Thank You

Thanksgiving n 1. the act of giving thanks 2. a prayer expressing gratitude 3. a public acknowledgement or celebration of divine goodness and mercies

1. I am thankful that God loves me, is in the process of making me whole, and wants my good. I am thankful for my incredible husband. You know when you have a gift that gets better every day, not one that wears out or gets boring. That's Perry. Everyday I discover how blessed I am to be his wife. I see God's love and wisdom in giving me such a terrific, understanding, caring, and loving husband. I am thankful for our incredible children. Each one makes me laugh and I appreciate their uniqueness, friendship, and the way they challenge me. I am thankful for my brother. Through my mom's death I saw a side of him that I don't usually see - a level-headed, tender, loving person who has an incredible strength. Every conversation I have had with him since my mother's death has given me strength. I am thankful that I get to be a teacher. I love being with children and having that relationship with them. Sometimes I catch myself in class thinking I can't believe I get to do this and actually get paid for it. Not only that, but I get to work with a wonderful staff of dedicated, inspiring, and caring people. I am thankful for my church family who live out their love for God and others. I am thankful that Pattie got to come home for Thanksgiving. I am thankful for our friends who laugh and cry with us. And there are so many other things. 2. God, thank you for your goodness. It is so big and I will spend eternity trying to understand it. Thank you that during these last months I have seen your faithful care and direction in my life. I am glad I can trust You when things are confusing. You are my anchor and hope. Thank you that I get to look forward to Pattie coming home for the holidays and that helps fill the void of not having my mom anymore. 3. I publicly celebrate, here in cyberspace, God's incredible goodness and mercy in my life.

We had a nice day with family today. Meme, Papa, and Nanny joined us for dinner. We had the usual turkey meal. It did taste good. After dinner it was kind of relax and try not to fall asleep after eating all that food. We took Perry's folks down to see the new paint job in the church. Paige took a digger on her long board - no serious injuries. Paul went to visit Grace and we relaxed at home. Josiah came over to visit.

Nails & Girls & Bowling Balls

Today was girls day. Pattie, Paige, and I started our special day with a trip to Walmart to get our nails done. While I was waiting for my manicure, I meet the sweetest lady who was waiting for her daughter. She is 83 and shared some of her life experience with me including a tale about how she married her husband. They were married 63 years. It was so fun to just chat with her. She did feel like a friend. It would have been easy to just ignore her or stick to the familiar. I'm glad I didn't. Pattie had a random run in with a friend from Upper Crust. She was glad to see him. After the nails, we stopped by to see Dr. Keri. She is always fun to talk to. Pattie felt good that they missed her at work. Keri adjusted Pattie and gave me some health advice. I hope it helps. Next stop was the mall - Macy's Clinique counter to be exact. The three of us got our makeup done. We enjoyed visiting with the lady who did our makeup. It was nice to get some new tips with something you do everyday. By this time we were pretty hungry so we went to In n Out. We then picked up Paul's girlfriend Grace and went to Anderson Bowl to meet the Faires Fam for some bowling. I love getting together with them. We don't do it often enough. It is lots of laughs and good memories made. We had fun naming our bowling balls and cheering each other on. It seems like no matter what we do and how long it's been since we were together, it feels like we can just pick up where we left off. It is always fun to watch people bowl. It never resembles the bowlers on TV - it's much more real and entertaining. After bowling, we came to our house and had dessert. That was accompanied with lots of talking and laughing. It was nice to catch up with all the Faires'. Love you guys.