Thankful

This weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving and our first family holiday since returning from Bolivia.  Since Carl and I come from large families that have gatherings often, this weekend was jam packed with large meals with many people.  I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about the whole thing.  I mean, we've grown accustomed over the last 4 years to having quieter celebrations and sometimes we decided to go on a trip instead of staying home during the holidays.  Now with 3 gatherings in three days would it be so overwhelmingly wonderful that someone would have a melt-down?

No one melted down, although we did bulge out with all the food.  We spend Saturday with Carl's immediate family, Sunday with our extended family (my grandparents and Carl's grandma) and Monday with my parents and brothers.

I was blissfully happy with all the turkey which we haven't had since Christmas 2008.  And Asha, since it was her first Canadian Thanksgiving in Canada, loved the fact that the "lumpy red jam" was so tasty on the buns.  She had no clue about the sweet potato casserole either.  It was quite precious.  Elena had turkey for the first time and loved it.  Kezia kept saying it felt like Christmas with all the food and Joel enjoyed having an event to grab the camera and take pictures of everyone.

We really do have so much to be thankful for.  We have our health, we have healthy children who are growing and learning every day.  Our fridge is full, and so are the freezers.  We have a warm place to live that is here for us as long as we need and we have prospects of full time jobs.  And in the meantime we have a means to earn even a bit of income.  It's quite amazing that we have SO much.  Certainly we don't deserve it, God has been so gracious to us.  My father in law said that we shouldn't just get warm and thankful when we smell turkey, but wake up every morning, pause and thank God for yet another opportunity for life.  My prayer is that indeed that thought will resonate with me each day.  But more importantly that the mindset would spur me on, ready to make a difference for those that are in want.