Thanksgiving review

Our traditional Thanksgiving always starts with Gwen and Tim and the kids coming to my house on Thanksgiving day.  We watch the parade (sometimes more than one time since it is on repeat) and then always watch the dog show that follows that.  The last few years Gwen and I, along with Lia have gone to Meijer, which is the only store that is open on Thanksgiving.  They have frequently had really good sales that Gwen waits for every year on winter boots for the kids.  This year was no exception!  We never have turkey or a big dinner, but always have Lasagna that I have prepared the day before.  The kids (and dogs) love this time at Grandma's house and we have a "sleepover" so that Gwen and I can "Black Friday" shop in the early hours of the morning.  

This year we noticed that Black Friday may be coming to an end.  There were really no crowds at most of our typical shopping places.  Tim came with us for the first round and we were actually back at the house by 7:00am.  We left Tim, who had another store to visit with Zeke, and picked up Lia.  We ventured to the nearby Outlet Mall.  Lia had some very specific things she was looking for to finish out her shopping for the kids at Good Samaritan Ministries.  Lia works at their after school program for the kids who mostly come from poor households.  She was determined to help these kids have a good Christmas and through her efforts (and so many generous friends and family) she succeeded.  All in all, we had a short, but good shopping time.  We did decide NOT to go the Nike store, which had a long line OUTSIDE of the store and very long lines inside to check out.  No good deal is worth that kind of time. 

After all of our Black Friday things are wrapped up, we go to Doug and Susie's for our "real" Thanksgiving.  Doug usually smokes a turkey and this year was no different.

We always take lots of family pictures and the kids have so much fun together.  This year Jimmy found a way to get Zeke to play all of his fun imagination games that include rockets and transformers.

And there were also several rounds of  "Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza" .  If you don't know what that is, trust me, its a new, fast paced card game that the kids just love!

We had a wonderful dinner with everyone fitting around the table.  Grace made place cards and decided where everyone should sit. 

I think that the kids were most thankful about the desert we picked this year!  Since only a few of the adults like pie and none of the kids will eat pie, we decided to have Ice Cream in Waffle bowls with all the toppings.  It was a big hit for sure!  

Here are a couple of the posed family photos from our yearly Thanksgiving.  

Our thanks on Thanksgiving are wide and deep.  All of us are thankful for this family. We are thankful for good health, that we live close enough to be together.  We are thankful for good jobs and good friends.  I can't help but come away from every event like this feeling so blessed. 

And here it is almost Christmas.  I can't wait for a repeat of this time together.  Hopefully I will blog about our Christmas much quicker than happened for Thanksgiving.  One thing is certain.  I will be just as thankful at Christmas for my family as I was at Thanksgiving!

Jesus, thank you for family and times to step back and remember just how blessed we are.  Holy  Spirit, comfort those who don't have family or friends to be with during these seasons.  Give wisdom to us all to see our friends or neighbors who might be spending the holidays along and give us creative ways to bless them.  Thank you for the good food and great fun.   Amen  

November catch up.... show time and snow finally!

In the last few years, Ellie has turned into quite a theater kid.   Ellie is currently rehearsing for her part in a production of Shrek Jr. the musical.   Her directors decided to arrange a field trip to a nearby theater for their cast to see the Broadway production of Shrek!  I was delighted that Ellie asked me to go with her and Gwen to the performance.  

It was a wonderful, warm afternoon and Ellie enjoyed seeing this with her theater friends.  I am so blessed to be able to have these experiences alongside of my kids and grandkids.  I would never have seen this show on my own.  I am now looking forward to seeing Ellies production the second week of January, 2025!  Just wait for that blog - and hopefully it won't be months late!

The weather was typically not what you might expect in the fall.  But since we live in Chicago, you just never know what the weather will be until you step outside.  The next week had a really warm spell.  

It was warm enough for me to take Grace and Jimmy to their local playground on a day that Grace had a shortened school day.  

Jimmy really needs time to run and play outside and this day he was showing his very good climbing ability for a three year old!  This section of their playground is supposed to be for kids over five, but Jimmy has mastered everything.  I am thinking it is going to be a long winter if it is too cold to be outside!

The following week, I took Gwen, Ellie and Anna to see the Broadway production of Frozen.  Susie had already taken Grace on the same day that we had tickets to Shrek, so sadly we couldn't go together; This was Anna's first time seeing a Broadway show, and it was a good one!.  

The weather had turned into winter (which was very appropriate if you know the Frozen storyline) and we walked to the theater from the parking garage, in the snow!  It was just at the freezing mark, so we didn't think it would stick, but it sure did. The cast of this show was extraordinary.  There was not one bad singer in the entire cast.  Ellie was happy to see several of the cast that she follows on line.  What a wonderful day.  Again, so thankful to get to these shows!

The next day, I was with Jimmy and Grace and there was snow! Grace was home sick, so we skipped Jimmy's preschool. After lunch, he begged to go outside.  It was windy and so cold and actually snowing.  I did not have boots and was not prepared for the weather.  But, I bundled him up and sent him out in the backyard.  

He actually stayed out for a long time.  He made snowballs and ran around the entire yard.  You can tell by this picture, he was one very happy little boy!  I stood next to the house, protected from the wind, and watched from afar.  I was able to get him to come inside, only with a promise of a snack.  As much as this boy loves the outside, he also loves to eat!  He pretty much grazes all day!

Our normally healthy crew actually had a bout of unexpected sickness in late October and early November.  Lia actually got sick at college (which is a nightmare for parents with their first kid at college).  She ended up having pneumonia, which has really been going around this year.  The same week, both Ellie and Zeke tested positive for strep.  Grace actually tested positive for strep also.  Zeke did not recover with the antibiotics, and was also diagnosed with pneumonia. Somehow, Anna and Jimmy sailed through without getting sick.  Everyone got better quickly and I managed to stay healthy also even though I see the kids often!  We are very thankful for medical care, medicines and general good health!     

One of the highlights of this fall for me has been attending my churches Wednesday Night Ministry.  There is a meal every week and then an hour of small group study time. I love getting a chance to meet more people and to have time to just fellowship over food.  If there is one thing my church excels at, it is eating!  But also, seeing over 100 people come out every Wednesday evening to grow closer to Jesus is just the best. I have a long drive to my church, but it is certainly worth every mile.  

There should be no complaining about snow in November.  But we had such a warm fall that it was a bit jarring to pull out the winter wear.  Thanksgiving was extremely late this year - the 28th of November.  That makes for a very long lead up to Thanksgiving and a very short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  But, again, there is really no good excuse for the lateness of this blog.  But it feels good to be putting these memories onto the page.  Keep watching for the Thanksgiving update and a Christmas report (hopefully) before the end of 2024!

Jesus, thank you for fun outings and the change of seasons.  Holy Spirit, bring comfort to everyone struggling with health issues this year.  Give us reminders to slow down, eat well, and get enough rest.  Be especially close to the families who have members dealing with mental illness.   Give wisdom to health care workers during this season.  Jesus, remind us that you are the light of the world during these dark days.  Thank you for your peace.  Amen

 

End of the year.... already

 Well, here we are.  It is almost Christmas and almost the end of 2024.  I have been remiss in blogging since the middle of October.  Over the last 12 years that I have been writing this blog, that there are often these "dark" times when I just can't seem to get the words our of my brain and onto these "pages".  There is no big reason why this has happened this year.  For the most part, everyone has been healthy.  We have not had any big issues in my immediate family.  This is just something inside of me that has blocked me from sharing here.  These blogs have always been a way for me to have record of the year events, so I will go back to where I left off.  I want 2024 to be as complete as the previous 12 years!

The last Sunday in October has always been Trick or Treating at Gwen and Tim's house.  This year Grace and Jimmy got to come for this.  It was a nice fall day and the kids had so much fun. Best of all, Lia was home from college for the weekend, so we got to visit with her also.

This year Jimmy's preschool Halloween parade was on Thursday, so I got to see it.  Jimmy is the adorable Buzz Lightyear on the far right!  Later that day, we got to go to Grace's school parade.  While it wasn't blizzarding like last year, it was very cold and windy!   

Doug made it home in time to take the kids trick or treating.  It was a cold evening, but at least there was no snow on the ground this year!  Candy and fun were had by all!  I handed out candy at their door and this year there were plenty of kids looking for those treats!

November 1st is Lucas' birthday.  He would be ten years old this year.  It just doesn't seem possible that 10 years have gone by.  

As a family we gathered to remember Lucas and that always includes a trip to the cemetery.  Jimmy was happy to gather up some sticks (his favorite thing to play with) and we all walked around in the fallen leaves.  I am always struck by the beauty of this small, country cemetery.  Sadly, there are many of the very old trees that are needing to be removed.  The cycle of life and death is present even in the trees here.  It is still a wonderful place to come and honor Lucas' short life.  The passage of time seems to be so much more evident in this very old cemetery.  There are graves from the 1800's.  I am always thankful for the hope that our family has of the eternal life we have because of Jesus' sacrifice for us.  

Events like these certainly help mark the passage of time.  At seventy, I notice how quickly time seems to go by.  When I noticed that I hadn't blogged since October 19th, I was surprised!  To me, it seemed like just a couple weeks ago, when in fact, it was two months!  Here we are in the darkest time of the year, counting down the days until Christmas.  In spite of my delay, expect to read all about November in the next post!  We can't get to Christmas without Thanksgiving!

Jesus, I am reminded that you don't operate on the same timeline that we do.  I am so thankful that you forgive the times we make mistakes, don't follow through, or simply just mess things up.  Holy Spirit, give us courage to confess our wrongs and to forgive those who hurt us.  Help us to be gentle with those who struggle in this season.   Let us walk out in kindness and grace every day.  Amen