In parts of the Greater New Orleans area hit hard by hurricanes this summer, families worked on their storm damaged homes before digging into their Thanksgiving Day turkey dinners.

Andrew Dempster gave thanks by putting a new roof on his brother's Barataria home.

It's one of hundreds in lower Jefferson Parish that flooded twice in two weeks as hurricanes Gustav and Ike came ashore.

"All these houses around here, they all flooded," said Dempster. "You can see all of them close to the ground here, they all got probably three or four feet of water in them."

Despite tough times after the storms, Dempster says he and his family still have a lot to be thankful for this year.

"I'm working," said Dempster. "That's all that matters. So long as I'm working, I'm happy. You don't think about all of this other stuff that's happening, you know. Probably tonight, I might eat some turkey. I'll probably work until about dark."

Across the bayou in Lafitte, the Albarado family prepared their turkey day feast with all the trimming. There was five feet of water in their neighborhood.

"It took days before we could even come back here to check on our property to see if we was okay or not," said Alice Albarado.

The Albarado's trailer needed some work after the storms. They say the fact the remodeling is done and they're back in their home makes this a special Thanksgiving.

"I still got a place to live," said Andrew Albarado. "Even though we've been through bad times, we still got good times. My family's still around."

"I'm thankful for being here," said Alice Albarado. "I'm thankful for my kids. I'm thankful for the food we have to eat, you know, everything."

On this unique American holiday, whether you prefer seafood gumbo or stuffing with your turkey, Thanksgiving Day really means one thing to most people: family.