Happy Thanksgiving!

First of all, I am thankful that Mom prays for us as my friend and I are driving home from my college class on Wednesday nights, because otherwise I might not have had much of a Thanksgiving… We were nearly home, driving through an intersection with a green light. Well, another car turned right on a red light--directly in front of us into our lane. If there had been a car in the left lane we would have been smashed. As it was, my friend slammed on the break and swerved into the left lane and was able to just barely avoid a collision. She even managed to honk! I already have back problems, so I am doubly grateful that we didn’t crash. Thank you, Lord!

I am also so thankful that my middle sister was able to come home for Thanksgiving. She is going to college in South Carolina right now, and in the past the school only gave Thanksgiving day off, but now they have almost a week free.

After getting home from my class and then stopping at the store, Mom and I got home last night after 11:00 PM and then did some cleaning, not getting into bed until after 2:00 AM! But we made it through the day with only a bit of yawning…

This year it was our turn to host dinner. So besides me and my parents and my middle sister, we had my oldest sister, brother-in-law, three nieces, and my grandparents. My dad did something a little new this year. Before the blessing, we sang “Thank You, Lord”. Music is so important to me. I got tingles and nearly got teary-eyed, sitting there with the people I love, singing thank you to the One I love the most…

My youngest niece, Baby E (three months old) just grins all day long! My Grandpa was sure enjoying her beams… Near the end of the day she was getting so tired, but of course didn’t want to sleep. My bil put her on his shoulder and she laid her head down, he thought she was falling asleep. I looked over at her and she was just laughing away (silently)!!

My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas and we give gifts on Thanksgiving (after all, what better way to show you are thankful for someone?). This year I gave everyone a copy of Faith Writers - A Celebration. This is the first published book with my name in it! My family has always been very encouraging in my writing, so that was exciting for all of us.

This was the first year my older two nieces (4 ¾ and 3) gave presents to everyone. I was impressed with what they picked out for each of us. They remembered that I like mice (my bedroom is decorated in Victorian mice and kittens) and gave me this:

While it isn’t exactly Victorian, he’s an awfully cute dude! And his arms, legs, and tail are poseable! LOL

My older two nieces much enjoyed having all of us read to them throughout the evening. AJ (4 ¾) is not only reading, but she can read upside-down while standing in front of me, looking down at the book.

Hehe, we had fun playing Up And Down The River (I won by one point!) and oh, was it fun watching Baby E enjoying the brightly-colored cards! She is studying them so seriously…

[note: if you are wondering why there are only pics of the littlest one, it is because we think it is best not to put pics on the web once they are a bit older, for safety reasons. But be assured that AJ and MM are just as adorable as Baby E! :-) ]