Thanksgiving 2010

I am SO excited that today is Thanksgiving!

At 7:30 I ran out to my local Kwik Trip and snagged a swollen LaCrosse Tribune before they were gone. Now it's patiently waiting on my counter for me to ooze over while my kids watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade alone brings on warm memories of sitting "criss-cross applesauce" beside my brother in front of the "tube" on Thanksgiving mornings. No doubt we watched the parade to the music of my mom starting our Thanksgiving meal.

I don't mean "music" in your typical fashion of a peaceful mother bustling around the kitchen in smooth efficiency. My mom sounded like a derailed train. We kids all think she used to take pans and bang them together noisily just so she could complain about how disorganized our cabinet was. Oh Mom. I love you. You've given us so many things to remember :)

This morning I got to watch my poor sister-in-law fight with her un-de-necked turkey. We're not sure if the neck was frozen in or if it missed the factory neck breaking, but after running water over it extensively, it was still pretty solid. So she snapped it off and tossed the chunk of vertebrae on the counter top. Not sure I'll ever laser that image out of my head. Go Julia!

I'm excited for the smells of Thanksgiving to permeate my house. I'm excited to stuff my belly and satisfy my pallet with the flavors of strawberry pretzel salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, my sister's grilled turkey breast, and so many other warm, wonderful treasures of flavor.

I'm excited to engross my stuffed self in football for the afternoon while the kids sleep and we await the evening feast at my sister's.

To top that all off, I got to start my day curled up on my couch with my Bible. Rodney had left the computer on the previous night, and our screen saver was playing through the slide show of my friends, family, and kids. It was the perfect way to start my day-- being reminded of the incredible blessings that surround me WHILE spending time with the One who gifted them to me.

My brain cannot process the good that God has blessed me with. I have food in my fridge, healthy, noisy kids running around my house, a husband who consistently comes home to me after work, change in the jar on my dresser, a car that starts in the cold and has fuel in the tank. On and on my list could go. I'm grateful even for the fact that my list is unending.

I would encourage you to begin thinking through things you can be thankful for-- and not just today. It will enrich your heart and fix your attitude every time. Start with obvious things like family. Move on to things like silverware and toilet paper. We have more than any other generation and more than most people in the world. God has been so good.