A Very Thankful Thanksgiving

Whew. You may think we dropped off the face of the planet, but we are still here. It's been a seriously hectic long weekend!

Sick baby. Sick mommy. Lots of baths. Holiday cooking. Cleaning. Sick mommy again. Laundry piled to the ceiling. Rearranging the furniture.

Pulling out the Christmas boxes. Packing away the fall decorations. Sleeping in. Movies. Fireplaces.

Organzing. Sanatizing. Prioritizing. Family reunions. Grocery shopping. Financial planning. Christmas specials.

Being ever so thankful for every single second of it.

And isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? Forgetting what you don't have, and being grateful for what you do.

It's celebrating first Thanksgivings...

And 87th Thanksgivings.

It's having everyone around the table no matter how young or old.

It's good conversation and no television...

It's an uncle giving up some of his sweet potato for his little niece...

And her loving every bite...

It's having more dessert dishes on the table than main entree and side dishes...

And having an extra slice of cake because you'll lose the weight after the New Year...

It's a smile...

Or a giggle...

It's a Great-Paw Paw...

And a new Paw Paw...

And it's having another sweet Evelyn, not to take the place but rather to hold and love and fill the emptiness, when yours has gone on before you.

It's a mom cleaning up dinner, rather than cooking dinner (sorry mom, it's true, we are thankful for this)....

It's two men telling tales...

And two young ones drooling over Black Friday deals...

It's music to fill the gaps.

It's many a moments of being content with what's happening around you...

And a few tantrums to spice things up...

It's four generations of women, spanning 87 years, still going strong...

It's coming home from the hospital on Thanksgiving day with two years to live...

Five years ago.

It's proving them wrong....

Which allowed you to get to know and love your youngest granddaughter's little girl.

And her to know and love you.

For a happy healthy daughter, a loving husband, for compassionate grandparents, a sweet caring daddy, and for a momma who listens and loves. For food to eat. A home for my family. A few dollars in the bank. For a religion to follow and a God to guide. For a safe country to live, and soldiers who keep it that way. For bad times that better me, and good times that spoil me. For everything in my life. I'm truly grateful.

It's a lot to be thankful for, and I consider myself incredibly blessed.

I hope that each one of you had an equally satisfying holiday and that you stuffed yourselves silly and enjoyed time with your families... and with Thanksgiving over it's now officially the Christmas season...

And I love Christmas!

Time to drink some cocoa and deck the halls!

And how's this for a first... my mom actually had a Christmas decoration up before me. Miracles do happen!