I love holidays

And this one is particularly interesting. An entire holiday supposedly, supposed to be.. for giving thanks. Whether or not people actually consider that. Whether or not there is more focus on the hours of prep of the tons of food that one group could not hope to consume... Oy.. so much food.

But! This whole month at church, the sacrament meeting talks have been on.... wait for iiiiiit...

gratitude. 

And while I listened to these talks, of course my mind drifts to what I am grateful for, and I started a list one sunday on my program, filling up every small white spot that was available with what I was thankful for. Some were silly things.. a good pen, thunder... the click click click of a keyboard.. There were other things; family and friends.. and at this moment, the safe arrival of my beautiful niece into the world... for faith and understanding of truth. For my Savior and his willing sacrifice. There are so many things. There is a reason that it covered my program.

And... I had a moment realizing how grateful I was that Thanksgiving fell before Christmas. At this time of year we can, if we so choose, return our thoughts to all we have to be thankful for and then go into a season that promotes peace on earth, good will towards men. (minus the retail garbage that encompasses.) 

one of my favorite christmas songs

Today I filled the morning with helping my mom make food, and realized in a flurry that there was something missing and ran and retrieved! The Carpenters Christmas album. So I sat there, with a contented expression on my face, peeling potatoes and listening to my childhood, memories past... and the love that surrounded it.

Happy Thanksgiving