Why I Love Thanksgiving

There are so many things I love about Thanksgiving. The food, the people, the relaxed atmosphere of the day...
Thanksgiving has been an evolution for Chuck and I. It didn't start off as a merry, easy, fun day. At the start of our marriage we did as most young, married couples do. We relied on family to schedule our holidays for us. The only problem with that is that most of the family saw us only in their after thoughts. We had several years of realizing everyone was either out of town or not coming to visit only days or hours before the big day. Add to the mix awkward relations with other branches of the family tree (I'm sure no one else out there has that, right?) and we came quickly to the realization that we needed to set our own holiday schedule and tradition. We were married and had kids on the way so why not?
We decided to not wait on invitation any more from family or friends but to set our own plan in motion of how we wanted to celebrate. We set down the guideline that anyone can come as long as they enjoy eating and relaxing and don't want to participate in drama or stuffiness. Thanksgiving is for giving thanks, not headaches.
We make way too much food every year. We start the day with Bloody Mary's and move on to beer and wine after noon. We chop, slice, marinade, baste, saute, and fry until the house is full of the richest smells our noses and hearts can handle. We say Grace in a big circle, holding hands with whoever decided to join us. Sometimes that includes family. Sometimes it includes friends. Sometimes we have coworkers or neighbors show up. Sometimes it's a grand mixture of all the above.
I never set the table - it's all buffet style from the kitchen. We use the big, thick, sectioned paper plates because really, who wants to do dishes after all that eating and drinking? Not this girl! We talk about sports, religion, faith, politics...all the things you are supposed to avoid in mixed company. We share the ways God has showed up and surprised the socks off of us. We hug through the memories of aches when God had to carry us this year. We laugh at all the blessings and goodness.The kids run wild, high on too much cheese and pie and then crash hard early because the day has been filled with fun and very few boundaries.
The food is so much a part of the day but less because of it being food and more because of the relationships that swirl around the making and the prep and the eating and the clean up. It's a day full of love and laughter and I wouldn't have it any other way. I would never be so bold to say that our way of doing Thanksgiving is better than anyone else's. It's just the way we figured out that it works for us. And I'm so thankful we figured it out.


Here's something else I've figured out. It's my corn casserole. I've tried several recipes over the years in hopes of recreating the magical version my mom used to make. This is pretty darn close.

15 oz can yellow and white sweet corn, whole kernel, drained
15 oz can cream style corn
8 oz box of Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 stick (half cup) of butter, melted

In a big bowl, stir all of the above ingredients together until just mixed. Pour into a greased casserole pan (8x8 for thicker casserole; 9x12 for thinner). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 - 60 minutes, or until golden and firm in the middle. This recipe serves about six people. I usually double or triple it for Thanksgiving. You'll probably have to adjust the baking time if you double it.

Why We Walked

It's been almost seven years since our dear friends, Tony and Amber Bender, released their baby girl into the arms of Jesus.
Addi was a sweet, bubbly little girl, not even two years old, when she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Even typing it brings a bitter taste to my mouth. We were all, all of us who love Tony and Amber and their children, devastated. Surgery after surgery and radiation all were tough battles that Addi fought. She gave everything she had and she did it with the sweetest smile.
Next to the day of my mom's suicide, the day Addi succumbed to cancer has been the hardest day of my life. There were a handful of us lingering in the room, praying God might take her pain away. We whispered prayers as the tears fell as we waited on the angels to lift her spirit to heaven.
It was enough to do any parent in. And I can not think of a single person on the face of this earth that would've blamed Tony and Amber for curling up into a ball and retreating from life all together. The Bender's weren't done fighting though.
Cancer took their baby girl and they waged war on cancer. They took their two little boys for a vacation (if you call traveling to heal a vacation) and came back  home swinging hard. They immediately formed Addi's Faith Foundation in order to fund pediatric brain cancer research and to support other families that are facing this horrific battle. They promoted, they researched, they dug their heals in. Cancer would not win.
Yesterday was the 6th Annual Walk by Faith 5k/10k and they raised close to $200,000 to further their cause. We walked (Seth ran) because we, too, want to fight. I led the sunrise service with my friend and coworker, Reese Foster, because above all, we want to remember that God brought them through this...every step of the way.  We want to remember that God is bigger than cancer. We want to keep in mind that God is the author of life and that death is not what he wanted when he created life.
The community came out in full force because they love Tony and Amber, and their kids, Trent, Riley, and Olivia. The community came because no one wants to see cancer win - especially through the lives of babies.
Please click on the links above and pray about how God might be calling you to join in the battle.

I'm Thankful....

This is the time of year when everyone starts doing those thankful journals and thankful photo challenges and thankful...whatever.
November is officially thankful month. I get that because of Thanksgiving falling in November it is a natural time to reset our self-centered hearts and turn towards an attitude of gratitude. My friend, Kim, actually declared it "Attitude of Gratitude Month" with her small group of high schoolers. During the time when they normally share the happies and crappies of the week they have decided that for this month they will only share crappies. It's an effort to refocus. I get it. I love it.

I'm not feeling it.

Every so often I have a blanket of despair that falls over my head. I'm not sure where it comes from. I dabble in depression from time to time and I can't ever be sure when it's going to show up at my door. I jumped into crazy full on, head first for a time in my life and I hope and pray and work really hard to avoid the lake at that particular camp ground now. But I still dabble in the blues, as much as I try not to. I'll be okay. I'm praying. I'm taking my vitamins. I'm getting rest. I'm exercising. I'll be fine.

So here's my thankful list this week. You may find it a little desperate and some may seem like a stretch but, when you are climbing out of a pit there is no branch too small to grasp on to.

• I am thankful this week that no one in my immediate family has a birthday that requires a party of 10 screaming girls.
• I am thankful this week that I can wear flip flops in November in Houston.
• I am grateful for air conditioning.
• And cheese. I'm glad that cheese exists.
• I am thankful that it is not Red Ribbon Week at school more than once a year and that I don't have to come up with crazy creative ways to say no to drugs.
• I love the lava lamp on my desk and I'm thankful that someone donated it to children's ministry at our church.
• I'm thankful for naps.

That about covers it, other than the obvious family, friends, salvation, etc. That's all I've got this week. Maybe next week I'll be more creative and broad in my thankfulness.