Thanksgiving...Yeah!

It's that time of year again, finally. It always seems a long haul from fall break to Thanksgiving. We get to leave today around noon for 5 days in a condo in Gatlinburg - no work, no meetings, no alarm clocks, no paper grading, no LiveText, no 40-minute commute. Though we will not be seeing any of our kids or grandkids this time (we do plan to see all of them in 4 different states around Christmas), we will get to be with some family. That will help make this season even more special.

In addition to the above list of NOs, there are many other Yeses for which I am very thankful:

Delores' beauty both outward and inward...

Our nearly 39 years of marriage...

Our sticking to the Healing Diet...

How great the food tastes...

Both of us off our meds...

Weight loss...clothes fit better...

The travel we get to do at this stage of life with 2 reliable cars and a major airport only 55 minutes from home...

A job that I love going to every day - well, almost every day...

New professional opportunities...

Spiritual challenges in my daily walk with HIM...

Our kids and grandkids who all still welcome us into their homes anytime we can get there. Specifically I'm grateful for...

Matt's mind...as sharp as the point on the broken appendage in the 50s classic sci-fi flick The Deadly Mantis...

Kara's laugh and singing voice...as lovely as Maria's in The Sound of Music...yes, these are a few of my favorite things...

Krista's service to others...Clara Barton and Florence Nightengale rolled into one delightful person...

Daniel's spiritual curiosity...trying to tread in the footsteps of Jesus as so many before him have done...

All four spouses being wonderful, supportive Christians...like all Jimmy Stewart's friends in the final scenes of It's a Wonderful Life...hear any bells ringing for angel wings lately?

Sean's intellectual curiosity (and enjoying the same dog stories as I did in my childhood - Lad and Silver Chief and Kazan can all become our best friends if only through the books we read)...

Joshua's energy and enthusiasm...like a builder and creator - I can imagine his helping the CREATOR design the heavens and the earth eons ago...

Alyna's dramatic personality...being a drama queen is not nearly as bad as it sounds - in fact, in a 14 1/2 month old, it's precious...

Ryan's curiosity that keeps him reaching for the heights (literally)...Sir Edmund Hillary (?) move over...

So, to all my loved ones - family and friends - I praise God for our health, joyfulness, and very being.

P.S. And I'm also thankful for blogs and facebook where I can share my mind-ramblings with family and friends just having fun and reflecting on the goodness of life. Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good nigh...uh, good morning. Wow it surely is early...