Thanksgiving

I know it has almost been a week, but I wanted to post about our Thanksgiving weekend. We had some friends of ours over for dinner. The Hamby family. They have 2 boys and a little girl who is two. They are a lot of fun to be around, and we enjoyed having them very much. We split up the cooking, so it wasn't much of a burden at all. Greg made all the pies again this year. He made six: 1 apple, 2 pumpkin, 1 chocolate macadamia nut, 1 chocolate cream, 1 chocolate peanut butter, and one whipped jello something or other. He's amazing! I am so glad that he loves to do it because I don't :) Greg and Adam had a fun time at our ward's turkey bowl in the morning. Adam loves playing with those older boys. Greg was sore the whole rest of the weekend though. The one bad part of the day is that Ben fell down our basement stairs. He fell all the way from the top down to the bottom. He got a major black eye and goose egg. I even looked up symptoms of a concussion on the internet trying to decide if I should bring him in to the doctor's. I decided not to. I did put him down for a little nap though, so he missed Thanksgiving dinner, but was much better off with a little rest. I will try to post a picture of his injury later.

The rest of the weekend was spent putting up Christmas lights and shopping. Crazy Greg went with a friend to Best Buy at 5 am on Friday. He said the store was so full you could barely move. They missed all the really great deals and then waited in line for 2 hours. He vows he will never do that again! I waited until Saturday afternoon to head out, but was able to get almost all of our shopping done. I still have a few more things to get, but I am hoping to get it done this week. I really want to be able to enjoy the holiday and focus on it's true meaning.

Which brings me to what I am most thankful for this year. I feel like I have experienced some great changes in my life this year. I have gained a greater understanding of the atonement and of repentance, and of changing our hearts. I loved reading "The Peacegiver" and felt like it has started me on a better path in my life. I am grateful that we can always turn to the Lord, that he loves us individually. He wants us to be filled with that love and be able to extend it to others. I know I still have much more learning to do, but I feel now the possibility of great change, of great hope, and great happiness and peace. My love for the Lord has increased as my understanding has become greater. I feel like I am starting to change. I am so grateful for this. How great and merciful is the Lord!

I hope you all had a great weekend and are starting to get in the Christmas spirit. I hope you will have peace and time for reflection amid the hustle and bustle. After all it's the most wonderful time of the year!! (Can you tell I've been listening to Christmas music lately?)