I am so thankful

Well, a day late, but none-the-less, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
Yesterday ended up being such a wonderful day. I spent the morning sleeping in (a little too long) and then rushing around trying to get everything ready to go to my brother and his family's house. I personally baked 2 pies (apple) from SCRATCH! Yep, crust and all. They didn't look great, but they tasted good, which is what really matters. Thanks Mom for the recipe...practice makes perfect, so some day I'll have to practice again! :o)
Mikaelyn and I went to my brother Jason and his wife Andrea's house for lunch/dinner (3pm). They just purchased a house this summer and are in the midst of doing a pretty major remodel, so it is always fun to go over there and see what Andrea has done with the place. She has an interior design background and is absolutely the most creative, incredible, stylish woman I know! Some day when I have the $$, I'm going to hire her to re-do my house...when I have a house to re-do! :o) Anyway, Mikaelyn and her 2 cousins Ilona (6 1/2) and Eva (4) played down in the play room while we all got dinner ready. When I say "play" I mean, fight like sisters/cousins, tattle a lot, but still love each other like crazy. They really do have a lot of fun, even though we have to get after them all quite a bit.
My younger brother Tyler drove over from Wenatchee to join us along with a girl from Jason's church. We had just about every dish you could think of...and it was FABULOUS!
I have to say though, I think the best part of the day was being able to talk to my big brother about life...the trials, the joys, and what my future holds. Jason is one of the most non-judgemental, considerate and intelligent men I know (just below my Daddy and along with my younger brother, Tyler) and it was so great to wash the dishes (they don't have a dishwasher right now) and be able to spend that time discussing Christ and the many things floating around in my head with regard to Christianity, church and Jesus. Jason and Andrea have been through a lot with me and I am so grateful for their unconditional love and support for Mikaelyn and I and I feel so blessed to call them family.
Poor Tyler ended up getting sick before he could taste the pies that I brought, but we all ate some pie and chatted some more...as my mother would say, it was just "sweet, sweet fellowship"! :o)
Mikaelyn and I then drove home, picked up her Daddy and drove around for about an hour looking for a restaurant that was open...all we found was Denny's! LOL! So, we had a little meal at Denny's at 9pm, then called it a night.
It was hard not to have my parents here for Thanksgiving, I miss them like crazy, but I'm glad they were able to be with family as well and I know that if they could have been here, they would have been.
So, I'm thankful most of all for Christ's unconditional and everlasting love for me and my family and I'm thankful for my brother's, sister's, nieces, nephews, parents, child, child's father and my kitty's (& my rabbit, sort of)...not to mention my wonderful friends who keep me going each and every day.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and feel as truly blessed as I do!
Now...on to the Christmas season...I don't think I'm ready yet!