When our second-swing of holidays came around, it was a tad bit difficult. Clark was working for Walgreens, and since he was a "new" employee he was required to work two holidays.

Can you guess which ones they scheduled him for? Yup. Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The parents on both sides were thrilled.

So Thanksgiving came and it was up to me to be a true "wife" and cook dinner while he was at work all day. While I managed to watch the Macy's Day Parade (by myself) without completely losing it (aka crying), cooking was another story.

I had it planned out. A turkey. Sweet Potato Casserole (for Clark... I preferred mashed potatoes). Veggies (I honestly don't remember what I served). Rolls. Deviled Eggs (for Clark again). Pumpkin Pie.

I was so excited to cook. I mean... it was the first time I got to have my own Thanksgiving.

And then I faced my turkey.

Clark had said he was going to cook the turkey because that was the "husbandly" thing to do, but I protested. My mom did all the cooking. I wanted to do all the cooking.

I should have listened.

First I didn't give it enough time to thaw. As I prepared to stick it in the oven I realized that the middle of it was still rock solid with ice.

Great. Just what I needed.

It was ok. Clark was working a little late and if he had to wait 30 minutes longer for his turkey, he could wait.

Next was the sweet potato casserole.

Never had I ever cooked sweet potatoes before this day. I hadn't done a practice run of the dish. Nothing. I was so determined to make them perfect for Clark, I thought I was a good enough cook to wing it.

Boy was I wrong.

Let's just say that the casserole didn't quite cook all the way through. And it wasn't what Clark was expecting, either.

Everything else (in my opinion) turned out top-notch. But the two things were enough to devastate me against ever having my own Thanksgiving for quite some time.

And, because of that, no pictures survive to show you.

Clark was wonderful. He went over the top with compliments to me as well as his family. Compliments I thought I didn't deserve.

It was strange. Since we had been married, holidays had still always been celebrated with family. Watching the parade and cooking all by my lonesome wasn't something I really enjoyed, but I endured. Clark's job was important, and luckily our families were very understanding of that.

Even with just the two of us, we went around the table and said what we were thankful for. As always, the other was at the top of our list. I was so thankful for my husband who was being responsible and working on a holiday to support us.

It's amazing how much I took him for granted, and even at the beginning of our second year of marriage I realized that. We both had a lot to be thankful for, and many more things coming our way that would remind us to be thankful for our time together.