Happy Thanksgiving!

That most wonderful day has already come and gone! I love Thanksgiving because it means being with family and loved ones as well as doing one of my favorite activities: eating! Thus it is one of my favorite holidays!

Thanksgiving gives us a great opportunity to stand back and look at our lives and feel gratitude for all that we have been given.

James recently took a challenge at work to list 125 things he was thankful for. I had him forward the list to me in an email. It was a list that really said a lot about him. I won't list it here, as it is very personal to him, I think. I did find it funny, however, how many electronic gadgets made the list. What a great challenge to have to think of 125 different things in a short amount of time. I know you're thinking how easy it would be--yes, we are all so blessed. Well, then, I challenge you. Write down 125 things that you are thankful for--being careful not to repeat yourself (as I found James doing when it came to his gadgets). Yeah, I know it's after Thanksgiving, but this is an exercise that can be done anytime. So get going. I know you'll be glad you did!

Once again, we had a very exciting Thanksgiving. It was a rare opportunity when all 9 of us children were together. We tried to get a photo op in, but unfortunately, it didn't happen. Maybe next year? It was so great catching up with all of my siblings as well as my aunts and uncles and cousins. The food was delicious. None of it was made by me (except for a banana cream pie that Hunter begged me to make while we were there--easy). I have to say that my Edward (aka James) did ALL of the dishes!!! The family women were so impressed!

After dinner, we had the annual fire show but this year it had a twist! My sister, Sadie, and her friend, belly danced with the fire spinners! It was freezing cold, so I decided to watch from the picture window with my Grandma Shirley and the other sickies.

On Friday we went to a movie--which is another favorite of mine. We saw Australia. It was beautifully shot with epoch scenes that brought me to tears on several occasions. My only critique of the film is that they didn't throw in a little wedding scene before the big love scene! Really, how hard would it have been? I understand that the Drover had commitment issues, but still I think it would have been appropriate.

On Saturday we went to Salt Lake to Julie's Fire station in Sandy, then to see our good friends, the Atkissons.

Now that I'm home, I just can't get over the fact that it's Christmastime, and time to set up the tree! Jingle Bells--Here we come!