Happy Thanksgiving!

Chris, Lukie and I will head north today to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. Though neither Chris nor I am looking forward to the driving part, we're all looking forward to relaxing and spending time with family. My parents' home is a wonderful place to go home to, and this time I'll be the only married kid home, so it will be somewhat less chaotic (you can't rule out all chaos with Marco & Antonio in the house).

I have so much to be thankful for. How trite that sentence is, but it's so true. There's the usual cast of characters that I've told you about. My wonderful parents, in-laws, brothers and sisters, grandmas. I only have grandmas now. It's sad to me. It will be special to spend this Thanksgiving with my grandma, and I'm praying that it will be more sweet and reflective than sharp with pain for her. We will most miss my grandpa praying for the meal. Even the way he prayed made everyone laugh. First you'd start off laughing because, when he was ready to eat, he was ready to eat! And he started praying before anyone knew it. People stopped in the middle of their sentence, paused from what they were doing, gave a little chuckle. Then their chuckle would turn to a quiet smile as my grandpa thanked the Lord for his family, usually rearranging couples so that I was married to Eric and Janelle married to Chris. Then the smiles would turn serious, lips would quiver, and tears would most certainly slip from under my eyelids as my grandpa's voice would crack with emotion, tears freely falling, as he would thank Jesus for his salvation, his eternal security. Sometimes we would escape to laughter when he accidentally thanked the Lord for social security instead. Everyone loved hearing my grandpa pray, everyone loved that sensitive nature that he possessed. I imagine that this Thanksgiving's prayer might have more tears than laughs in it.

And can I tell you how thankful I am for my boys? Life with Chris has been one long ride - literally around the Midwest! We've lived in MI, WI, MN, KY and now MI again. Next stop, the UK! To Chris' credit, certainly not my own, he has led me to each new place, knowing that it was God's will. I wasn't always so eager, having to be pulled along sometimes. But in each move, I have always known the peace of God's will. If you had told me five years ago that I would be excited about going to Scotland for a few years, I would've told you you're crazy. But here we are, and here I am, polishing up my Scottish brogue. All that to say that I'm grateful to have a husband who stays the course - a pretty long course. He is an amazing husband and dad. He is a dedicated and diligent student. He will be a powerful and effective teacher.

If life with Chris is one long ride, every day with Luke is a roller coaster! I always laugh at how children drag their mothers through every emotion known to man - often in 30 short minutes. Laughter, frustration, love, anger, sentimentality, exhaustion. Add yours in there. Life with children is at it's worst tiring and at it's best, so much more. I love the way Luke laughs and smiles when I come and get him in the morning. I love the way he has to have at least two of his blankets with him when we kneel for prayer at night. I love the way he says "noonknie" instead of "milky." I love the way he pulls his winter hat on, all crooked. I love the way his hair looks when I pull the hat off. I love the way his face looks when he's singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" in all earnestness. I love the way he stops to say, "Hi mommy" when he's walking past me. I love the look on his face and the concentration on his mouth when he busy writing something. I love the way he rubs the silky edge of his blanky over his lips and chin. I love the way he says, "night, night Mommy."

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.