really like Thanksgiving food, but I don't really eat that much when it comes to Thanksgiving day. I think I usually eat about the same amount that I would any other day. After we cleaned the table off, it was time for a couple games. We made our own turkey's, which I was proud of my mom for attempting, because there were a bunch of interesting pieces to make a turkey out of. One of the pastor's came around and told her it looked like road kill...RUDE! HAHA. It was all in good fun, and turned out to not look too bad in a photo. We played Old Turkey (otherwise known as Old Maid), which turned out to be quite an interesting one for our group. We all kept passing cards around and hardly anyone was getting matches or disappointed about having the turkey card. Well, I think my aunt had it the entire time, but she was waiting for a matching card! LOL. We played one more game called, "Hot 'sweet' Potato" in honor of the occasion. They played music and when it stopped, if you had the brown bag, then you were out. Last year, it came down to me and my aunt, and it did once again this year too, which we thought was hilarious. Because the table behind us had left earlier, they gave us the items that were on their table, which meant both of us won! I ended up getting a Starbucks gift card out of it.
There was a speaker that came up after all the fun and games, aimed more towards the kids with a couple of puppets, but I thought it was hilarious. She was so captivating with the voices she had for the puppets and the themes that she was going for while teaching the lessons. We shouldn't get so busy with the hustle and bustle of the season, that we forget about Jesus. We have to get our priorities lined up, much like the story of Mary and Martha. It's easy to forget about what's most important when there's so much to do. But, I'm learning that in the midst of our busy schedules, Jesus is the peace we need that holds it all together.
When the dinner ended, we said goodbye to everyone and a few people on the way out, then headed home. It's a nice little tradition we have going. And even though the table gets a bit smaller every year as far as the family that comes, I still treasure the memories with those who do come. Plus, this way, it's like I get to celebrate Thanksgiving even longer :) No complaints there!