Hello everyone! As most of you can tell, I took a much needed break during the Thanksgiving holiday. My wife and I were very fortunate to be able to spend quality time with both sides of our family. I had the added blessing of seeing my grandparents this Thanksgiving also. This is special because my grandparents live in Tennessee and I usually only get to see them a couple times a year.
This year we did things a little different for Thanksgiving. We decided last year to start a family rotation schedule each year. My family would have us for the full Thanksgiving day one year and my in-laws the next. We really had a wonderful time at each house and this year was so much less stressful since we didn't have to run between both families on Thanksgiving or worry about either family feeling jipped. We had enough time with each family to be able to enjoy both a wonderful meal and some much needed downtime including time spent catching up on how our families are doing.
Though both my wife and I often talk with our family members multiple times each week, there is something special about spending time in person that texting and phone conversations can't match. I always look forward to coming home and seeing the new pieces my dad has added to his collections. I enjoy seeing what new house project my mom has embarked on and marveling how much different that part of the house looks once she is done. I love watching my dog play with my parent's dog. There is nothing more fun than watching the dogs play tug of war on the rug and keep away with the toys. I love spending time catching up with each family member on how work and life are going. I enjoy spending time with them relaxing as we watch a movie, play a game, or just sit and talk together. I seem to have so much more fun shopping when I have my family to share the experience with too. I can usually count on the fact that both my family and my in-laws will have computer problems for me to fix and a few household task to attend to when I come and yet I don't mind. These simple pleasures and much more are what I cherish at each holiday vacation.
This year the food was absolutely marvelous at both my house and my in-laws. I ate multiple helpings of turkey, stuffing, pumpkin roll, pecan chocolate chip pie, and my grandmother's sweet tea. There was a great variety of food including cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli casserole, corn, sweet potato casserole, yam casserole, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie, chess pie, and much more. Both families did such a great job of preparing the food and each table had it's own set of wonderful conversations and joyful partaking of the food.
As i enjoyed each part of Thanksgiving this year, I found myself truly counting the many blessing the Lord has placed in my life. I couldn't imagine having better families. When I am home, I feel truly loved and appreciated. I love seeing all the parts of my family that have contributed to who I am today. I love the security of knowing that my families are constantly praying for my wife and I. Each time I go home, I find a new thing to love about my families. I get to make new memories I will cherish for the rest of my life while rekindling wonderful memories of old with the ones I hold most dear. All in all, Jesus has truly blessed my life. I hope you had an opportunity to count your many blessings this Thanksgiving season also. Oh and it is good to be back. ;)
Blessings,
Greg
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