"We Have a Good Life Mom"!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love tradition...I love being thankful...I love passing on traditions to my children. Again this year we were able to host Thanksgiving at our home. It was very special. My dear cousin Ilene and her husband Jim joined us, and it was one of the best I have ever had! I loved having my family for this very special holiday. Ilene is indeed very special to me. I have wonderful memories of my childhood when she and her mother (my Aunt Dottie) would take me out to eat, and treat me like a princess. I was like a daughter to them. I attribute much of my "lady like" manners learned from my early childhood experiences with these two ladies. A lot of my early childhood is better off not being remembered because of the tumultuousness that surrounded it, but there those in my family who cared very deeply for me and even though I was probably more like a pauper, it is etched in my heart those times when dressed and treated like a princess. So needless to say, it is a blessing to be able to grow close to my cousin again after many many years.

My fondest memory of Thanksgiving 2008 wasn't really the amazing meal that my husband cooked, or the delicious calorie ridden pies that I made, or even the very special time of going around the table and listening to everyone give thanks to the Lord for all that was on their heart. It actually was the night before Thanksgiving, when I was tucking my boys into bed. They were very excited about seeing Jim and Ilene and sharing our Thanksgiving with them. They talked about what they might say around the table....things like "I'm thankful for my family....I'm thankful for Jesus in my heart....I'm thankful that Pa gets to spend Christmas in Heaven it must be so exciting to have Jesus at his own birthday party!....I'm thankful for my Daddy getting a job...I'm thankful for my church, my friends,...." It went on and on. It was very precious. I turned off the lights, prayed with them and then my Brendan snuggles in his blankets and says "We have a good life Mom."

That was it for me. "We have a good life Mom." It hit me. All those things that we are trying to instill in our children that we don't think are actually sinking in...things like an attitude of gratitude, selflessness, priorities....if we listen close, we may actually find that it is sinking in after all. This year has been a very difficult year for us in many ways. My goal has been to walk in faith and trust the the Lord, that He would provide for our needs, that he would heal our sicknesses, our relationships, that He would help foster our friendships. My children have been witnesses to all of this and can say with all sincerity....."We have a good life!" Indeed we do! We have a great life. It is not about what we have, or what we are able to do, it is about who we have, a loving Savior and a very close loving family and amazing friends, and its about the love that we can share every single day no matter what our circumstances. THANK YOU FATHER! I always tell my children, I may not ever be wealthy, people may not remember me by my beautiful home or my classy look with expensive jewelry, I may not ever have enough money to travel the world, but one thing I am...I am very rich in friendships and relationships. In those things this family has great wealth! #128 on my gift list (of gratitude) Thankful for those friendships and relationships that I will be able to take with me someday when I go 'home'! #129 Thankful for the opportunity to give back a little blessing to my cousin Ilene who has blessed me beyond words. #130 Thankful that my children are learning what is really important.

Here are a few photos our my favorite day!

Here are my boys helping to peel potatoes!

Ilene, Kyle and Jim

Dinner! I feel full just looking at this picture. That would be my Kyle eating that giant Turkey leg!