Thanksgiving

Wow can you believe Thanksgiving is right here on us? This year has really flown by. In fact time has flown so fast lately. Today realized it has been a while since I was on here. I have so much to tell you about and I will probably catch you up somewhat tonight, just depends as the kids have testing tonight and I'm not sure how late we will be out. They have been working so hard so hard for their new belts, not only do they have to know their Kata's (karate forms), but they have to know a lot of the Japanese language that their commands are called out in, they will take a written test tonight on that as well.

Today I have had Thanksgiving on the brain, probably because I have been preparing for it as much as possible today. In fact Thanksgiving has been on my brain since Saturday pretty steadily. We have been talking about what Thanksgiving really means in our house, and in Sunday School our lesson was about being thankful and the question was asked to each person what they were thankful for. Of course I usually say my family, but then I was asked to take it deeper, what are you thankful for with your family so I have been really thinking on that. I've been thinking about each member of my family and what I'm thankful for. As I thought about it, I realized I'm also very thankful for my Savior because without him I would truly have nothing. I'm thankful that God loved me enough to send His Son to die for me. I'm thankful that in God's infinite wisdom he put me with Eddie, who is truly the love of my life. I was watching a movie the other night and the question was asked how do you know it is true love and the answer was when the other person knows all your faults and failures and still thinks the sun rises and sets in you. I believe that is true about me and Eddie, we each know the faults of the other, but we still overcome them and love each other in spite of them. Are things always perfect and wonderful? Of course not, but I do truly believe I have the best husband for me, he is my best friend, my confidant, my safety net, and my true love.

Brianna asked me the other day what was so bad about teenagers, she had heard something on the television about life with teenagers and it was all negative. I had to tell her I honestly did not know. I guess you can tell from the question that we love our teen. Eddie and I had a very hard time having Alex, we thought we would never have kids. With the help of fertility drugs we did. I have been thankful for him everyday from the day of conception. I think that is why I struggle to understand women who hate being pregnant or just don't want their kids. I'm thankful for everyday I have mine, but what is it about Alex I'm thankful for? Well he makes me laugh. Last night I was cracking pecans and watching a really cheesy chick flick, which I was about to turn, the plot was just to predictable and then in walks Alex. He stayed and watched the movie giving me commentary all along the way, "look out here comes the crazy woman", "what is wrong with her", and several other things. Like I said the movie was bad, but I really enjoyed it with Alex, we laughed all the way through it. Alex is so smart and many times he helps me with things that I just don't understand. Yes, he knows things I have no idea where he learned it, but he is very computer savvy and technically inclined. If I need to get something going and Eddie is no where around, Alex is right there and always eager to show me what he knows. Alex is very trusting, to a fault, but I love that he still has a sense of innocence about him. He is just an all around good kid, oops, teen. He still gives me hugs with his friends around, and tells me everyday, several times a day that he loves me. I get several hugs throughout the day, randomly, just when I seem to need it most. We enjoy hanging out together. Of course he can become a moody teen sometimes, but for the most part he is a great young man.

Then there is little Brianna, she is definitely a child we never thought we would have, almost from the time I had Alex we tried for Brianna, even the fertility drugs were not working. The doctors started talking about invitro and Eddie and I just decided to stop trying. We agreed if God wanted us to have another child then we would. Alex was 3 when we made that decision and we had all but given up, but God, don't you just love that, but God did not. When Alex turned 6 I found out Brianna was on her way, of course I did not know at that time she would be Brianna. Alex told me the whole time I was pregnant it could not be a girl because girls have cooties. I still remember being in labor and the labor nurse laughing at that and saying circle circle dot dot now you've had your cootie shot. So when we told him he had a baby sister, we told him about the cootie shot, I had not thought about that for years until then. Remember doing those? Alex loved Bri from the start, it was only when she got older and started getting into his things and generally interfering that there was trouble, but he is a great big brother that is another thing I'm thankful for with Alex. He has spent the last 2 weeks helping Bri polish her forms for tonight. Anyway, back to Brianna. She is the child that comes up with things you would never think about, she tells you like she sees it and makes no bones about it. She has made me laugh until I cried many times. She is also my sensitive child really, she can cry at the drop of a hat. I have to be very careful when I correct her, not to sound too harsh or she will just crumble. She is the child that loves to have girlie days, go to lunch, get nails done, shop, watch little girlie chick flicks. She loves to do crafts with me and to bake with me. She is my pal. Yesterday we made cookies and she was right by me, today we made 2 pies for Thanksgiving and she was there again. She has been planning the meal with me, gone shopping with me, planning the table decorations which include a paper bag turkey that will hold our bread that she will make tomorrow, and she plans to cook the meal with me. She loves to help me, make me laugh, and never wants me to be lonely.

These people are a blessing sent from God, and I'm thankful to have them in my life each and every day!!

So its Thanksgiving, go beyond the food, what are you most thankful for in your life? I would love to hear from you!