Thanksgiving '09 has come and gone, but the warmth of thankfulness still resides in my heart.

We had a great turn out of 32 folks! Not everyone made it to the photo session.

Everyone brought lots of good things to eat and more goodies than we could all have eaten tho we all tried our best. Harold kept telling us he was keeping with his special heart healthy diet...until he was caught red handed. Do you see he was stretching hoping I couldn't get the whole shot? Well, he's the one that got me the great camera!!!

I'm not quite sure what these two were up to, they are always at each other about something.

One of the traditions I started was getting a gingerbread house, or in this case, a gingerbread village, and let the smaller ones have this special time together. They truly love it...how do I know? The little guy was going hunting then decided to pass it off till another day because he was going to do the gingerbread homes. The 3 of them worked, licked frosting, ate candy, worked...well, you get the picture...until it was finally finished. You can see the enjoyment that was had : )

My mom, her Aunt and their nieces and nephew...(l to r, aunt Betty Joe, my mom, Jeannie, Robin & Leroy). don't get to see each other very often but enjoy their time on Thanksgiving when they are able to come. For us it was even more special with Leroy and Harold having had heart attacks a few weeks from each other. Leroy (had 2 heart attacks) has really struggled but is doing good.

The older cousins my brother and I grew up with...

living in a very small Jim Walter home with 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and NO hot water, and all together sometimes 10 of us living there...will make you closer if you make it out alive :)

Dads played with their little ones....the kids played with each other....

Blair and Jarrett give it their best shot of standing Madge on her head. They succeeded, sort of.

Others played in the leaves, as with every year someone does : )

Have you ever thought how as adults we love the beauty of the leaves changing or green where the children love the dead, dried up ones? At least the leaves don't go to waste after falling to the ground.



Then came time for another Thanksgiving tradition...the walk with the older teens to the creek. This is a tradition much enjoyed by the kids. They get to walk away from us adults and be on their "own" while we relax and are on our "own". It doesn't get any quieter, the adults talk more and are louder than any child there : )

They tried their hand at skipping rocks...

and horsing around...Thanks JoBea for the creek pictures!

When the kids got back, it was time to turn Elvis Christmas music on, men dragging Christmas things from attic and the tree going up. My mom hasn't had to this in years because it's another tradition. Everyone else does it. My mom gives out the ornaments for the kids to place on the tree and do they enjoy this! Can you tell where the 16 mth. old placed her ornaments?
Don't worry, when she left the kids moved them around a little. The tree was done and the kids were winding down.To end our time together, Santa Leroy asked about every one's list....as you can seeit didn't matter the age. Santa Leroy told each child which parent, aunt or grandmother they should share their list with. He told my mom to see the tall, long legged man (my dad) with her list. I LOVE this photo of my mom!

What a blessing it was to be with family that has stuck together in thick or thin and know we will continue to be with now all our children/grandchildren. The family continues on : )

This morning, while outside with the dogs, I noticed a BEAUTIFUL rose! It was huge to me. They are larger now than this summer.

It has now found it's home in a vase on the kitchen counter. Couldn't just let it stay outside like I usually do. Another huge bud is about to spring into action.

I just love looking around at the little things that bring beauty to our eyes.

This little road, by us, keeps me focused by reminding me to take the narrow road even tho it is the harder one.

Josey had this pup follow him home, or should I say our home. She stays with him at his home at night, but is right back here for the day.

If you know of anyone missing her, it won't bother me at all if you would tell them where she is : )

I do pray you each had a wonderful time with family, friends or however you spent it. I just hope you remembered to be THANKFUL for Christ and His grace & mercy and all the blessings we see and those we don't.

Continue to have a THANKFUL day with Christ!

God bless you and yours....