turkey with the rooster

This is how it works:

Every other year my family gets together for Thanksgiving.  We rotate hosting between the siblings. So six years ago we went to Oregon to Heidi's house. Two years later, I hosted at my house. In 2008 we all went to Hawaii because that 's what Amy wanted to do on her year and please, Hawaii? We say yes to that.

This year is The Rooster's year.

The Rooster is a bachelor. Not a Nate Burkus variety bachelor. He's a bachelor, bachelor.  He made food assignments on Tuesday night.  He bought disposable plates.

Two weeks ago my mother called him up to urge him to start planning.  She asked coyly if he had thought about where he might want to set up tables.  He told her he thought we'd have Thanksgiving dinner in his garage.

This information was meet with silence. Finally my brother said, "You think I'm going to make Thanksgiving shitty aren't you?"

My mom replied, "Well... yes."

The reality is that for us girls, a large part of Thanksgiving is in the table setting and the perfect ruffled pie crust.  We spend hours making place cards and centerpieces.  It's tradition that has been passed down for generations of Campbell women.

But I'm going to admit something here.  And this is a big gesture on my part. The Rooster's Thanksgiving has been a nice change of pace.

If you strip away all the ornamentation and fancy food, you are left with one thing. Family.

And like most people, that's what I'm most thankful for this Thanksgiving.

And every day of my life.

full

I've never gone hungry.

Sure, there were times when I was first married that our cupboards were bare. One time we ate canned pineapple for a week until the next paycheck came. But the paycheck did come and we didn't loose any weight. Unfortunately for me.

My belly has never known true hunger.

But my heart has.

My heart has been cold and shrived and hard for want of a child. My heart has been starved to bitterness.

Sadly, I fear I didn't do very well on this life test.

This year my heart is big and full and bursting out of my chest. This Thanksgiving I fall to my knees and thank the Lord every chance I get for my miracle children.

This year my want is completely gone. This year I can't think of a single thing I don't already have.

Why am I so blessed?

Luck?

And so my prayer is one of much gratitude and thanksgiving with one more tiny request.

Please Lord, let me live a life deserving of all that I have.

attitude gratitude

There is nothing like spending a Thursday with the Mundays. I am thankful for a good friends.

No giveaways this week dear readers. A girl needs a break every now and again. See you next week!

back in the saddle

Well after having been bucked off, shut down, turned away and locked out by my HP Pavillion a few months ago, I seem to be back in the saddle. The good (?) people at HP sent out my favorite UPS man to retrieve my computer and whisk it off to Compuland, where the magic fairies crawl inside your PC and chase out all the bugs. I hope they got them all.

No more little laptop screen for me! I'm livin' large with a screen so big and vivid it boggles my eyes.

Here's another thing that's new around our abode. I procured some brown construction paper from Thom's fab school and created a "Thankful Tree". I cut leafs from different fall colored scrapbook paper and everyday we write something that we are thankful for on the back of a leaf and then it goes up on the tree. We will read all the leafs around the dinner table on Thanksgiving.

It is so interesting to me to see what the boy comes up with each day. Today he is thankful for pumpkins. I'm hoping that one of these days he remembers that he has parents and is thankful for them. But I'm not holding my breath. After all, he does have my sentimentalities and one of my leafs reads, "I am thankful for cheddar cheese." because I am.

You can still get your name in the drawing for the big bambino giveaway. I'll choose a winner tomorrow!