Thanksgiving is My Favorite Holiday

We had a great Thanksgiving.  There were 25 of us that gathered at the Swanson's lake house on Lake Texoma.  The weather was perfect -- bright sunshine with just a little snap in the air.  The house sits right on the lake, and there is a huge yard to play in.  Papa and Jesse enjoyed walking down to the water, while all the younger kids played and took turns riding in the Kubota.  Alyssa, Eric, and James spent some time throwing the football (in honor of the Turkey Bowls they played in while we lived in Sacramento), while Jared visited with his cousin Jennifer who also happens to be one of his very best friends!  And the house is large enough that there are more than a couple of conversation pits.  Across the back of the house is a wide porch with a wooden porch swing.  It's the perfect spot for comtemplation, conversation, or for Uncle James to rock Jesse to sleep!

I am so proud of my niece Jennifer.  She is the one who organized today's event, and not only is she a fabulous cook, she is so creative too!  She made a game for us to play as a family, and I had the privilege of writing the questions to go along with the game.  The questions were designed to help us get to know each other just a little bit better . . . nothing too deep, but things we might not know about each other either.  Anyway,  Jennifer was born shortly before Doug and I got married, and I've watched her grow up.  She has grown into a fine, godly woman.  She has more zest for life than just about anybody else I know.  She went to college after having her three children and she graduated this past summer.  She is a teacher and which ever school hires her will gain a tremendous asset.  She made each of us feel welcome and this year turned out to be such a memorable Thanksgiving.  As much as I enjoyed all that was planned, probably one of the most enjoyable parts was when some of my kids and I sat with Jennifer and her daughter Kayla and just visited.  We reminisced, looked at old pictures, and just laughed!  It was great!

Another neat part about today was watching the CD that Julie, my niece that's just younger than Jennifer, put together.  Probably about two months ago, Julie asked us to loan her family pictures to make this CD.  The result is outstanding!  And what's even better is that Julie is having a copy made for each family.  Julie put about 40 hours into the making of the CD.  She even put a caption to every single picture and there are over 500 pictures total.  Unfortunately, the captions didn't show up, but I can't wait to watch my copy over again and again.  There are four generations represented on the CD and it tells a pictoral history of Melvin and Peggy Pevehouse and their children.

We did do something new this year.  Each of us had a lunch sack on which Dylan and Trent had stenciled our names and fall decorations.  Then we each wrote on slips of paper a trait we admired, a memory, or a Scripture for each of the other people present.  We each left with our "bags of encouragement".  I've reread mine over at least twice already.  And on days in the future when I feel a little blue, I'm going to bring out my bag of encouragement and re-read what others wrote to me.

One thing that we didn't do, which Doug always leads out in when the gathering is at our home, is sharing what we're thankful for this year.  And as tonight winds down, I'm going to share just a few of the highlights for which I'm thankful in 2009:

• My deepening relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ
• My husband
• My children (Eric's coming home, in particular)
• Katie, Sarah Beth, Jesse, & Brandon (my sweet grandchildren)
• Reconnecting with old friends via FaceBook
• Bible Study Fellowship
• Moms in Touch
• My extended family and reconciliation with my brother, in particular
• Good doctors, medical insurance, & pain medication

It's hard to believe that the Christmas Season officially begins tomorrow.  But I want to continue the "Thanksgiving Season" throughout Christmas and on into 2010.  If I can learn to be more grateful for the things I do have, I believe I'll be more content and not always wanting more or better.