Thanksgiving

The girls were in charge of the chalkboard sign and they chose this as the verse of the week.

 So thankful for my 3 turkeys.

We hosted Thanksgiving this year and when everyone got into town, they went to solve the mystery of the Forgotten Pharaoh at the Escape Room. Lots of fun and success for this crew of clever archeologists!

 Back home and relaxing in the backyard.

 Aunt Mary Jo and her favorite "little pistol." That's what she calls him.

 Hanging with the big cousins. We missed you, Kyle! He was busy working a new job.

Can you believe Shawn is 25, Christina is 18 and Mitchell is 19?? CRAZY!!

We also missed Lucy who got sick and had to stay home. Bummer because she always does so much for us when she hosts. I wanted her to be able to relax this year but instead, she was sick at home alone for 3 days while taking care of the dogs. Wait... maybe that IS a relaxing vacation? 😂    

 Roy and Laura brought their "kids" and Zach had a ball with them! 🐕🐕

We also celebrated Morgan's birthday since it was the next day.

The scrumptious Red Velvet cake was made by none other than my girlfriend, Jill.

Thanks so much, Jilly!

I remember not long before Morgan's mom died (it must have been right before the holidays), she told me she was so grateful that we didn't have any drama in our family. We don't have relationships that would make the holidays difficult like some. She also hoped her children would continue to get together even after she was gone someday. I assured her we would but had no idea how quickly that time would come.
This was our first holiday without mom OR dad.

It still feels weird. I can still hear her voice and see her smiling face. I can see her with her apron on, joyfully serving and preparing whatever needed to be done. The holidays are a time when all of her kids and grandkids were together and that's what was most special to her.

Now that dad has passed too, we had a choice of gathering anywhere this year. We thought about renting a large cabin in Big Bear but ultimately, everyone decided to come here.

The holidays can be a stressful time, especially if you're hosting but when I started feeling that way, I tried to remember and honor the example of my dear sweet mother in law. More important than food, decorations, or comfort, she loved and enjoyed her people well and that's the "feeling of home" she gave everyone.

I'm still a work in progress but I'm grateful for the opportunity to grow, stretch myself and learn to love my people well, too. We're thankful that everyone wanted to come here this year. We made some fun memories, laughed a lot, and got to spend a few days enjoying conversation, meals around the table,
playing games (like ping pong in the garage and competitive Catch Phrase), and discovering our new normal without mom or dad.

We hope we did them proud.