Let's Go Around the Table

It's one week away from Thanksgiving and as I was walking my dogs the other day, I started thinking about the many blessings I have.

I actually had a hymn going around in my head (Sweet Hour of Prayer) and it reminded me of our amazing family. Thanksgiving was Mom's favorite holiday, she said so every year.

Let's face it, it's been a bad year for sports, politics, Dad's pain, and to top it all off, Vicky still hasn't been voted off of "The Biggest Loser" (what a creep!). But somehow, with all of that, I'm still incredibly happy and life is pretty darn good.

I was reminded of the huge Thanksgiving celebrations with our family. But instead of the celebration growing this year, with new additions to the family, we are going to be a bit more scattered than usual.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited to be packing up a rented SUV with 7 family members and driving down to Provo to spend the holiday with our kids, but at the same time I'll miss the celebration at Pam's house.

It goes something like this. We all spend a day or 2 preparing for a huge meal with Bob and Jack each making a turkey (and comparing whose is better), Judy making her yummy fruit salad with pomegranate seeds,

Pam making her cream puffs, and makes a steak or roast for Dad, and everyone else filling in with everything else. We are not a patient family, so there is no waiting for food. We have plenty of appetizers.



When we finally sit down to eat our meal, Dad talks about how wonderful it is that we are all together (he is right) and how blessed our family is. He asks Ady to offer a prayer and then the kids all say "Oh no, not turkey again" followed by Pam telling the kids that they can prepare their plates after the adults. When most everyone is done, we go around the table and tell something we are grateful for. That can take a while, since we are all so blessed.


So....I thought maybe this year we could use our blogs to "go around the table". I didn't want the season to go by without telling my family how much I love you all and how grateful I am for you and the influence you have had in my life and my kids. I'm so excited that you will all be part of my grandkids lives too.

I thought that in addition to the obvious (although it certainly bears repeating), I wanted to be more specific and go back to my thought at the dog park the other day. I was thinking, while singing to my self, about the Sunday afternoons we used to spend in Mom and Dad's living room singing hymns (sometimes badly) while Mom played the piano. I could do that for hours and I really miss it. Dad would be laying on the floor, sometimes tossing a ball or his socks in the air and catching it, but he would always be singing. I have to admit, bad voice or not, singing in the living room is one of my fondest memories.

How about you? What are you thankful for?