Princess Ava

Ava is very into her Disney character dresses. She is hoping Santa brings her Ariel's dress for Christmas. As soon as Ava arrived, she asked to put on her dress with high heels and all. She ran around the house showing off how beautiful she looked.

She went through 3 costume changes, colored, ate, watched a Disney show, played with Val (see below as she was trying to paint Val's paws), and kept us on our toes. We had a lot of fun with Ava.

Luke Air Time

Luke was a joy as always this Thanksgiving. He slept, played, ate, and laughed at Uncle Brian. Eventhough he may be the youngest, he will still get the same air time on the blog. We promise Luke.

There Is No Shame in Being a Master Baster

And that is what Brian was - a master baster of turkey that is. He did it every single hour after he put in the turkey and thanks to that, it was a delicious bird. No shame.

We had a nice time with Mr. Kenney, Mary, Bob, Ava, and Luke, and we managed another successful timed family photo. While Jimmy wasn't actually here with us, Brian wore his Colorado shirt in his honor.

Brian and I would agree that we had two favorites this Thankgiving - 1) preparing the meal together & 2) eating and enjoying it with our family.

Thanksgiving Prep - Our Way

Ok, ok...I admit it, Brian and I are weird. But if you read the blog enough, you already know that. Brian has been looking forward to Thanksgiving for months. He has been preparing a feast, gathering recipes, making lists of ingredients, and last weekend we went shopping together to buy everything.

So while Brian will take credit for most of the cooking - I am what you may call his sous chef. So the day before Thankgiving we prepared some goodies and had fun doing it. I made my favorite cranberry orange relish. Brian made what we are calling the wildcard dish - a sweet potato/banana dish with a brownsugar and pecan topping.

Roomies

There was a guestbook on the Pittsburgh Post Gazette obituary web page for my grandpa. I read an entry from my grandpa's college roommate's son. My grandpa was such good friends with Ben Ojserkis and stayed friends throughout his entire life. I remember going over to the Ojserkis' when we would go to the shore when I was a kid. Our family loved their entire family - obviously built from the values of Ben and Anita. Probably the same that my grandparents share. The picture below is of my grandpa and Ben. It is from 2006 - the last time my grandpa went to Stone Harbor. They sat, talked, and laughed together that evening like they never were apart. See entry below from Ben's son - very touching. November 10, 2008
Having watched Bill's friendship with my Dad for my entire 50 years, I have always hoped that each of my kids (not yet out of college) would have a roommate, and a friend, just like Bill Morse. Looking back on it though, what I really hope is that each of my kids can BE a friend just like Bill Morse. No parent could ask for more than that. I know my whole family will miss him, and none of us more than my Dad ("Room").
Dan Ojserkis (Linwood, NJ)

Jessa's Poem

I asked my cousin Jessa to send me her poem she wrote about our grandpa so I could post on the blog and read it whenever I want to.

The poem is framed and lives on the wall of my grandparents' bedroom. The history of the poem is that it was a school assignment years ago to write a poem about someone who was important to her and she wrote about our gramps. She read it at the memorial service.

Here goes...brings tears to my eyes everytime I read it as it captures him so perfectly.

Hobbling on unsturdy legs
his bushy eyebrows raised high
and dark eyes open wide with
anticipation.
His soothing words that always
remind me of what is important,
as we chat
in his picture perfect garden
or on Sundays
he flails his arms,
for his beloved Steelers
as if they can see and hear him.
He is our lighthouse, who leads us
back from darkness and confusion.
"Relax! Everything will be OK."
he seems to say,
and everything is ok,
and I am relaxed,
when I am with him.

Gnarly Head

It was a dinner throwdown with Christina and Travis this weekend. Christina hosted a feast of what she called, 'comfort food,' but we believe that was her just being modest because it was a delicious chicken tetrazini. She did happen to leak that she slaved over it and Travis was sure to note the multiple cutting boards he had to clean from it - a clear sign they are still in it to win it.

Brian and I bought a bottle of wine based on the cool name and label - Gnarly Head Cabernet - and we would have to say that it was pretty darn good. The only thing is - I'm really the only one that drank it. The bottle was gone before others could enjoy. Hiccup.

A good time with friends as always. We're up next for the dinner throwdown. Send us your ideas.