Thanksgiving 2010

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! Don's dad and his wife Eileen came down from Utah to spend a few days with us.

On Thanksgiving day, Don's brother Paul and his wife Laurie came over.

They brought their son Dale and his girlfriend.



Cali and her husband Steve came over but I didn't get a good picture of them :( They brought their two kids: Trinity....


...and Preston.

Nicole and Jennifer were here, which always makes us happy.

Nicole's boyfriend Matt is a chef and contributed greatly to our meal. He made gravy with veggies and giblets. He also made the desserts: pecan pie and pumpkin pie with whipped heavy cream, and home made marshmallows (that's what he's stacking on the plate in the picture).

Matt's desserts...YUMMY!

The counter was full of food. We had turkey, a cornbread stuffing with walnuts and cranberries, fresh cranberry relish with oranges, sweet potatoes with pecans and brown sugar, white potatoes and gravy, hot veggies, cold veggies, fruit salad, dinner rolls, hot apple cider, and Matt's desserts. What a meal!

Afterwards Don, Paul, and their dad went outside to pitch horseshoes and build a bonfire.

Almost everyone joined in pitching shoes outside behind the wood pile.

We ate and played off and on for the rest of the day and evening.

The next day we took Paul, Don's dad, and Eileen out site seeing and hiking all day. At the end of the day we took a few pictures in Saguaro National Park. I liked this picture the best.

The weather was beautiful, as it usually is this time of year. It was a wonderful few days.

As I took some time to reflect on the richness of our lives--that we have soooo much to be grateful for. We have family to spend time with, a roof over our heads, and plenty of food. Don's job provides us with insurance and the means to meet all of our needs and most of our wants; we live very comfortably. We have health, modern medicine, and modern conveniences. We live in an amazing country with liberty and democracy. We have testimonies of God the Eternal Father and His son Jesus Christ. I feel overwhelmed when I think about how blessed we are, and the many who have sacrificed much so that we can live in these circumstances. No words are adequate to express the gratitude I feel for the life I am privileged live.