Thanksgiving a time to be Grateful

What a wonderful time of year. I am very grateful for my life. Growing up in a large family and often having less than others has allowed me the opportunity as an adult to truly see the blessings in my life. I realize that because of my upbringing I am a more frugal individual. I recognize the efforts my parents made to give me opportunities and try to do the same for my children. I am grateful for the chance to learn about myself my shortcomings and also my strengths. A man that was a home teacher for my family growing up was killed in a car accident on Thanksgiving day. His 18 year old daughter was also killed. The mother and son was hurt badly and another daughter had less serious injuries. When I hear about illnesses, injuries, and death I am reminded just how quickly life can change. I can not help but reflect on my life and how difficult it would be to go through something like this. It helps me remember how important it is to tell my husband and children that I love them and more importantly show them that I love them. Our actions speak much louder than our words. I am grateful for this time of year and the chance I have to live and enjoy life. I am grateful for the chance I had to make a cherry pie. It was good, but it could have been better. I learned that I should have cooked it just a little bit longer. I look forward to making another pie and building on what I learned from this experience.

I am grateful for homemade egg noodles. This is one of my favorite Thanksgivings traditions in my family. There are not too many of my siblings that like them, but the tradition will live on through me. It was fun to work with Paul to make them, and I was very happy with how they turned out this year. It is a little tricky to improve on your cooking skills with things that you only make once a year, but they turned out great this year!

The kids loved their Aunt Jenny's jello. I think Connor only had a roll and jello, but I figure it is Thanksgiving a day to eat what makes you happy.

I am so grateful to have people in my life that I can be silly with.