We are Grateful

We enjoyed having Gianina, Annika, and a friend Hanna to enjoy Thanksgiving with us this year.
The food was probably even better than last year, and I'm excited that next year we will probably have a table to eat on! We played the boardgames that have become our tradition...and there were probably as many deserts as dinner dishes!
We are so blessed this year. John Ballie said "The fact that man is thankful implies that there is someone to be thankful to." And we feel that the Lord has shown his hand in our lives this year. In the last year we have not only been blessed in our temporal well being with a beautiful home, good food, a stimulating education, opportunities for growth and improvement, but we have also been blessed with the start of our precious family. Over the last year we have been sealed in the temple and also welcomed a precious new spirit into our home. These things are the most sacred and special to us and confirm to us that we have a loving Heavenly Father and it is worth it to do all the things necessary to live with him in families someday. We also are reminded through these precious experiences that we are blessed to have our families with good mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters and we are grateful to them for all the support and love that they have shown us this year. I don't believe that it is coincidence that Thanksgiving comes right before Christmas. Thanksgiving is not a self-congratulatory holiday, but a chance to look at the bounty we have been given and realize our blessings are more than we deserve. This opportunity puts us in the perfect situation to remember that we owe all our abundance to the Savior, and just in time for the season that is filled with celebration of his birth. Thanksgiving gets us in the mood to spread the joy of Christ through the Holiday season and to dedicate ourselves to being better Christians in the new year to come. We have truly been given much this year and wish to share the happiness we have received through our testimonies in Christ, for that is the source of all our precious blessings this year.

A prayer for this and all of your Thanksgivings to come:
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
and your pies take the prize,
and may your Thanksgiving dinner
stay off your thighs!

And enjoy your holidays this year!