Blessings Abound!

We had Thanksgiving at my parents' house.  Now, when Sterling and Amy arrived late Wednesday night, we weren't so sure how this was going to happen.  The house was...well, let's just say that the remodel wasn't exactly finished and things were a little...um...chaotic, to put it gently.  It was CRAZINESS!!!

But somehow, after a good night's sleep (some of us longer than others, right Ster?), we all managed to pitch in and pull it together, and my parents' house looks FANTASTIC!!  There are still a few little things here and there that could stand to be finished, but for the most part, it's an amazing transformation.  I'm so proud of them for all their hard work--they've done an incredible job!

So the Merrills came over for Thanksgiving, and it was a blast.  I honestly can't remember the last time my parents hosted Thanksgiving for anyone.  I must have been SUPER little the last time it happened, because we almost always got invited over by some of my dad's work friends, and then we all started being out of town.  So it was really fun to have people over to share it with.  We had great food (and just about everyone contributed to the feast in some way or another), my blackberry jam was a TOTAL hit!, and it was really fun to sit and talk with everyone.  Brooke and I see a lot of each other now that our siblings are married, and it's fun!  After dinner we cleaned up, watched TV for a bit, and then headed to the Merrills' for Brooke's smorgasbord of homemade pies--delicious!!  For someone who doesn't claim to be Martha Stewart, she did a GREAT job!  Then the "kids" (aka Brooke, Ster, Amy, and me) headed downstairs for a little fun...but more of that in the next post.  

Overall, Thanksgiving was FABULOUS, and I have so much to be thankful for, sharing it with my family just made it that much better.  So a few things I'm thankful for:

*My beautiful, amazing sister!

*My awesome, generous, loving parents.

*Erik

*My wonderful friends--what an incredible friend-family I am blessed with!

*Having a good job that I like (almost always--what a gift!)

*Having the opportunity to travel to see the people I love.

*The many gifts and talents God has given me.

*My health (especially after having the plague for a few weeks and feeling like death!).

*My education.

*My sweet roommate.

*SOOOOOO, so much more.

Thanks, God, for giving me all these wonderful things.  Please continue to bless us all and those we love and those we don't know through the holiday season and the years to come.