Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was so much fun this year! We had a change in eating schedule, because Don and Elise had to go to Elise's grandparents for dinner prior to our dinner. Normally we eat at 3, but this year we ate at 6. Don and Elise got here at 6, but the stuffing and other sides weren't ready until 6. That gave me some time with my daughters in law, and Conner and Andrew, Marie Henderson's little boy, who is a doll baby, too. Marie played basketball with the boys and Don. Nathan played for about 2 minutes. He didn't feel well all day yesterday, and still doesn't feel well. The doctor said all of his abdominal organs are bruised, including his liver. The way it happened was, the boys and their friends--about 20 people....played "touch" football....but their first play involved two lines charging at one another. Chris, our oldest, and Nathan, our youngest charged each other, and neither one of them backed down. Both of them ended up getting hurt...Nathan more than Chris. Yesterday, before they played basketball, I mentioned disability insurance and how easy it is to damage spinal cords. I am reading the book, Wild at Heart. Maybe I'll begin to understand....

Anyway, first Cameron and I hung out with Conner and Andrew while I cooked....and that was a lot of fun. I'd almost forgotten about cooking with little ones underfoot. We had little cars, a high chair, sippy cups and cookies in my little kitchen. It was fun. The kids were excited and Andrew and Conner played sweetly with one another. When Elise and Don got here, Cam took the boys downstairs to play and Elise hung out and helped me finish up dinner. We fit ten people around our dining room table, with hardly an inch to spare. Don and I are going to have to get a longer table! We prayed and intended to go around the table saying what we are thankful for, but we never did that, because everyone was so hungry--except Don and Elise--who ate at her Grandparents. They ate though.

After dinner and dishes, we went downstairs for Wii bowling. Andrew and Conner were all excited, and my living room was full of action! I forgot to mention, our granddog Dylan was there, too. He is a border collie, and before Conner's birth, he was the "baby" in his family. He still thinks he has to sit in my lap and lick my face. So if Conner or Andrew wasn't taking a rest on the couch with me, Dylan was squeezed between me and Elise or on top of both of us...kissing us on the face. He reminds me of a 5 year old suffering from sibling rivalry.

It wasn't hard for me not to eat meat, even though I gave myself permission to have a piece of turkey. I just didn't eat it, because it didn't sound good to me. Everyone said it was the best turkey ever, but I couldn't eat it. I did eat other things with milk products and eggs, so I had a vegetarian meal...not vegan.

I am thankful for all of my family, especially my daughters in law and baby Grandson. I am thankful for my husband and our 33.5 years of marriage. I am thankful he knows me better than anyone on earth, and he still tells me I'm perfect. No one knows better than he does...except me...how imperfect I am. But he truly loves me. I am thankful that God has created this family from the two of us.
I love and respect my children....the boys and their wives...our little grandson. I am thankful for Marie and Christine and little Andrew in our life...and all of my friends and church family. I feel like my life is a painting with all of the little nuances and rich colors...lights and darks....brights and dulls...warms and cools...that make up a great painting. God has blessed me richly. I am so undeserving, but His love and grace has rained down upon my life. How can I help but thank and praise Him. Thank You, God!

Walking in sunshine......

Well, it's 4 AM, and I'm UP! Don't ask me why.....I woke up at 3 AM, and when I couldn't go back to sleep, I prayed a little while. Sometimes I think God wakes me up so that I can do that. But even after I prayed, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I'm blogging.

Yesterday I did several hours of vigorous "aerobic" housecleaning, and ate according to my plan. That's one of the things I prayed about--thanking God for helping me stay on track. Today I plan on taking a LONG walk in the beautiful fall weather.

Yesterday I got to spend some time with Conner and Cameron and Chris. Little Man is SO chubby--especially his cheeks! Cameron is NOT looking forward to going back to work and leaving Conner at home, but she's happy I'm going to be caring for him.
My heart goes out to her. I feel SO honored that she and Chris want me to be with Conner. Cam said she's not worried about leaving him with me at all! That makes me feel honored as well. I know how much she loves her little boy--and Chris, too.

When I used to go on mission trips with the teens when my boys were young, I used to have this profound sense of peace, knowing that all day long I was doing exactly what God wanted me to do--going out and knocking on doors and serving people in the Inner City of Nashville. Well, I feel that same sense of profound peace about taking care of Conner and being home taking care of my family again. I loved teaching preschool as well, and I think that was a gift from God too. But the time is right now for me to be home again and it is such a gift to be able to care for Conner.

The other thing I want to do and feel so much joy about is writing and illustrating!
I'm enjoying my art class so much, and I've been full of ideas for more children's books. I think that's one reason I stay awake when I wake up at night, because that's when ideas come to me. I'm excited about having some time to work on those ideas! God is so good to us! Life never has to be boring or lacking possibility!
It is "new every morning"!