When we Americans think of Thanksgiving probably the first thing that pops into our minds is Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings …..
….Eaten on beautifully set tables….
…Followed by pumpkin pie and other delicious desserts.
Of course the big meal is an important part of Thanksgiving…. but it is not the most important part of this holiday.
To me the most important part of this holiday is being with family, counting our blessings and giving thanks to God.
Being with family
Lynell, Erin, David and their families travel from Utah to join us.
Mindy lives only 30 minutes away from us. She and Ernie open up their home with hospitality and make visiting family feel welcome and loved.
It is so nice to have all my family together. We work. We play. We pray. We love. Getting 23 people together, ranging in ages from 1 to 69, involves lots of work and it can be a bit hectic and noisy…. but what fun! We are certainly not a perfect family…. but we are perfect for each other. I consider it such a blessing that all my children and their children love each other so much and enjoy being together. We missed being with our grandson, Justin, who is serving for 2 years as a missionary in Guatemala. However, we are all thankful that he is serving the Lord and we sent our love to him.
The joy of family far surpasses the joy of eating Thanksgiving dinner.
Counting our blessings and giving thanks to God
John, as patriarch of our family, calls us together each Thanksgiving for a special family night where we talk about the things we are thankful for and thank God for our blessings. Each family takes part.
We listen to stories and testimonies…..
We perform….
We teach each other…… we learn together………
Some have short attention spans….. but even the smallest take part.
We loved it when one year old Ellie lead us in singing “Jesus wants me for a sunbeam”
We end our family night by thanking God for the blessings we have enjoyed. This year are hearts were extra tender that we could all be together. We feel that surviving our car accident was a miracle and we are so thankful.
Yes…. family and giving thanks are the most important part of our Thanksgiving Holiday traditions.
We are just starting our Holiday season. I bet you have lots of fun family traditions. What traditions do you enjoy? I would love hearing about them.
Have a great week. Hugs, Grammy
12 comments:
Sounds like you had a great Holiday! Eating, being with family, and remembering the things we have to be thankful for. It was a great weekend.
Beautiful! Especially loved the picture of sweet Ellie. Hugs and happy wishes across the miles.
That was beautiful Lura!!!
Oh Lura, so good to see all the family together. I know you have a lovely family because you and John are such super people and you walk in step with the Lord. I was blessed to meet Erin and Patrick and Lynell, Dathan and their lovely children, and of course you and John! I hope one day to be able to meet the rest! You have such a blessed life. Family times are the best of times. Family IS everything! I love you. xxoo
What a beautiful post with great pictures of your family. It is so fun to continue to learn more about you and your family. You are such a special friend in my life and I am so grateful for you. I loved the pictures of the grandchildren.
Wishing you a wonderful week and sending hugs and love to you!
What a great time you must have had. We like to tell stories, with each person adding something as we go. Even Andrew loves doing this. Hope you have a wonderful week.
Loved your pictures, I felt like I was truly a Thanksgiving guest in your home..{{hugs}}
I'm thankful for so many things Lura - God's grace and love, family and friends and the love shared. I wish we could maintain the holiday feelings all the time! blessings, marlene
Oh how I just wish I could have been sitting here amongs you all, just listning to your wise words to each other. I have rarely ever seen a closer family than you have and it is beautiful to see..
I thank God that we have met, even if it is only by the printed word it is a blessing to know you all.
As you say the celebrating season is almost upon us and traditions will be starting worldwide I have know doubt. This year I do not feel much like celbrating as I will have to try and start a new tradition without the family surrounding me and that will be hard...However I am thankful that I have Mary next door and Peter our other neighbour who will be joining me for Christmas dinner at least..
Love sybil xx
Looks like a wonderful Thanksgiving with family all around. I'm sure you feel especially thankful THIS year.
Can you believe we are grandparents and have all of these darling grandchildren...it seems like a dream (come true)! I remember when our own children were the ages of our grandchildren and that just seems like yesterday. Time really does fly by so fast.
I hope the rest of your holidays are as happy as Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing all the beautiful pictures.
Just such a wonderful lovely post,So verry happy for you and yours.I just want the same for my Family, to love oneanother and come together as a family should.And as god our ever seeing head. I know some day it will,but I shere wish it ( in the now).The best of wishes for you and yours always.000xx
Sounds like you had a great Thanksgiving. Sending you lots of hugs. Hope to see you soon.
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