Thankful

We had a really great Thanksgiving this year. Usually we get to celebrate twice, with both of our families, but this year Nathan's parents are out of town, so it was just my family. Dave and Julie hosted at their house, and it was so wonderful. There were 13 adults and 11 children, and food enough for at least twice that! And the food....it was so good. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, creamed corn, broccoli salad, jello salad, cranberry sauce, rolls, olives, several kinds of pie, a couple kinds of ice cream, pumpkin chip cookies, and a spice cake. Decadence! After dinner several of us and all the kids took a walk around the neighborhood, then came back and stuffed ourselves with desserts, then pulled out the games. We played Apples to Apples, Sequence, and Trivial Pursuit. Our little family left a little before eight, full, happy, and ready for bed (Judah and Micah, anyway).

This Thanksgiving has seemed especially poignant to me for some reason. Maybe it's because for the first time in my adult life the future seems uncertain. I feel like we're all at the edge of something that's going to change our lives, and not in a good way. There's so much craziness going on in the world right now, and I want to cling to normalcy in a way I never have before because it seems like we won't have it for much longer. I could be wrong. I hope and pray that I am. But this year I'm more thankful than ever for the things that are constant in my life, that I can depend on.

Nathan (always, always)
Our two sons who amaze and amuse me every single day
My parents, whose love I have never ever doubted
My brothers and their beautiful, strong wives who are role models for me
Nathan's family and their many personalities and strengths
Christi, the most faithful, merciful, generous friend I've ever had
All of my other incredible friends
The blessings of shelter, enough to eat, clothes to wear
Our many freedoms