Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.
The older I get the more I appreciate the many traditions and gatherings with my family. I remember as a young girl, Thanksgiving was ALWAYS at my Grandma and Grandpa Terrell's house. Grandma made everything ( no bringing a covered dish to her house) everything always tasted so delicious. From her two dressings, celery and oyster - I think only my dad liked the oyster, to her homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, to the homemade pumpkin pie, everything was perfect. I still can see my grandpa in the kitchen carving the turkey. I still can't carve a turkey like he did. He got every piece of meat off that bird, and he did it so precisely. Yes, those memories are something I cherrish. Even though my grandparents haven't hosted Thanksgiving in over two decades, it's those memories that I love to return to today.
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on all our blessings. As a teacher, every year I always read stories of the Pilgrims journey to America and I teach my students the Pilgrims story and how they struggled that first year and yet they stopped to give thanks for what they were blessed with.
Today, even in these hard times financially, we all have so much to be thankful for. I'm thankful for my parents who were examples of a solid foundation of love and faithfulness to one another and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For my brothers, Gail and Matt and sister Deborah who live their lives with integrity and show love for their families and our God. For my husband who lives everyday to please me and his children. For Austin and Amber, who I feel so blessed to be called their mom, remind me daily of the joys and challenges of motherhood. I treasure each day with my kids, because I know time marches on so quickly and they'll be on their own soon enough.
So today when our family gathers around a great big thanksgiving meal, despite the doom and gloom in our world today, I'll be thanking God for all the blessings He's given me.