Grateful - Thanksgiving 2014

It seems like we have had more than our fair share of extra stresses and worries over the past few months.  It has been sometimes easy to feel a little overwhelmed by everything, but most of the time my Pollyanna attitude has kicked in and I have just been so grateful for what we have, and that some of the tough stuff hasn't been worse.  I try to be thankful all of the time but I love the Thanksgiving holiday that reminds me to take a deep breath and give thanks.  Add in some great food and a lot of family, and what could be better.

This year Jesse and I started off the morning with a two hour spin class at the gym with my favorite teachers - I was almost more excited for that than the food. We weren't planning to have dinner until 5:00 p.m. so when I got home there was plenty of time to just relax and enjoy the day.  Luke had been begging to play outside so we went out and played frisbee and then spent a long time in the sand pile. He had the best time and I felt so lucky to have the time to just spend with him.  

One of the things we have really loved about our house is the great room and the ability to have a lot of people here without feeling too crowded.  For Thanksgiving we actually didn't have very many people but Tim got our tables and chairs set for the group so we could all be together.  We took care of the appetizers, potatoes, and pies, and everyone else brought the rest.  Dinner started with our little family, my parents and Jesse.  Jarin and Jami and came a little later after spending time with her family.

I  have never gotten too excited about Black Friday shopping - too many people and too much drama. Instead of heading out to the retail stores, our tradition has been to go to the craft fair in Spanish Fork.  We all found a few little treasures, but honestly, we mostly go for the mini donuts - and they did not disappoint.

On my way home I saw an explosion from a diesel tanker that rolled off the road.  I stopped and watched it burn for awhile and thought of what a tragic day it had turned into for the driver and his family.  Once again I was grateful and aware of all of my blessings.  

Friday and Saturday we worked on getting out all of the Christmas decorations and to say Luke was excited would be an understatement.  He is especially fascinated by the tree and the lights so we decided to go to the Riverwoods for dinner and lights.  It was fun to watch him as he ran from tree to tree, he was especially excited about the one that looked like it was made of snow balls.  

ut 

We got lucky and ran into Jessica, good thing since we never see her.  

We must have been too late because Santa had already left for the night - reindeer must have been cranky and ready for bed.  Luke was very willing to step up and sit in his chair.  I'm not sure he will be so good at fulfilling everyone's wishes.  I figured it wouldn't hurt to let him get comfortable with the chair so he will be ready when we actually get to see Santa. 

We really had a fabulous weekend and enjoyed spending so much time together as a family.