Thanksgiving

Okay so as usual, this is long overdue ... but important nevertheless so here we go. We had a really awesome Thanksgiving holiday this year. Normally we alternate which family we go to every other year. Well this year happened to be the year we were supposed to go to the Clark's house. However, we were lucky enough this year to have BOTH! My family decided to come to Utah this year - so let's just say we got to "have our cake and eat it too". It was great! We had our normal Thanksgiving dinner at the Clark's on Thanksgiving Day - and then we had a slightly smaller version of it the day after with my family! It was great.

Let me just take this moment to say how THANKFUL I am for my wonderful family. I tell ya - it's true what they say "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone". It is so easy to take your family for granted when they are always around and close by. But when that all changes in the blink of an eye - and you can't do anything about it... it really puts things into perspective for you. About 4 years ago my entire family were afforded some new and exciting opportunities which caused them all to move to sunny Arizona and away from me. It has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through - but it has truly made things so much clearer to me and made me realize how truly greatful I am to have such an amazing family who, no matter what, sticks by each other and loves each other unconditionally. I am greatful for this trial and experience in my life and for the lessons that it has taught me. I know it happened for a reason and I am thankful that I understand that and appreciate the important things in life.

And for those of you who know my little Mason, you know how long he counts on the fun and excitement of having his cousins and grandparents come and sleep over. He soaks in every moment of staying up late, eating treats, staying in your jammies all day, playing games and whatever else comes along with it. So when the time actually comes for everyone to go home, Mason literally falls apart. The day of departure, he will literally cry sobbing tears the entire day long. He is so much like I used to be it isn't even funny. We always call him our "Gentle Giant" - and this is one of the reasons why. He truly is one of the sweetest, kind-hearted kids you will ever meet.

Even my long lost brother (above) decided to show up and prove his exsistence. Seriously though - most people think that when I talk about Chad (my brother) that I'm making him up because he NEVER comes to visit. I think I was even beginning to wonder if I was making him up. UNTIL... he was here a couple of weeks ago - and Paula even got to meet him! So - I officially have a witness that he does exsist. Thanks for coming, Chad & Andrea - it was a pleasure having you guys and we hope you'll come again real soon.

And it wouldn't be Thanksgiving Day for us without playing a little FOOTBALL before the big feast! Ross and Mason went up to the park that morning and played a little football with some friends and family. This was a treat for Mason since he rarely gets to play an "official game" of football with a whole bunch of people on REAL TEAMS and everything. So, they had a good time - came back really cold and hungry... ready to eat some TURKEY!

So, all in all, we had an AWESOME holiday filled with family, fun and lots of FOOD.

And now we are finally back to normal - the tears have officially stopped and as hard as it is, we are going on with our every day routine. Just waiting for the next get-together so we can have another reason to party.

Let me just end by saying ...

WE ARE BLESSED.