While the post may be a little delayed in coming, the sentiment is still the same. What reminds us of those things for which we have to be thankful more than spending time with friends and family? Over the holiday weekend, my family was blessed to have been inundated with friends and family – and more turkey than one should eat in a year. On Thursday, after a rather hectic morning I won’t get into at this time, we had the privilege of spending the afternoon and evening at our pastor’s house with several other families from the church. We ate, talked, laughed, ate, played some games and ate some more. All in all, it was your typical Thanksgiving day, but this was only the start to our weekend.

For Friday, we had sent out some invitations to a few families who lived reasonably close by to come over for a game day at our place. After being out with the kids until well after midnight the night before, we dragged ourselves out of bed about 10 o’clock and began cleaning and shopping for the last minute supplies we would need for our guests. The turnout and resulting fun was phenomenal. We had a few families come and go throughout the day and a couple others that stayed the course, so we averaged 20-30 people at our house from about 3pm until after 11pm. If laughter is indeed the best medicine, nobody went home feeling poorly, that’s for sure. Those of you who may have read a previous blog entry of mine may recall I thoroughly enjoy playing Settlers of Catan. Well, Friday was my day: we had an all out six way battle using the Cities and Knights expansion (plus both necessary extensions, of course). Needless to say, my winning streak lives on – otherwise I wouldn’t be quite so joyous about the occasion. This is a picture I snagged or the board during the adventure:

Even better than the games and fun, though, was the quality time to get to know friends even better. There are some people who are just always a joy to be around, and we had some of those at our house on Friday. One of those families has been through so much in the past year, yet their faith and trust in the Lord has carried them through it all, and they serve as yet another reminder to me of all the things in life to be grateful for. This next picture is of the precious little addition to their family that has proven to be a blessing over and over again:

When we arose on Saturday, aside from three out of the five and a half of us fighting a nasty cold, we had a relatively relaxing day. It has been a family tradition for years on my side to decorate for Christmas together the weekend after Thanksgiving, so that’s just what we did. The kids all enjoyed helping put the new ornaments on the tree and watching daddy splice and fix the Christmas lights so they would light up – that was a treat.

Finally, on Sunday, my wife’s parents and sister came for a visit. We had our family Thanksgiving dinner complete with homemade apple pie and one of the moistest turkeys I have ever had cause to eat – which reminded me that I’m quite thankful I’m not a vegetarian. This week, we’re back to the grind with even more fervor than before. It never ceases to amaze me just how quickly the time flies. With thanksgiving now over, Christmas is only a few short weeks away, and we have to fit two family birthdays in between!