All families celebrate Thanksgiving in different ways, which is what makes this holiday so wonderful. Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents and children who don’t spend enough time together during the year use this special day to see one another.

Each year my family sets the menu so everyone can bring their own specialty dish.

We pray, thank God for all our blessings and enjoy one another’s company.    Lunch starts promptly at noon, and if you are late we have already said the blessing and started eating.   Before my mom passed away she required us to be on time, so we make it our mission not to be late!

After lunch we pull out some traditional board games and get serious. Our family is very competitive.

I tend to enjoy no one asking me for anything and sneaking in a short nap at whomever’s home we chose to celebrate that year.  As my dad always says, “a Cothran nap will never hurt you.”  We have all been known to take a nap or two no matter where we may land.

Before we all leave we look at all of the sale flyers to determine where we will shop on Black Friday.  It would probably just be easier to purchase gifts online, but my brother and I prefer the old fashioned way: fighting enormous crowds and ridiculous traffic for a bargain!

No matter how you decide to celebrate, I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday! But if you really want to enjoy your meal, I suggest you try my mom’s sweet potato casserole.  It’s delicious and it’s another way for us to remember her:

Sweet Potato Casserole

• 3 cups sweet potatoes (mashed) canned will do.
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup butter (melted)

Topping

• 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup butter (NOT melted)

Mix first five ingredients thoroughly and pour into buttered casserole dish.  Mix topping with a fork to crumb consistency, sprinkle on top of potatoes

Bake 30 minutes at 350

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Until next time.