Giving Thanks

My Thanksgiving Holiday was full of... family, noise, fun, exhaustion, and the interstate.

(I started this post last night... my browser froze up... and I have to rewrite... ugh, how I hate it when that happens!)

I left early Wednesday to head to Lake Havasu City to pick up my grama (5 hours) and then we drove together to Phoenix (4 hours). I was really glad to have her with me, as the drive was long and the second-half was very dark. We had some nice conversation and got caught up while we drove together.

As a surprise, my aunt Becky and uncle Danny flew in for the holiday. My grama really had no idea, so it was fun to ask things like, "What are Beck and Dan doing for the holiday?" and hear the things they told her to keep the secret. It was the first time we had been with my aunt and uncle since my grampa's death this summer. And it was the first time I was home for Thanksgiving since before I worked at Greenville College - so 6 years at least! So it was a really special celebration for all of us.

I think some of us were worried it was going to be sad, and some of it was certainly bittersweet, but it was also good. It was good for my aunt and uncle to have more time with grama, because I know its been hard to feel like they were supporting her from so far away (they live in wa), and I think it may have helped their grieving process. It was good for my grama to not be alone for a few days and have all the family experiences that she loves - her kids and grandkids around her, wine flowing freely, entertaining conversation, etc. And it was good for my mom, who loves Thanksgiving most of all, to have her family all around her.

The weekend as a whole was fun and successful, if not overwhelmingly loud (at least when they were all there...). It was one of our best t-day dinners ever - the food was outstanding. We managed somehow to get through the cooking of it without too much bickering, though my mom and aunt can bicker at least as well as my and my brother! :) And we got some good family photos.

My two favorite memory snapshots: 1) praying before dinner - my uncle prayed for the meal, and then my grama said she wanted to pray, too, and brought us all to tears with her sweet and simple prayer of thanksgiving. 2) shopping and breakfast the day after thanksgiving with my mom, dad, and brother - the first time all four of us had gone together, and it was fun to be up before dawn and sharing that experience.

Pics posted above from the Thanksgiving weekend. I hope that YOU enjoyed your holiday as well, and were reminded of the goodness of God and all you have to be thankful for!