Giving Thanks

We were so excited to have Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. I was happy to have all of my boys home, at least part of the day, and all of Debbie's kids except Jessica and Bryce were there as well. (They were in California with Bryce's family)
After a yummy turkey dinner, we went to a movie (our Thanksgiving tradition) and then we played some fun games for prizes. Michael beat Jaron at blowing a card off of the table in Minute to Win it. Jaron was laughing so hard that he ran out of air!
We played Pit, which got a little bit too loud for grandma, but it was seriously fun!
Devin was happy with his prize of a jar of Jelly Bellys. That's his happy face :)
Jaron won a water bottle and some popcorn. What more does a college student need?
It was fun having Corinne with us for the first time. She found out that holidays with the Barneys/Hirschis can be pretty entertaining! Nikki, Stephen and Danny also won some sweet prizes.
Kenny and Megan joined us and provided a delicious dulce de lece dessert. I probably spelled that wrong, but it was mui bueno!
My mom hates getting her picture taken, so this is what she gets for not smiling for the camera! We were so glad she was able to make the trip out to be with us! We love our little mama!
After eating a huge dinner, playing games, going to a movie, and scanning all the ads for the best black friday sales, we were all pretty exhausted. Debbie and Karl needed a little nap.

I feel extremely grateful for my family this year. I don't know what I would do without each one of them. This year has proved to be more challenging than I ever could have imagined, but with the support of our family, and the strength of our faith, we have made it through.

I was a little bit of a scrooge when the holidays came around this year. I had no desire to decorate my home or start Christmas shopping, when usually those things bring me great joy. But then I talked to a dear friend of mine who is living in a foreign country, far away from her extended family, friends, home and everything familiar to her. She only has a few decorations to put up, and only the bottom half of her Christmas tree was shipped to them. But she is making the best of it, not complaining, and has a spirit of gratitude. I realized after talking to her that my life here is good, the holidays are worth celebrating, that I am blessed beyond measure and my cup is overflowing. Today and every day, I will give thanks for all that I have. And that's a lot.