Giving Thanks

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My extended family came to town so we celebrated with an extra-large group -- 20 to be exact. Neil fried two turkeys (takes a lot of bird to feed our group!), my Pa-pa carved them, we filled our plates and ate lots of yummy goodness all the while being reminded of all of our blessings. We missed my sister, Laura, who is preparing 24/7 for her senior show next weekend in Tennessee. We'll celebrate the holiday a week later with her.

**Neil has kindly asked that I amend my post as he doesn't feel my original writing accurately captures the deliciousness of the turkeys he so proudly prepared. They were quite delicious! He's been frying the turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas for a few years now and I believe these were his best ever. They were extremely flavorful and juicy (usually not how one describes a turkey) and extremely yummy. And, by supper time, they had both been devoured, proof that everyone else shared my sentiments. Good job, Neil! You have a lot to live up to next year.

Click here to view more pictures from our Thanksgiving.

A Family Divided

When it comes to college football -- or college anything for that matter -- us Wilders are Auburn through and through. However, among extended family the allegiances are not that straightforward. Neil's brother graduated from Mississippi State and Neil attended one year of school there before transferring to Auburn (he claims to only bleed orange and blue, though). So the AU vs. MSU football game each fall brings about a nice opportunity for a little family rivalry. This past Saturday we ventured over to Starkville, Miss., for the game and met Tim, Sue and Neil's dad [who was sporting a MSU shirt and an Auburn ballcap -- he told me his heart belonged to Auburn but I could swear I heard him say the same thing to Sue about MSU:) ]. Neil, Margie Grace and I were dressed head to toe in Auburn orange and blue. Tim and Sue proudly wore their maroon and white. Like I mentioned earlier, Mr. Wilder wore both. Here are a couple of pictures illustrating our divided family. Although Tim successfully got Margie Grace to utter the words "Go Dogs" a couple of times Saturday night, Neil and I spent the entire ride home practicing "War Eagle" with her! The game was pathetic but we still had fun.