Thanksgiving

What a glorious week! I just LOVE Thanksgiving. Each year we get together with my side of the family (dad, stepmom and their two young kids; brother, sister-in-law and their two kids; sister, brother-in-law and their four kids and us with our five) ~ usually at our home as hosts due to the blended nature of our family (so different kids come and go at different times, while the rest of us stay put). My dad's and sister's families take turns staying with my brother's and ours (we both live in Virginia). This year my sister's group was with us. I love spending time with her. My brother's household joined us here on Wednesday (pizza party night, no major work) and Thursday, then we joined them at his home on Friday (and capped the day off with a wonderful dinner at Brion's American Grille in Fairfax...what GOOD food they had! Everything was very tasty and incredibly reasonably priced ~ very recommended for simple American fare in a collegeiate pub-like setting as the owner is a George Mason University alumnus and strong supporter).

To cap off this week ~13 kids, many quite young ~ running through the house each day while the 8 adults assisted, rested, ate, watched sports, chatted and played many different board games with the children (we had great games that worked for all ages). It was such tremendous FUN! I am ever so grateful for our family and our love of being together. My simple home is none the worse for the wear, though I believe my sister was thrilled to be back in her own bed last night as two of her children strongly (and loudly) resisted sleep each night so she got very little herself. Bless her heart, I remember those days and am grateful for their passing, though understanding in her challenges.

As I was reflecting this morning upon our week ~ I felt God's peace so fully. He is so incredibly good to us. I started a new tradition this year; rather than just sharing at dinner what we were thankful for (which I had always enjoyed doing), we wrote our thoughts in a spiral notebook, to be saved and looked back upon as long as God continues to allow us life here on earth. My thoughts were as follows...

1) God ~ His sovereignty, His grace, His mercy
2) Jesus ~ our LORD and Savior; His sacrifice and incredible love for us as He intercedes on our behalf.
3) Holy Spirit ~ my convicter, sustainer, friend and comforter.
4) My immediate family ~ husband present and past, children, and stepchildren
5) My extended family, and all this encompasses ~ we are so blessed to have such fullness
6) Our home, our jobs, our finances ~ God's provision in our lives
7) The incredible beauty and gift of His creation ~ and our ability to share in that in our yards.

It is my continual prayer that all whom I know will come to understand this amazing gift ~ life everlasting.

God Bless you all this holiday season ~

The Blessings of Halloween...

I can't believe it is already November. I am feeling a bit disconnected to "time" these days and lose track, then am amazed. :-) I love this time of year with the beautiful trees displaying their turning leaves...Fall is gorgeous in the East.

Halloween was yesterday - what a holiday filled with energy. I have very mixed feelings about Halloween. I don't like its origins, I am very grieved by the uses of the day to promote witchcraft and evil in our country, but I do enjoy watching a bunch of children who know nothing about the spiritual ramifications of the holiday get dressed up and play ~ it is precious when the young ones are so excited by their costumes and parties. I love their eagerness and pure unadulterated joy. My rules at home have always been "only costumes that are playful, not horror related" in addition to having a cut off age 0f last year being fourth or fifth grade.

Anyway, the day neared and my kids were caught up in the excitement of finding costumes (we usually use ones that are already in our dress up clothes at home) and trying things on each evening. They loved dressing up our youngest (she is three) and taking the teacher role for the holiday (her first year to celebrate). It was fun to see them all working together, looking forward to their celebration.

The greatest blessings, however, came on Halloween day. My fourth grader had lost her privilege to go trick or treating (she has been very challenged lately) and had been miserable, especially since her dad has always come to take her around our neighborhood. Blessedly, he came early to spend some time with her first. So, Michelle (fourth grade) had decided to make the most of it and dress up to hand out candy; at the end of the night she reflected that it really had been fun to chat with the kids who came to the door and to see the cute costumes on many of the young ones. Her dad, who was taking her sister Kari (first grade) around, also took our daughter, Rose (3 year old), out with them. I was elated. My very prayers for improvements in our "family" relations to support the children's emotional needs are being answered. Praise Him...He is so good.