Happy Thanksgiving 2008

Anna and Dave playing the piano together. They were playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This picture makes me so happy! A long time before I ever got pregnant with Jonathan, I had a dream during which Dave was playing the piano with our future little girl. In the dream she was a brunette, so clearly, my vision was a little off.

I just want everyone to know that I managed to stay on task with my weight loss plan today! This is no small feat for Thanksgiving, if I do say so myself! It helped that my Mom, in my honor, banned pecan pies from the house. I will never forget the Thanksgiving of 2003, when I ate an entire pecan pie. That is like 68 points, at least, I think. Roughly three days worth of alloted food. I was very remorseful, and very sick to my stomach afterwards. But today! I was very under control. I did not even feel like I ate that much more than a normal meal. I did enjoy a slice of apple pie. It was very nice, but it did not drive me to madness the way pecan pie does.

Sometimes, I feel like a teacher without a classroom. So I am going to "assign" you guys some "homework." At our MOPS group Thanksgiving meeting, our mentor mom, Dianne, gave us a lesson on Phillipians 4:6-7:

"Don't worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Then she asked our group to complete this simple activity:

List some blessings.

List 4 people that love you.

List 10 times that God has answered your prayers.

This activity is simple, but deceptively so. It really helped me to stop and think about what my blessings really are, and one of the things I noticed was every single one of my blessings involve people that love me and/or instances where God answered my prayers. Take a few minutes this evening, or even if you read this sometime next week or next month, and jot down your answers. It made a difference in how I view this holiday. Thanksgiving should be a daily action, rather than an annual event.

I hope everyone spent their holiday in peace and surrounded by the ones they love.