Yes, I’m that far behind in blogging, as my family kindly reminded me over Christmas. My goal is to catch up on blogging 2010 events before the New Year, so I can enter 2011 all caught up…we’ll see if it happens!
I always remember watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade growing up, and it’s one of my favorite traditions…and we love to think back on the year we were in NYC over Thanksgiving and Hans’ parents took us to see the parade live!! It was awesome, and we hope to one day take our boys…
Getting this picture was nearly impossible…as you can see, it was the Buzz Lightyear balloon…their FAVORITE! So capturing a moment when both boys ripped their eyes away from the screen for literally 2 seconds was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself! :)
And I tried to recreate Grandma Ellen’s almond danish…didn’t work out so well. It was edible, but nothing like hers…sigh.
We shared the Thanksgiving meal (as we always do) with my Great-Uncle Dave and Great-Aunt Nancy and extended family on all sides. Aside from us being very late and holding up dinner (and not knowing it) which led to me bawling during the prayer and having a bad attitude for the first half of the meal, it was a fun time…though I missed getting pictures of the group and of the food because I was so distraught.
Reily eating the oreo turkeys we made…
Isaac’s cheesy smile with Grandpa Jim, GG and Jo Jo…
Repeat cheesy smile with Grandpa Lee and Daddy…
Kisses from Grandma!
Next year we will be an hour early! :)
Another favorite tradition…decorating for Christmas…the boys had a great time! This is the first year Reily really started to understand the traditions and events of Christmas. He wanted to put all the ornaments up, and kept asking “Can we put up more instruments??” Love him…
That weekend we also go to go to a wonderful wedding reception at the Manor House for my, well, I don’t know what he is—Grandpa’s brother’s wife’s son? Let’s call him a cousin! It was beautiful, and so thoughtful of them to invite my entire family and Hans’ family too!!
We have so much to be thankful for…I wanted to sit down and write out a list of all the things I’m thankful for, but I never did because I kept pondering the message of a Bible Study I just finished at church. Basically, it taught about being content regardless of circumstances, and giving God praise and glory when you are flying high and when you are in the depths of despair and anguish (and everywhere in between).
So I could have made my list of things I am thankful for…my 2 healthy, growing boys; a wonderful husband with a secure job that makes him happy; grandparents, parents, and extended family who are healthy and living nearby; church family; friends; a house; a job…you get the idea.
But God really laid on my heart that I shouldn’t be thankful just because of all of those “good” things…next Thanksgiving I may not have some or any of these blessings, but I should still be thankful, not just because my circumstances are favorable or my life is “easy.”
So, I’ll leave you with that for now…and as some of you know, of course, it was only a few days later that so many of my “good” things started showing cracks and my reliance on God and my desire to give Him thanksgiving regardless of circumstances began to be tested.
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100.
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