Day of Thanks.

My mom arranged an appointment for me re: meeting a handiman at the lake on Saturday at 2 pm.

Which overlapped a little bit with the stag Clint arranged for Drew this weekend... (I arrived just as they were finishing up.)

By 4 I was alone, in my happy place, listening to the rain bounce off the deck as I sat at the dining table with the sliding door wide open, appreciating the fresh mountain air, while I wrote out 160 things I'm thankful for. I probably should have been writing out my Mother Of The Groom speech; was sure I'd have it done by now.

After Saturday's miserable rain, Sunday's sunshine felt like a gift.
I'm hoping God will give us the gift of a rain-free day next Saturday. For three reasons.
1. Wedding photos
2. Comfort of bride and her attendants. Being cold and damp, while worrying about dresses and hair getting wet and ruined, should not be a concern on your wedding day, yes?
3. I wasn't planning on buying shoes. Haha. I had decided to  wear sparkly flip flops because who's going to be looking at my feet anyway? But flip flops in the rain? That's just lame, Jane.

So, yes. Please, God. No rain next Saturday. At least not from 1 - 5 pm.

Back to Sunday, Thanksgiving Day.
Kids were celebrating with the O's; having a red neck Thanksgiving in the valley, with guns and golf carts. And they (my boys who have girls) would be having their second Thanksgiving dinners on Monday night with their girl's families. So I squeezed a Thanksgiving Brunch inbetween the two big meals.

They arrived at the lake at 10 pm on Sunday night, set up the gaming system and played Mario while I fed them just-made-by-me, fresh strawberry short cake at 11 and nachos at midnight. As you do.

(The red dot on Clint's forehead, in case you were wondering, is not a zit. Recoil, from the gun. The scope beaned him.)

Then Dani left the boys and joined me at the table to work on Lists. Lists for bridesmaids, groomsmen, reception set-up, and so on. It. Was. A. Beautiful. Hour. There really is nothing as fine as a well-crafted list.

I love her braided hair.

Just thought I'd mention that.

Eventually everyone went to bed.
And eventually we all got up in the morning.

My Thanksgiving Meal for them was French Toast with fresh strawberries and whipped cream with bacon and sausages. A new tradition?

(I was reminded via Facebook of Thanksgiving 2011. Dinner at my Murrayville house. With 18 people, including my dad. Oh those olden golden chaotic days. Haha.)


Before they all left for their next dinner, I took a few pics, which is a tradition which will never go away. Ever.

And then whoosh.
They were gone.


Happy Thanksgiving, friends.


Three things I'm thankful for:

1. This. Thanksgiving. Family. A shared meal. Time spent together. Lists.
2. This, technically isn't a 'religous' holiday. But for me, I spend alot of the weekend saying thank you to Him, who has blessed me beyond what I deserve.
3. Grace and forgiveness.

Shalom,
xo