Thanksgiving 2009

This year on Thanksgiving I really wanted to host a traditional meal, all homemade, and since we try to avoid a few things in our diet that Courtney may be allergic to, I needed to make it all Courtney-friendly, from scratch. I had TONS of fun doing a one-woman Thanksgiving show - it was very satisfying to put together the meal on my own, and have it turn out to be a DELICIOUS success. We had Grandpa Larsen and his wife Mely and her boys Jordi and Samy over for dinner at our Glen Alps residence. We had the whole spread, from turkey to mashed potatoes to a couple of pies, but the overall favorite was the 100%-from-scratch stuffing - YUM! (We even ground the whole wheat for the bread on our own!) Our guests provided the Mexican soft drinks, our favorites! (Tamarind, mmmmm....)





Most of all, we were very grateful this year. We have felt very inspired and watched over by Heavenly Father, who has had his hands full leading us and guiding us in some big decisions and changes. Gratitude has been one of our family goals this winter, as we have so much to be appreciative of, and our attitudes need to stay on track with our blessings. We are certainly in God's hands, and we thank Him every day for keeping such a close eye on us.

A few things (out of many) that we are grateful for (selected from the gratitude poster we write on and keep on the fridge):
Being able to take a long, hot shower (after a summer in the RV, that's a big deal!)
That we had the use of Dad's truck and RV and had success selling them
That our house sold at a nice price in a nice timeframe
The blessings of our temple covenants
Courtney's handsome smile
The service of our soldiers and that there is no war on our country's soil
That our ranger Ian pulled the right strings to finally get us a phone line
My wonderful brother Randy and his example to us
Nice weather during the summer of 2009
Great friends
Samantha's baptism and Charlie's birth
Good health and quick recovery from illnesses
The gift of the Holy Ghost
That Tallis is such a good sleeper
Our summer ranger, Tom Crockett
That Bryant and Brianna were successful in getting their house
The Book of Mormon
The Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting programs
...

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving, too.