Thanksgiving

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We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We have a lot to be thankful for:

After two weeks of frantically stripping, sanding, painting and repainting, I screwed on another batch of newly painted kitchen cabinet doors Thanksgiving morning. I just have the upper east side of my kitchen to go: four cupboards, seven doors. My new goal is to finish those by Christmas.

I love having sisters living close enough to visit! Heather and her family returned to Colorado from Alabama, where they've been for the last six months, just in time to join us for Thanksgiving. April and her family also came up from Fort Carson to join us. We had thirteen people sitting around our tables for Thanksgiving, and I loved having them! (It's a good thing I'm not superstitious at all.) I'm also grateful that they didn't mind feasting mostly on side dishes while they waited for the turkey to finish cooking.
Cousins gathered to watch Steven play a game on his cell phone.
 I'm thankful that when our turkey did finally finish cooking, it tasted really good. I guess soaking it in brine for two days really helped. We had plenty of leftovers and I didn't mind eating them for the next two days.

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who spent the entire day after Thanksgiving moving furniture, taping up newspapers, and painting the ceiling in our living room and dining room, while I hung out with the kids in my bedroom watching movies and playing games.

I'm thankful that my children can think of many things to be thankful for. After a FHE in early November, I taped a poster board to the wall and told the kids to write on it things they were thankful for during the month. Two days later, it was pretty full, with things from books and the ability to read to prophets and temples. By the end of the month it was jam packed with names of family members and pets, as well as things like imagination, air and dirt. There were even drawings and illustrations for many of the things we were thankful for. It was a great reminder for us of the many, many things God has blessed us with.

I'm thankful for the Christmas season that is coming up. The radio has already started playing Christmas music a week ago. My Christmas shopping is pretty much done. The tree and decorations went up Saturday. Now I can relax and enjoy the holiday season, and remember the greatest gift of all, the Son of God who came to earth as a baby to atone for our sins and allow us to return to his presence and enjoy eternal life. As a friend in Brazil used to say, "Que Benção!" What a blessing!

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