We decided to stay home and do our own Thanksgiving dinner at home. That seems to fit with what most of the year has been like huh? We didn't want to chance spreading the virus to Grammie. The day started off with you guys begging to open the box from Gramma before Dad and I were even fully awake:
You guys mostly relaxed all day. Read books, played make believe, played minecraft, and Dad and I didn't need to prepare the food until well after lunch. Finally after all of the preparations it was time for dinner.
We used our nice china because it was a special dinner!
Lots of desserts:
Here are your new jammies from Gramma that you guys love.
The prophet shared a little video on the Friday before Thanksgiving. In it he told us that if we shared what we were grateful every day for 7 days that it could heal some of the hurt in the world. Most people shared their gratitude on Facebook. Here is what I shared:
1- So grateful to be a wife and a mommy. I love looking back on old pictures like these. I have felt so much joy and fulfillment every step of the way in creating this beautiful family with Brent. Also grateful for digital cameras and technology so I can see these any time I want!
2- I am grateful for grocery stores, especially that they usually don’t look this empty. I can easily find any fruit, no matter the season, imported ethnic food, bread... how amazing that I don’t need to spend my days growing the wheat, harvesting, and then making bread from scratch. Instead I get to spend my time playing with my kids, reading, painting..
3- Sure love this sweet doggy that puts up with so much in our house. Pluto makes us laugh every day and loves going on adventures or just getting attention at home. He has such a sweet temperament. I can't imagine my kiddos growing up without him.
4- I’m grateful for carpool and a bus stop right in front of my house, especially today when I didn’t feel well. I’m fine now, but the kids would have been late if I had had to drive today! Plus can we talk about our bus driver Brenda!? She’s the best! She keeps control, has a great sense of humor, and knows all of the kids’ names!
5-I’m grateful for the library. My love for the library has rubbed off on my kiddos too. We read and watch so many things without having to buy them! The library is one of my happy places.
6- I am grateful for a unique and wonderful childhood that molded me into a person who loves to travel, speaks Spanish, and appreciates that everyone is different. I was only 8 when we moved to Venezuela but I have fond memories of my time there! After 1 year there we lived in Chile and in the Philippines. When I was in college and even after I was married I was able to visit my family in Guatemala, Brazil, Chile again, and Mexico. My parents always looked for ways to serve and share the gospel. They loved to explore the countries where they lived, hence the last picture I have included is from Belize. My parents are a great example of making the most of where you live and creating a safe and holy home anywhere the Lord wants you to go.
7- Once upon a time in 2016 I did a challenge called 365 grateful. I believe I started Instagram for this project! I was able to think of something different to be grateful for for about 360 days (missed a few in there). Then I printed those posts in chat books. What a treasure, and today was the perfect day to reread the books. Today I am grateful for journaling (mostly digital for me) because it shows me the hand of the Lord in my life. He places people in my life when I need them, even strangers. One post tells of an older lady who, after watching my kids play at the park, came up and told me, “Excuse me. My husband and I have been watching the way your children interact with each other and we know that they are so well behaved and loving because of you. I know that it takes a lot of hard work.” When I thanked her she said “I think we should lift each other up and encourage each other when we see something being done well.” With that my angels rode off on their bikes. What a beautiful way for the Lord to tell me through this stranger that he noticed my effort and I was doing ok. I had forgotten this sweet story but now that I reread it I remember it perfectly.
And these are Dad's 6 posts:
1- Family. Where would I be without them?
2- As life changes and I’ve added children to the mix, many hobbies and casual pastimes are paused to address more pressing concerns. One hobby I’m grateful to still enjoy is cooking (particularly smoking😊). We don’t eat out much and I do most of the cooking at our house. It’s not always perfect and typically at least one kid isn’t happy with what is placed before them. I’m thankful for cooking as I get to experiment with new recipes and at the same time teach our children the importance of living within our means even if it’s inconvenient.
3- Recently we visited a ghost town outside Zion NP call Grafton. One of the locations we stopped at was the old cemetery where the majority of occupants were laid to rest in the late 1800’s. Unsurprisingly, a common theme among the graves we perused was they belonged to children. I started to think about the differences between my children’s generation and just to my grandpa’s generation. My grandpa was born in 1909. He lost more siblings before their 10th birthday then the number of children I have in my family. How grateful I am to live in a world of modern medicine where the simple complications that we experience are not fatal as they were just over 100 years ago. Sam had a routine surgery to fix a hernia he had before he was 2. What the doctor fixed in a few minutes would have been considered life threating a century before. We have access to medical care and vaccines that previous generations would have only dreamed about. The Antonine Plague, Black Death or more recently Small Pox and Polio killed and maimed countless individuals because they didn’t have the knowledge we have today. I will always be thankful for these modern-day miracles.
4- Growing up you could find toads, polliwogs, or anything else that I could catch in my hands. The last thing you’d see me carrying around would be a book. I loathed reading. I’d rather help my grandpa spread manure on the fields than read. That all changed, albeit later than I’d like to admit, when I was in high school. My brother introduced me to a few fantasy books and I’ve loved reading ever since. My interests have evolved so I mostly read history but I still enjoy fantasy now and again. I’m grateful for literacy and literary arts. This is how information is passed on through generations. The words on the pages of books have entertained, altered emotions, and have changed history. Without books or the printing press the Reformation wouldn’t have taken place. So many of my interests can be traced back to books and their impact on my life. I will be forever thankful for their influence.
5- I spent a lot of time around my Grandpa Mackay when I was younger…I bet if you could ask him, he would say it was too much time. I would follow him around the small farm I grew up on asking him questions, building forts in his random assortment of equipment he accumulated throughout the years, and generally be in his way. As I grew older and could actually help, I remember the man didn’t know how to rest. The one thing he impressed upon me was the value of hard work. It took all the persuasion of doctors and his children to leave some of the work to the younger people. I remember in the late 90’s my brother-in-law and I redid the roof on the garage at his house. We had the hardest time keeping then 87-year-old Grandpa off the ladder as he tried to get on the roof! The summer I returned from my mission he moved in with my mom and I had the chance to spend a little more time with him. At that time, old age and arthritis had taken their toll and he would lament how frustrating it was he couldn’t even hold a hammer. He passed away in 2004 at the age of 94. I am thankful for the time I spent with him and will be eternally grateful for the lessons he taught me. I honestly never met anyone that worked harder than him and I doubt I ever will.
That was really fun to think what we were grateful for each day, and to see so many positive posts each night.
I love Thanksgiving leftovers too. Here are some turkey pillows that I made one night over the weekend!
And the day after Thanksgiving look what we did!
Like I said, I am very grateful to be your mom. I love you lots and lots,
Mom
