A Week of Thanks

Thanksgiving is easily one of my most favorite holidays, with the exception of Christmas of course. Thanksgiving to me means spending time with all my family and eating wonderful food. Over the years the true meaning of Thanksgiving has changed for me. Of course, I have always been thankful for everything in my life, but it took me a while to fully understand all the blessings that have been bestowed upon me. I am sure it is like this for most everyone, usually as a teenager and young adult some things just aren't that clear.

I have been looking forward to Thanksgiving since last Thanksgiving for a number of reasons. One being last year at this time I was pregnant, tired, and still really sick. This year Hayden is here and I couldn't be more happy. She has become the biggest blessing in my life and I am so thankful she is here and happy and healthy. Second this is one of only a few times each year when the entire (immediate family) gets together. I truly love spending time with my parents and my sisters and their families, they are so much fun to hang out with. I only hope our relationships strengthen over the years to come and that we don't drift apart or have problems that seem to face so many adult siblings. I think we all (the sisters) speak our minds, sometimes too often, and hopefully we are all used to this and continue to remember how much we love each other and to never let trivial issues get in the way of what God has blessed us with - a great, loving, independent, god-fearing family.

Today, I am thankful for my family, my wonderful husband, our precious little angel Hayden, my job, our loving home, and Maggie (my 3 year old dog). I am also thankful that my holidays are about to begin. After this afternoon I am off until Monday!!

Let the festivities begin - Iron Bowl here we come! This is also a fun little Thanksgiving tradition. It used to be that at Thanksgiving we always talked about what had transpired at the game the previous weekend, but since it now takes place after the holiday we all talk about what might happen. This tradition has taken a little detour since Auburn isn't dominating the bammers anymore, but until Friday no one knows for sure so I can still be hopeful. But I am not holding my breath. It was funny, last night they showed a little promo on the news that said, "What does Alabama have to do Friday to beat Auburn" and Brian quickly, without thinking, said "Show up", hahaha, that about sums it up.

I am going to miss seeing all my aunts and uncles and cousins this year and my Granny, but I hope to see you all soon. I have many wonderful memories growing up and seeing all of you. I miss those that have passed on and I hope you are able to have a window to our lives to see how much has changed since you left this earth. I truly miss each of you.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and take a moment to offer thanks for all the blessings in your life. This should be something we do on a daily basis, not just on Thanksgiving.