Our Little Turkey!

We had a great day yesterday! We spent the day with Tyler's family and enjoyed LOTS of yummy traditional Thanksgiving food. Tyler's grandmother shook things up a bit with her sweet potato casserole this year. The sweet potato was grated (think carrot salad) and had coconut and pineapple in it. It was SO good! :) Almost like a dessert. Anyway-it was a wonderful thing to spend the whole day with Tyler for a change! :) We came home and made cookies and hot chocolate and watched TV for a bit. I have to tell you...I caught myself misty-eyed for much of the day yesterday. We have SO much to be thankful for. Sometimes when I watch the news, which is not often, I find myself caught up in the dismay of seemingly endless accounts of natural disasters, economic mayhem, and generally frightening things going on in the world. I always come back to the fact that I am loved and have been redeemed from this world by One so unshakable and unchanging that I have absolutely nothing to fear.

Things I'm thankful for:
-the grace and mercy of Jesus...without it nothing is possible. It's that simple.
-a husband that loves me when I'm less than lovable and sometimes downright selfish and has promised to be here no matter what!
-an amazing little one that is healthy, happy (generally :), and has, in 7 1/2 short months, completely jolted me from my completely self-centered way of thinking
-a wonderful church family and a place to use the talents and gifts that I've been entrusted with
-Parents that would literally lay in traffic for me and consistently love me (and my family) with an uncompromising love
-Family and friends who are there for us and serve as an extension of Christ's love to us
-opportunities to worship...I am especially thankful that thru Jesus, we can approach the Father and communicate our love and admiration of Him in spite of our flaws and failures!
-warmth, food, and a steady income. In these uncertain times, I don't think any of us should take for granted the fact that we have enough money in the bank to pay our bills and provide for our families!

I heard a wonderful idea for a family Thanksgiving tradition that I think I'm going to start in our family. The idea is to have a Thanksgiving jar in your house that you fill throughout the year with thankful thoughts...i.e. times that God answers prayer, etc. Then, on Thanksgiving, you dump out the jar and reflect on what God's done throughout the year! I think sometimes, we skip Thanksgiving on our way to Christmas, and we shouldn't. Having hearts filled with gratitude should be a daily goal, and I can sure use the help in finding ways to express that gratitude!

Hello Tryptophan! Sleepy bunch after lots of turkey


Daddy and Anna Kate


Our little family on our very 1st Thanksgiving with Anna Kate! *sniff sniff*


Me & my baby! LOVE the bib...


4 generations...


Greatgrandmother Harris and Anna Kate