A Hanlin/Heath/Coleman/Fox Thanksgiving

We weren't sure it was going to be possible, but after a 4 am alarm on Wednesday morning, 5:30 departure,  5 states and 12 hours in my faithful steed the Focus, Jared and I made it to Atlanta, Georgia for a short but wonderful Thanksgiving visit with the family.  Wanting to contribute to the meal, I searched my new Southern Living Desserts Cookbook for a fun and festive recipe, and landed on Pecan Pie Cookies.



<----  The picture looks good, right?  So Tuesday evening, I braved the crowds (who knew that everyone goes to Wal-Mart two days before Thanksgiving?  I might not have survived had I gone Wednesday!) and made it out with the ingredients.  A couple hours, some love and nurturing later, and we get this:








Not quite as pretty, but they went fast, so I choose to believe they were good.  I had bought some Cranberry Pecan rolls at Stone Mill Bakery earlier that day, so I felt pretty good about my food contributions.  The next morning we left, and the drive was long, but we made good time and got to Atlanta in time to see everyone and head out for a great dinner of greek pizza.  That night Jared and I got some much needed sleep, and were up and ready for some family time Thursday.

It's funny how months can go by without seeing family, but when you get back together, its like no time has passed at all.  All day Thursday we visited with family, and ate ate and ate some more.

Friday came faster than we wanted, but we spent some time in the morning hanging out with the fam a little more, and ate a few times (I swear I still haven't been able to muster up hunger yet).  On the way out of town, we drove past my Mema and Papa's old house as has become tradition for us, and it as always brought back so many memories from my childhood.  Twelve hours later and we pulled into Fayetteville to unpack and go to bed.  The car ride wasn't my favorite, but it was definitely worth it to spend time with our family, and we are so thankful for every one of them.