Thankful Thursday--Thanksgiving Day Edition

Here I am on Thanksgiving Day and the only word I can use to describe what I am thankful for is

ABUNDANCE

I am blessed with abundance in my life. An abundance of family, friends, material blessings, food, clothing, hope, and love. For this I am truly thankful.

Thankful Thursday 11 (on Friday)

It's Friday morning and last night as I was dropping off to sleep about 11:30 I had a sudden thought that I hadn't posted my Thankful Thursday entry. I had thought about what I wanted to say, but because it was so late, and I was so comfy and warm, I decided I would just have to be late with my post. So today I am grateful for:

• a bed to sleep in, with it's heated mattress pad and down comforter, it's often my favorite place in the house
• a home to keep me dry from the rain and snow, warm in the winter, and cool in the summer
• book club which helps me expand my reading horizon (not that I've stopped with the mysteries, just added to my never-ending list of books to read.) I've gotten to better know some ladies in my neighborhood, which is a good thing too!
• sunshine--what more can this girl who was raised in Arizona say?
• the knowledge I have of my Heavenly Father and His plan of happiness
  
• the fact that I can be grateful everyday of my life, not just on Thursdays or at Thanksgiving time
  

Savannah

What a beautiful city! My friend, Tamela, and I had the opportunity to spend the weekend here a little while ago. We had a great time! The weather was gorgeous, our kids were at home with their dads, and we were able to reconnect after a long time of being apart.

This post is mostly pictures, so take the time to scroll through the whole thing to see them all. It was hard to narrow down all the pics I took to just these few, but I will be posting an album on Facebook with some more--so you can check it out there.

The Mercer House

The Spanish moss really does look just like the pictures I've seen! I was fascinated by this stuff (I probably took about 20 pictures just of the moss)

There are so many beautiful homes in the historic district

The Riverfront

Here I am on a riverboat

One of Savannah's 21 squares at dusk

Bonaventure Cemetery

This was our view at AJ's Dockside Restaurant on Tybee Island


The beach on Tybee Island

Forsythe Park

The Pirate's House (we had yummy lunch here, but didn't run into any ghosts)

One of the few pictures of the two of us together
This is the remnants of our lunch and delicious key lime pie

my attempt at being artistic

Here's to the Band

I know I don't have any of my kids in band anymore, but like I kept telling people this weekend, it's in my blood. If you've seen my facebook status updates this weekend, they've all been about the marching band and their sudden trip to Grand Nationals. The band made it to semi-finals, but did not place in the top 12 to put them in finals competition. They placed 15th, which is something to be very proud of. I also found out today that they won the spirit award. The American Fork High School Marching Band is a wonderful group of students, teachers, staff, and parents who make our community proud. Here's my tribute to them:

Here's to all those who contributed money to help them get to Grand Nationals at the last minute.

Here's to the writers of this year's show, "The Greatest Generation" (John Meehan & Mike Huestis) who developed such a powerful message through visuals and music.

Here's to Heather Christensen who died while saving the lives of band students.

Here's to all the parents who support these kids, whether they are their own children or not, financially, physically, & emotionally.

Here's to the teachers and staff who give up so much of their time to help these students realize such great potential within themselves.

And here's to the students who put out so much effort (at times even blood, sweat, and tears) and time to reach such great heights within themselves and the band as a whole.

You are #1 in my heart!

(here's a link to the show performed in St. George to win the BOA Western Regionals)

Thankful Thursday 10

This week I feel so blessed in so many ways. A few of these things are:

• I was so lucky to spend the weekend in Savannah. It's a beautiful city and we had gorgeous weather the entire time. Thanks again to my family for being without me for a few days.
• Long-time friends are great. When you share a past and a present, it's pretty darn good.
• I'm glad that my mom taught me to sew. I'm nowhere near the seamstress she was, but I can fix torn seams, hem pants, sew buttonholes, and do basic sewing projects. It's good to know these things (now I better get busy with teaching my own kids!)
• Our family is pretty healthy right now. We've had a couple of "possibly sick" days, but none of them turned into anything. Let's keep it up!
• My car hasn't been to the mechanic in a couple of weeks. I'm very thankful for that!
• My kids have great friends--who could ask for more?
  

Thankful Thursday 9

This week I am thankful for

• small miracles
• big miracles
• a husband who's letting me take the weekend off
• long-time friends
• books
• beautiful fall weather
• the opportunity to vote