Many Blessings

As Thanksgiving comes and goes, I want to think that every day is a type of Thanksgiving. Our family has so very much to be thankful for and Terry and I try really hard to help ya'll be aware of the blessings around you each and every day. But this time of year does bring back some special memories and special blessings.

This week out of school has been a good one. A blessing in itself - one of rest and rejuvenation (well, sort of), and one of family time together. Every year we do pretty much the same thing for Thanksgiving Day. We go to Mama Bert's for lunch and Amory to the Williams' side for supper. Even though Mama Bert is in Heaven now, Gran and her brother and sisters, the Ashley clan, have kept her house so we will have a place for our family to congregate. And it's a BIG family - 53 at last count. I'm very thankful for this, because all of MY life, holidays have included Mama Bert's and many relatives, and now ya'll get to see how much fun it can be to play there and see the simpler things in life - like a leaf pile or hay bales, the huge pastures, the storm cellar "hill", and the best - Mama Bert's front porch swing. There are many memories at this house and the people inside it have many stories. I'm thankful ya'll can hear some of those and experience some of them yourselves now. As a kid, we would play in the woods building leaf forts, play on the storm house hill, 'Annie Over' was a favorite game, as well as "Hot Box" between the 2 trees in the front yard. Shooting firecrackers at Christmas was another favorite memory - every year one blew up in some one's hand (how none of us lost a finger, I'll never know!). And that was just at Mama Bert's house - don't get me started on the fun all of us had at Ingomar High School basketball games!! I'm so glad ya'll are getting to experience Ingomar basketball now too.

Oh what fun!! Seriously!

On Mama Bert's front porch swing

Tanner with his 3rd cousin, Jake

The newest member of the Ashley family - baby Ava!

Then it's on to Amory. The Williams' side of my family, for the past several years, has had to rent the Amory Community Center for holiday get-togethers. Our family has out grown every ones house. Even though at first it seemed weird gathering there, I think we all are just glad to have a place that will hold us so we can reconnect for a short time. Your Grandaddy grew up in Smithville and that's where my Grandmama Williams (your great grandmother) lived. There are many very special memories I have growing up going to Grandmama's on Sunday afternoons and seeing all of my cousins, aunts and uncles. Your Grandaddy was one of 9 kids (yes, 9!) so the Williams' side is pretty huge - bigger than the Ashley side. I need to get a count one of these days! Playing every kind of ball with my cousins are some of my favorite memories. Your mama has always been "one of the guys", so I was right at home playing whatever sport was in season. Squeezing into the small den after supper and listening to my Dad and uncles talk are more memories I treasure. Even though ya'll don't know every one well on this side of the family, I hope that they will always be special to you. Big families like the Williams and the Ashleys, that still get together, are very rare these days.

Gosh, I've been blessed! It makes my heart smile so big to think of all these memories and how God has been with all of our families through the years! I'm so grateful that we all still try so hard to get together and stay close. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm thankful that each of you are able to experience the joys of big (and loud) families.

I'm also very thankful you are able to experience the joys of a small family. We went to Mama Jane's house for Thanksgiving on Saturday and spent the day with her, Aunt Tina and Uncle John. Much smaller and quieter, but probably more conversation and more quality time. Your Daddy had an eye opener when he jumped into my huge family, but I hope it has been a blessing to him, because his family has been a blessing to me. They're a loving, giving bunch and mean the world to us.

So there you have a sort of "history" of our Thanksgivings. We do the same thing every year - go the same places - at the same times - and eat WAY too much food!! It's a treasure that I hope continues for many years to come and a tradition I hope all 3 of you come to love as much as I do.