Thanksgiving

Wow, what a good one this year.

After not being sure if my sister Tammy and her family would be able to make it, it all worked out and the whole family was there. It made for such a great day. Robert's daughter Ashley and her boyfriend Migel fit right in and there was no awkwardness. Everyone welcomed them and they made themselves at home. Perfect. Terri and Will left mid-afternoon to go to his family's celebration and the rest of us played several rowdy rounds of Pit - a family favorite. Ashley and Migel left a short time later and the rest of us stayed on. After a few rounds of another game (Scattergories - another family favorite) we all heated up leftovers for dinner before heading to our own homes. It was such a perfect day and I was so thankful that everyone was there. It wouldn't have been the same otherwise.

I finished up the tags for my Thanksgiving paper bag book the night before and took them all with me. I thought there might be a few who would grumbled about it and wouldn't participate (like Will or Brad) but they surprised me. Every single person took a tag and wrote down what they were thankful for. Some were very practical, some funny, some heartfelt. (Jackson's tag, with his big, croooked 7-year-old handwriting, is just precious.) I will forever be grateful that everyone took the time to do this. Once I get the pictures developed and added to the paper bag book... what a keepsake it will be.

Mom, Tammy, Terri and me met for our now-traditional day-after-Thanksgiving shopping. We met at The Avenues mall at 7 am and went for just over 5 hours before calling it quits. We were starting to drag by then. :-) After lunch together we said our goodbyes. And, I couldn't believe I did it (as tired as I was), but after dropping Mom off I actually stopped at Target on the way home. I had got less done at the mall that I expected so my trip to Target yielded a few more gifts. I can't wait to start gift-wrapping. I love getting creative with it and giving a pretty package. I like the presentation as much as the gift. :-)

You know, in trying to get everyone to sit down at some point on Thursday to write down what they were thankful for, I never wrote out my own 'thankful tag.' So, I'll do that now. I am thankful for:

• Robert - husband and friend doesn't begin to cover it. I adore him and words cannot do justice to my feelings for him. My life is filled with love and laughter because of him.
• The health of my family - we are all so lucky and blessed to be as healthy as we are. Yes, there are 'issues' here and there, but nothing life-threatening.
• Ashley - having Robert's daughter come to live with us back in September was a pretty major adjustment. And I wasn't entirely sure how it was going to work. It's been over two months now and it some ways it's already starting to be hard to remember what it was like before she got here. She's such a sweet girl and I'm so happy we were in a position to have her come to us. We are providing a loving, stable environment where one was desperately needed.
• My job - I am sooo thankful for my job and for my bosses, Charlie and Phil. I love what I do. I love who I work for. I simply could not ask for more.
• My home - After so many years of apartment-living, buying a home of our own really was a dream come true. It's going on 3 years and I still marvel that this beautiful home is ours.

For these things, and more, I am thankful.