Happy Thanksgiving!

I think Thanksgiving is my favorite family holiday. I LOVE Christmas, I love everything about it, the songs, the shopping, the decorations, the cookies, the parties, the church services, of course most of all our true celebration of Christmas. But to me, Thanksgiving, is a simple time that focuses solely on family and blessings, and it gives me warm fuzzies!

As I get a few years under my belt it also is bitter sweet. Because, as we all know, things change. My grandparents, who we always spent the day with, along with all my aunts, uncles and cousins, have both died in the past 6 years, and it makes me so incredibly sad at times. And now of course, so has our tradition of getting together with that side of the family every Thanksgiving. It happens you know, all the aunts and uncles get their own grandkids, and everyone has scattered to the wind, and it is near impossible to get us all together.

Anyway, I digress. I want to say how today how thankful I am for my grandpa, what a man! He was a Southern Baptist preacher, he was warm, caring, loving, and didn't ever have anything bad to say about anyone. In my entire life, I had never heard him say an ill thing about a single person, ever! That is quite an accomplishment. He made sure that we all knew that he loved us. Every time we saw him, we got hugs and I love you's, every time. He was a true example of what it meant to try to be Christ like.

I guess though what makes him even more special to me is that, he wasn't even my biological grandfather. My mom and dad, even though he is not my biological dad he is my dad, always has been, in every sense of the word, got married when I was 2. I have no memory of that so my life as it is now, is simply to me how it always was. But if I didn't know the facts about my birth, I would never have known I wasn't an "official" member of that family. There was never ever a difference made, I was his granddaughter and that was that! I don't think people can really know how special that is unless you have experienced it, it touches me more than my words can express. My dad is the same, but this post is about my grandpa, so he will have to wait for his own post, lol. My grandpa married my husband and I, and that gift is so precious to me. I will see him again in Heaven someday, and wow, what a gift God has given us to say that!

Sorry about the rambling post, I was just reminiscing a little.

So anyone Black Friday shopping! I am! My friend and I are leaving sometime around 3 am, with no kids and no husbands, and will be back sometime with the next 24 hours. Honestly that is the bestsest Christmas present I could get, I am so excited about that, I do feel like I felt as a kid the night before Christmas.

I will let you all know if I survived.

Have a wonderful day with your families, and take a picture in your mind of these times, they certainly are fleeting!