They might be nice and loving and stuff, but mine is awesome!
Yesterday, my large, loud, lovable family gathered at my parent's home for Thanksgiving. Stephan and I arrived a bit early, 'cause we still had some of mom and dad's folding chairs and they needed them back. The rest of the family trickled in cluster by cluster until the Tracys arrived last. (Family tradition). As expected, there was turkey, ham, salads, green beans, casseroles, rolls, pies, and desserts of other sorts. We all partook of delicious, home-prepped food and enjoyed witty and humorous repartee around the table.
Afterwards, even though everyone was full to bursting and ready to nap, it was suggested that we all take a family walk around mom and dad's neighborhood instead. I believe Uncle Don was the one who came up with that odd idea. Whoever's brain child it was, it turned out to be a great, fun idea! With all but four members of our family going for a leisurely stroll, it looked a great deal like a migration or exodus of sorts. Footballs were brought along for tossing during the walk. There was only one injury, (poor Hannah) and no hard feelings were retained from the experience.
After the "invigorating" walk, it was time for one of my favorite parts of family get togethers: pictures. I may have attempted to describe our family's photo sessions before in this here blog, but I probably didn't do it justice, so here I go again. My cousin Kayla and Aunt Terry are photographers. They run a little business on the side of their usual work solely because they enjoy taking pictures. They are also super good at what they do. Therefore, when the call is out for picture time, some may run and hide, some might groan in anticipation of countless shots of various poses, but as for me and my house (except for Stephan), we jump to the front of the line!
There was the whole family group shot, the Papa and grandkids pic, the Grandma and grandkids photo, the original sibling shot of mom and her three brothers and two sisters (minus Aunt Katie), then the one of that group and their spouses, and then everyone got to take their own, individual family photos. Stephan and I had to take ours a bit later in the day because about halfway through the session the Cowboys game started. Don't worry, we got some good ones during half time. And good news, sports fans! Aunt Terry promised to download all the pictures onto our family's private facebook group page, from which anyone of us can save whichever picture we want, so look forward to seeing a few of the best here on my blog. (I also took a few pictures, but my camera decided to stay at mom and dad's, so they wont be uploaded until later as well.)
Yes indeed, friends, it was a successful day. In the midst of celebrating and feasting, I thanked God repeatedly for all of it. Everything I have, everything I love, enjoy, respect and revere has been a gift from God, my God. If every day of the year was Thanksgiving and I spent every hour of every day thanking God for what He has done for me, I still wouldn't be able to thank Him enough. And after a long day of close football games, emptying loaded plates, and posing for pictures, Stephan and I took our big boy home, put him down to bed, got ourselves snuggly-warm under the covers, and thanked God together for our blessings. Then I slept so hard, I can't even remember waking up for my usual night-time potty breaks. Noah did too, as he didn't make a peep until 7:05. (yay!)
I give you, my family, minus 6:
Now, friends, on to Christmas! Time to get out the tree and decorations, fill the house with good smells and cheer, and play Christmas music to my heart's content! I love this time of year!
Be blessed, dear readers, and in all things, give thanks to our Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.
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