thanksgiving

Full. That's how I felt last week. Full of food (weren't we all!), fun, and mostly thankfulness. Actually, full isn't really accurate. It was more like, bursting at the seams. What a great holiday. Somebody was thinkin'. We discussed the author of Thanksgiving at one of the many family dinners I was at; it was a woman behind it all (was there ever any doubt?). And to have it always on a Thursday so that we have three weekends in one week? God bless you, Sarah Josepha Hale.
I just really love the thought behind it, the real original thought. Not the whole gluttony part, or shopping part, or even the family togetherness part. Thanksgiving is just something I need to be more conscious of everday. And though this year it was so easy to rejoice & give thanks for where I'm at, I wish I were a more thankful individual, especially when life isn't a cloudless 75 degrees & there's no dessert & decaf after dinner.
Kevin & Martha were here, so I got to tag along on little excursions with the Mueller girls & their families. We ate so many good meals, followed by a string of desserts with names like "cranberry-pear & gingersnap crumble"," mountainberry/apple pie", "irish coffee blondies", & "flan". I spent Thanksgiving with the Fulop's, two turkeys, & good times. Went to the beach. Got a little watercolor painting in. But oddly enough, it wasn't the desserts, or daytrips, or climate that made me the most thankful. No, it was the calm & peace in my soul. To know I'm where God wants me for the time being is worth more than all the other little blessings. And if He wants me somewhere not quite so temperate next time, I just hope my fickle little heart sings just as loud then. And if you want to smugly remind me of my smug comments on balmy weather and whatnot then, I suppose I can't stop you. But who's in SoCal now, huh? (Feel free to make faces at the computer if you so desire.)

 

Perhaps I'll convince Becca to sign that 25 year contract yet though...

But lest you think all I do is play, here's some of the work projects we did. Visitors beware. Clint & Becca believe in earning your keep. :). You must build retaining walls! And strip doors! And transplant groundcover! And build mission models! All in the unbearably balmy temperatures of a San Diego afternoon. They make us take breaks and eat popsicles. If you are thinking this is your kind of purgatory, feel free to pray about moving here. And we can be smug together.