Impromptu Pre-Thanksgiving

I’m sorry about all of the “heavy” posts recently and not posting as regularly as I would like to post.  It has been a very emotionally straining few months around here and no one in our house is immune to the negativity storm that has been raining down on my house lately.  Even my son came home crying his eyes out last Friday afternoon because all of the kids at school keep yelling at him.  My heart ached for him, as my husband and I looked at each other knowingly then we all sat hugging each other on the couch feeling the same sting of rejection.  Somehow that day I felt like the three of us were closer than ever because we all were going through the same thing at the same time, and we knew that no matter what, we would all be together at the end of the day to wipe away each other’s tears and kiss away the hurt.

Well the s*** storm has not cleared yet and the pressure is on as much as it has always been.  So in my infinite wisdom I decided to cook away the ouches.  I’ve heard that good old fashioned comfort food has healing properties especially for wounds of the heart (thank you Auntie Cindy) so yesterday, 3 weeks before Thanksgiving I made a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. 

We had chicken though…I really don’t have the patience right now for a full on turkey. But since I am obsessed with sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and stuffing we had all the fixins on hand for a quick and mini thanksgiving meal. 

 

The girls love to “help” in the kitchen so they leant a hand baking some pumpkin spice cupcakes for dessert.

And it wouldn't be thanksgiving without being thankful, so I went into the back yard and found as many smooth river rocks as I could and encouraged everyone to write what they were thankful for on them to put around the house.  Now when things are hard we can see them and remember what really matters. 

{I just used regular black rocks and a white out pen..easier than chalkboard paint}

I forgot that my mom wanted me to watch my sister for a few hours and was planning on picking her up around dinner time so I invited them to join us.  An added bonus was that my mom invited one of her friends and it was like an actual Thanksgiving dinner.  It was such a fun and easy night and it reminded me that things aren't as bad as they can sometimes seem.

At times it can be easy to get wrapped up in the drama, and gossip and negativity of the world and even when we pray we can forget that the simplest things around us are the biggest blessings from God.  If we slow down we can recognize those blessings and actually hear God reminding us that everything is going to get better and that he is still working in our lives. 

 mmmm, Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes and Cranberry Ginger ale   

Food blessings...it's the little things!

So while we still have a long and hard road ahead of us, it was refreshing to stop to remember to be thankful for the smallest blessings in our lives.

Today and every day I am thankful for

David, Zoe, Madison, Donovan, our health, our home, the food in my kitchen, that we live in a place that doesn't have terrible natural disasters, that we live in a country where my daughters can grow up with the same rights as men, that my son can grow up to be whatever he wants (even a Lego technician), that I can stay home and raise my three beautiful children, my husband’s job, the Wynn corporation who employs hundreds of my fellow Las Vegans, our vehicles, our wonderful neighbors, my Mother and Father in-law, my parents for raising me to be strong, the internet, Disneyland, My Aunt Cindy and Uncle Billy, My Cousins, DeeDee, all of my many Aunts and Uncles who lend me their love and wisdom from time to time, My Grandma Mary’s strength and talent, My Grandma Grace’s love and spirituality, Daniel, Kaytlin and Frank, Jasmine, Rosa, HP Mallory (for all of the entertaining books), my sectional (it’s too comfortable for words), all of my friends who know me and love me no matter what…the ones who have my back and understand the pain behind the wall that I put up to protect myself, CRCC, and most importantly Jesus…he made the ultimate sacrifice for me and for that I am forever grateful.

Don’t forget to thank every day, even if things are so bad that the only thing you can be thankful for is the grass that is growing outside. (Paraphrased quote from Pastor Joe)

Happy Thank-ing