So Very Thankful

Our Thanksgiving has been a rainy and cold one. Which meant that we spent most of the day indoors. Indoor time, however, means that most of our Christmas decorations are up and so is the tree. The tree is lit, but we don't have our ornaments on it yet. It was a relaxing morning of pancakes, coffee, Christmas, the Macy's parade, and browsing Black Friday ads...even though we will not be joining the madness, mostly because we're finished shopping with the exception of about 5 gifts.

It's kind of surreal to think that next year we'll be corralling two kids as we head off to Thanksgiving dinner. This year though, we spent it with Eric's family, and we only had one kid to wrangle. We were able to sneak away just after eating in order to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One while Cate stayed with her grandparents. So as I sit in the glow of lights on the tree with stockings hung on the mantel (including a new one for Brennan), I can't help but think of the many things I'm so thankful for.

I'll keep it short and sweet. I'm thankful that 2010 has been much better health-wise (for me) than 2009 (when I was dealing with all of that nasty GI stuff/anxiety crap/etc.). I'm so thankful that I have been healed of those things and that in place of the bad, good came, in the form of a heartbeat on a doppler at the doctor's office. And good came in so many other ways too-- in energy that I gained again, a renewed enthusiasm at my job, time spent with family and friends, growing closer with our small group, and so many other things-- mostly intangible. And it's those intangible things, the things money can't buy, that make me so, so thankful today.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I'll leave you with a picture that makes me smile. Cate showing off Daddy's sunglasses in the car the other day. Don't worry, I was at a red light when I snapped it on my phone.
~Melody :-)