Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has come and gone. And yet I still feel it lingering...maybe's it the dishes that keep reminding me. Isn't it amazing that it takes a week to plan, a whole day to cook, another whole day to clean up afterwards, and yet only 20 minutes to eat it? Huh.

Whilst in the middle of my Thanksgiving prep, we got a ring-a-ding at the door. More neighbourhood kids asking to play? Nope, salesperson. Somebody foreign who is selling artwork. It was nice stuff. His timing was VERY poor. We have NOTHING on our walls at this point. NOTHING. Our house echoes. We want art...but haven't decided what. We invited him in to take a look at what he had and to hold it up to our walls to see if we fell in love with anything.

We liked. We weren't twitterpated.

We have one REALLY large wall in our living room that is a vast expanse of nothingness. He told us his friend had large art in the car and that he could call him so we could take a look. OK. (As I'm frantically trying to make Thanksgiving dinner while viewing expensive-ish art).

We didn't like any of the big stuff...but these guys were sales people. 10% off if you buy two. We have framers who will give you 50% off on framing. It's only $150 and you need SOME art, no? How about I give you $120.

In all of our viewing, they asked us what "Thanksgiving" was. Is it a holiday where people just eat? It may appear that way. We tried to explain peace, and pilgrims, and harvest. I don't know if they got it.

We opted out of art. Just not sure what way we're going and didn't want to make a $100+ decision that would solidify that without more thought. Sorry guys.

But thanksgiving dinner turned out great. I made this!

We went around the table to say what we were thankful for. Real Original. It went like this:

Mom: Eager Children (that's a positive spin on it)
Lucy: Family
Max: This dinner, and Mom
Dad: Healthy Family
Logan: A bun (this is the theme for Logan)
Mom: Sunny Kingston
Lucy: Our House
Max: Soft Grass
Tyler: A Good Job
Logan: Buddy! (That's Max)
Mom: My Best Friend
Tyler: (he jumped in here out of turn), My Best Friend who is also the love of my life. (I don't know if it's corny to say he teared up here, but it was sweet...so mind your business)
Lucy: Thanksgiving dinner
Max: Water
Tyler: Kid's who make good choices
Logan: Daddy.

We have a lot to be grateful for. It was fun to push ourselves to think of more than just one thing each. Yesterday in sacrament meeting, a friend of ours gave a talk on Thanksgiving, and he made the comment, "What if tomorrow you woke up with only the things that you had remembered to say thank you for in your prayers the night before." It was a good point, and I've determined to be more grateful in my prayers. More Specifically grateful.

We finished the evening off by tidying the kitchen and baking pumpkin pie. Then we played "What Time Is It Mr. Wolf" and "Colored Eggs". We had a quick Skype with Grandma Janielee and then it was tubs and into bed.

It was so nice to have a day off. It was beautifully sunny and warm and we're loving that summer seems to be extending into the fall. The leaves are changing colours now and everything is vibrant. I took some pictures from my car today while waiting in a construction line-up.

Even the bushes in front of my house are fiery red now. I love it. Fall is definitely my favourite season. And I'm grateful for a beautiful fall in Ontario.