Our Thanksgiving holidays begin tomorrow around here, and I am so ready for this time. This last week, as I reviewed the story of the "First Thanksgiving" with my preschool class, I was overwhelmed for just a moment with the responsibility I have to "honor" the holiday of Thanksgiving with my children and those children who I teach. They deserve to know what a great holiday falls in between October 31st and December 25th. It frustrates me every year as I watch the stores go from Halloween craziness right into Christmas craziness, with half an aisle dedicated to the already-marked-down Thanksgiving decorations by November 1st. (As you can probably tell, I am not one of those who already listens to their Christmas music and decorates the house before November has ended. In my mind, each holiday deserves its month of honor. :)
Don't get me wrong----I really LOVE both Halloween and Christmas and go "all out" for both. But, somewhere in between there is this wonderful holiday that should represent time with family, time to pause and give thanks, and time to quit the hustle and bustle of already shopping for Christmas, to just reflect and rest. And, I hope I pass on those ideas to my kids, as they grow.
Tomorrow, we have our first Thanksgiving with my sisters, mom, and grandparents and today has been spent preparing for the company. We are having the traditional Thanksgiving feast with more turkey, vegetables, and desserts than we could ever stuff in our mouths. Kendyll and Carlie helped me shop today for the groceries, picked out little pumpkins for the table, and helped decorate the table with their homemade placemats they painted all week. As we painted, we talked about what we were thankful for, and the answers are always precious. Everything from their stuffed animals, to their grandparents, to their houseshoes (which they were wearing), to their new baby sister...children sure remind us how easy it should be to thank God for everything...and I do mean everything!
After this weekend of celebrating, we have the big Thanksgiving program at school on Monday, dinner with Mark's family that evening, and celebrations with my dad and his side of the family later in the week. Thanksgiving Day is actually WIDE OPEN for the first time in our married history, so we plan to celebrate at home with just our children. I'm looking forward to that so much! We also plan to take them to the downtown Fort Worth parade the day after Thanksgiving, which is a long-standing tradition in our family. So many exciting things about this upcoming week! I'll be back with pictures of all the festivities, as well as my cute Pilgrim Kendyll and Indian Carlie from their show on Monday.
Blog friends, have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!
"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord...Let us come before Him with thanksgiving!" Psalm 95:1-2
5 comments:
Have fun in all your Thanksgiving festivities! I'm thankful for you, friend. Thank you for the example you are to all of us. I love you.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because of what it represents. It has been some of the hardest days to be away from family for the last 3 years! I helped start a tradition a few years ago where everyone I'm with that day has to write in a journal about what they're thankful for. Precious memories and perspective. Sarah B
I love that idea, Sarah!! Thanks for passing it along! :)
I am sad to miss the parade! I hadn't even realized we will be in H'Ville that day...
We'll see you in a couple of hours! We are cooking turkeys as I write. The fried one should be YUMMY!!
Love you!
I love Thanksgiving. Something about a meal that brings me back to childhood. All the fellowship, none of the stress (and expense) of Christmas! Don't get me wrong, I adore Christmas, I just love the sights, smells, and football of Thanksgiving!
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