Thanksgiving

Okay - so I'm a tad late to post about Thanksgiving, but I've been pretty busy.

I just wanted to tell a little bit about our holiday this year. I felt like my Grandma came to visit me, in a way. I got obsessed with baking and I made chocolate and peanut butter fudge, and THREE different pies (pumpkin, sugar cream, and pecan). I had my successes and failures with it - but it was really fun and I enjoyed it. (If I could just keep from EATING the stuff I make - that would be good.)



Hunkahubby made everything else - turkey, ham, candied yams, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, and really yummy stuffing. Now - here's the catch . . . no one extra came to our house for Thanksgiving! It was just the five of us. But we have had leftover heaven since then! :-)

It was really nice to have just us for Thanksgiving. We took time to go around the table and tell what we were thankful for. Angelina said she was thankful for Daddy's hugs. It was precious.

When I was little, we always had Thanksgiving with my grandparents and my aunt and uncle and their girls. Grandma, my Mom, and Aunt would cook up a storm and we always had tons of food. We also had a lot of fun and laughter. One of my favorite parts was when the family stood around the kitchen, held hands, and prayed - thanking God for the many blessings He had given us in the past year. There is a part of me that misses those big family gatherings - but also a part of me that knows it would never be the same without Grandma there.

The holidays always make me miss her more. Another thing we almost always did on Thanksgiving was watch the movie, White Christmas. I think we all still know every word and every song by heart. So - we watched that with our children this year. (My husband's family had the same tradition of watching that movie.) At the end of the movie, I could have sworn I heard my Grandma singing along on the high harmony parts when they sing, "may your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white." I started crying and couldn't stop. I haven't had a crying episode like that in a while - but it was probably good for me.

So, I just want to say that I'm thankful for many things. I am thankful for family and good friends. I am thankful for health and employment. I am thankful for God and his goodness and love. And I am thankful for precious memories of Thanksgivings past and a Grandma who will always be in my heart (and in the mirror, if I look close enough.) ;-)

I hope that all of you took the time to remember the things that you are thankful for. Have a wonderful evening.