Draw Nearer- Thanksgiving edition

Little Bear Cubs,

Thanksgiving. A day for giving thanks. It's kind of sad if you think about it....one day out of the entire year- set aside for giving gratitude. We usually express our profound thanks by self-indulgence...satisfying our every appetite all in the name of being "thankful". In years past I focused so much on the menu and the planning and the "getting done" that I didn't really take the time to devote to the "thankfulness" part. This year was different. Your dad told me that this was going to be the best Thanksgiving ever and it was. Why? I suppose it was because I recognized all of the blessings along the way. The tiny things that I normally would take for granted. This year I was fully aware of each of these tiny miracles....making it a true day of thankfulness. Can I share a few of them with you???

Sometimes in life you wish you could go back and do things over....experience them one more time.....recapture moments that have long since passed - but leave you aching to re-experience them. This Thanksgiving I was granted this wish. Seeing your cousin David was like reliving the time I had with Aunt Josie when she was little baby. I saw her face again...her eyes....and felt her soft little hands. I am thankful for do-overs.


Karah watched in amazement as I prepared the turkey....indulging him in a herb butter deep tissue massage. I loved that she cared about the process...and not just the end result. I am thankful to have children who love to be in the same room with me....whether I am cooking, sleeping, or peeing. I love that they love me.

Some of the best hours were spent in the kitchen with my little sister who flew in from California to enjoy the week with us. I loved her physical presence....our laughing....and enjoying things we miss like going to the store together. Whatever I do with her is always comfortable and full of laughs.

I am thankful for Uncle Johnny....aka Uncle Donny....I love that he appreciates my food. Moaning, groaning, sighing, and ever praising. Rating it on a scale of 1 to 10. He is a thoughtful little chap. And I dig his whiskers.

I am thankful for an incredible gene pool. Don't have the ugly cousin, cute cousin problem.

I am thankful for my mother in law and the kind of husband she raised for me. She taught Daddy to be strong yet gentle.....independent, yet understanding his total dependence on the Lord. She taught him how to provide for us and be patient with us. She taught him how to love and forgive. She taught him to love nature and to appreciate simplicity. She even changed his dirty diapers when he was a baby.....that's love.

I am thankful for my home.....my kitchen....my aprons.....my love for cooking.....for all of the kitchen helpers I had this year. Did I mention awesome gravy? I am SO thankful for that. It was great gravy this year.

I am thankful for chocolate and that this chocolate mousse cake (that I so LOVINGLY made)brought everyone so much joy....and calories. This is incredible....recipe coming soon....promise!!!

I am thankful for microscopic peach fuzz Mohawks that make me smile.

I am thankful to have a little boy who wants to save his overalls for special occasions.

I love that that there is a bun in her oven.....and she is still willing to camp outside of walmart with me on black Friday.

I am thankful for a mama with a crazy personality.....that thinks the game "catch phrase" is really meant to be"charades". I love that she loves to laugh....and made all of us laugh.

I am thankful for a brother in law who makes my kids feel like they are important....who offers to play board games and watch obnoxious Disney channel movies with them. I love him even though he pretended I was invisible whenever I was holding a camera.

I am thankful for turkeys who aren't bitter about giving their life on behalf of our celebration. And no, that is not a tampon string hanging out of the butt of that turkey. Optical illusion :)

And most of all - best of all- more than anything in the world....I am thankful for your Dad...who loves me - and helps me - and makes me feel like his favorite person in the world. I catch him smiling at me when I'm not looking. He cares about the silly things that are important to me.....and when I get stressed out - he always tells me....

"This is going to be the best _______ ever!"

He is always perfectly right and he will always be perfectly right for me.

I love you little bear cubs. What I did to deserve each of you...I will never know.

Be grateful,

Mama