What comes to your mind when you think of Thanksgiving?  A few things pop up in my mind as soon as I think about it.  The first thing I think about is when my dad use to do the turkey walk.  What is a turkey walk you ask?  Well, early in the morning before the turkey goes in the oven, it must first go for a walk.  My dad would hold it by the legs and walk the raw turkey around the kitchen while acting like a turkey "gobble gobble."  It always made us laugh.  I would then get grossed out as he pulled the neck and other disgusting parts of the turkey out.  Yuck!  Once I got married, I told my husband about the turkey walk and he continues that tradition in our home.  I love my son's goggles that he is wearing in this picture.  He is ready for that turkey! 

When we moved across the country where no family member lived, we didn't want to be alone for Thanksgiving so we invited several families from our church and community over for a Thanksgiving feast.  We kept that tradition for the 7 years we lived on the East Coast.  So many great memories and friendships were made as we gathered together as friends.  

What Thanksgiving traditions do you share with your loved ones?  We would love to hear about them, just comment below.

Thanksgiving Freebie!  I used this same turkey for a General Conference piece and it was one of my most popular posts so I thought I'd switch it up just a bit to fit Thanksgiving.  While you are preparing the food, print this page out and have your kids write one thing they are grateful for under each category in the Color Key.  For example, for "home" they might say they are grateful for their bed, clothes, toys.  For the "world" maybe they are grateful for the birds and trees, etc.  Once they write down one or more things that they are grateful for, they can color in the coordinating number.

This past year we went to visit some turkeys.  My son was fascinated by all the animals, but he seemed to have had a connection with the turkeys.  He can make his voice sound like a turkey.  As he began to "talk" to the turkeys they talked right back!  Oh my, it was so funny!  He went on and on talking with them.  Here is just a short clip of our little "Turkey Whisperer."  Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!