Thanks

Turkey is in the oven. Casseroles (one green bean [family favorite] and broccoli [new addition this year that I hope will become another favorite]) ready to pop in the oven. Pies are store bought and I have no guilt about that. The price was great and we were able to get a berry (my favorite), a pumpkin (a family favorite) and an apple (just because) for $12. Still loving the new Raley's!

Chloe spent the morning in the kitchen with me while I cooked sausage, mushrooms, celery and onions for the stuffing. Yesterday, I made homemade cranberry sauce and candied some mandarin oranges. I was reading blogs and came across a recipe for pumpkin flan - and since I had some simple syrup left from candy-ing mandarin oranges to add to the sweet potatoes - I decided to make it. It was delicious - though the caramel got a little 'over-done' and are basically discs of amber colored candy. They are delicious - and so is the flan! I have to work on my caramel method but the custard is delicious and all things considered, it was pretty easy.

Just got a big hug from son #1 who is thankful for fresh baked cinnamon rolls and obvious evidence of a delicious dinner to come. He is also thankful that the car accident he was in on Tuesday night was not as tragic as it could have been. He was making a left turn and collided with a bicyclist - who miraculously and thankfully, is absolutely fine. Declined medical attention at the scene twice - and our insurance company advised yesterday that they have contacted him and he is fine. They said he is being very reasonable...thank God for that. B. was shaken and worried but we're moving past it. The Acura was towed to the body shop yesterday - it's not drivable because the windshield is shattered from the helmet on the guy's head. And thank God for that helmet. If it had been his head, he probably would have died. There is some body damage to the bumper and the hood of the car - all will be repaired. The guy rides a custom graphite bike - the wheels alone are $2,000 each - but our insurance company has been very great and reassuring and they will work with him to either repair or replace the bike. It could have been so much worse. B. was going the speed limit and somehow, just didn't see the bike coming towards him as he turned. He learned a very valuable lesson.......you cannot be too careful and you must be hyper-vigilant. All the time. Scary time but we're doing OK.

So here's my list of things I am thankful for today - there are too many to list but these are my highlights this year:

• My husband - he is a wonderful, loving, caring, giving person who has blessed me with love, companionship, laughter and all the wonderful things that define marriage - and I can't imagine being married to anyone else.
  
• My kids - who teach me patience and forgiveness and how to love everyday. They pain me, challenge me, bless me and make me happy and angry and sad - frequently at the exact same moment. I love them and being their mom is one of my life's greatest blessings. I'm trying to remember that as we watch the contrail of their childhood's slip away into their adult-ness.
• My job - it is a great job and in this economy, I'm blessed to have it. I love what I do and while it's stressful and time consuming and sometimes a lot to handle, I am grateful for the learnings and the fun and the challenges presented each day. And I really mean that. (Remind me of that on Sunday when I will have probably worked most of the upcoming three 'days off' just to keep up and will be wondering when/if I ever truly get any real time off, ever). And for J.'s job, too - for all the amazing things having great jobs makes possible. Like Cancun....and a roof over our heads, food in the pantry, etc.
  
• Faith. If you have it, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, I hope you find it. It is His most fervent desire to have a relationship with you. It is all He truly wants. And it's really so incredibly simple....and yet, it's hard to do. But it is possible. And once you have it, then life becomes so much sweeter and easier. Not that it's a cake walk - it's not always easy to believe when you can't see or touch what you believe in. But faith just makes everything so much MORE - it's very hard to describe. If you know what I mean, way to go! Isn't it mind-numbingly awesome? If you don't, I wish that for you - on this day when we tend to 'take stock' of our lives and our dreams. I wish it for you....
• Family and friends. You know who you are - and even if I haven't met you, if you read this blog regularly, I'm thankful for you, too. This blog has been my 'therapy' and my diary - and it amazes me that people read it... thanks for that!
  

Time to work on clearing off the dining room table and setting out the 'good' china. Our twice a year 'unwrap the wedding china' meal - and I love those dishes. I pray I have a daughter-in-law someday who will love it, too - that it won't end up on EBay someday for sale for $20 a setting. It's a discontinued pattern and it's beautiful and hard to find....and I hope it's in our family for generations.

I'm thankful for generations......