It is Monday morning the week of Thanksgiving, what wonderful memories I have of Thanksgivings from my past.

The majority of Thanksgivings I had growing up were spent at my Grandparents home in South Texas.  The day was always filled with family fun.  My Dad always made the fruit salad.  My Grandmother slaved away in the kitchen over the turkey, dressing and fresh home grow green beans.  When we awoke Thanksgiving morning there was usually some turkey story that happened in the wee hours of the morning as my Grandmother and other helpers put the bird in the oven.  To know my family is to know that we are story tellers, I come by it naturally!  My Mom is one of the best story tellers around, although the stories always grow a little bit with each new telling!

I was blessed to know three of Great Grandparents, and even one of my Great Great Grandparents, but that is a story for another time.  Every holiday my Great Grandfather would do the same thing.  He would walk up to me as I sat on the stool pulled up to the kitchen counter breathing in the sights and sounds of my family preparing the meal with bursts of laughter; and he would say “Mandy, do you think you can count the money I have in my wallet?”  “Sure, Great Granddad I can!”  Then he would pull out a wad of cash and hand it over to me.  I would count it out carefully usually arriving at some amount around fifty dollars.  “There is $52 here!” I would say with a smile and anticipation, and every year it was the same thing “Well here you go Mandy”…and he would hand me one dollar bill!  Even though it was only a dollar, I loved him for it!

I must say the best part of Thanksgiving was always my Grandmothers cornbread dressing!!  I could eat two plates full and if I didn’t watch out my cousin Brandon would steal it all!  No one makes dressing like my Grandmother, even though many, including myself, have tried repeatedly.  Her dressing may well be the best food I have ever eaten, partly because it tastes great but mostly because my Grandma made it and that is enough for me.

These days I have my own family and we have done many different things on Thanksgiving.  Driving across the country has become one of our family traditions.  There is nothing like the kids watching Sound of Music in the back while Brian and I listen to one of John Eldrige’s books on CD.  We have had some great conversations on those long rides, as well as some horrible “we must be crazy to do this” moments when all the kids are falling apart and Brian and I are worn out!  However, we have always made it to our destination and once there get to enjoy time with family members we don’t see enough of.

The first year we could not go home we decided to head to New York to see the Macy’s Day parade.  We cooked the turkey early and I made turkey sandwiches to take along.  It was just Addie and Emma those days and seeing the parade was wonderful.  Brian had Addie in a back pack carrier, I had Emma in a front carrier and there we stood on a sidewalk in New York city watching the parade go by.  It was so great we did it another year as well, adding Brian’s Aunt Kathy into the mix.

I am thankful for the wonderful Thanksgiving memories the Lord has blessed me with!  I did not grow up with long talks at the table about what everyone was thankful for, that just was not my families way of doing things.  But I grew up with Thanksgiving being about being together…family…one of the things I am most thankful for.  So even though the only people I will be with on Thanksgiving day this year who I am related to will be my imidiate family, I will be thanking the Lord for wonderful Thanksgiving pasts and the amazing family I have who live in my home and those who live dotted across the country.

May the Lord bless your Thanksgiving Day and fill your heart with gratitude for the great things He has done!