Holidays......

Hey All--
Tomorrow is the first day of  'Holiday Week', and I find that I'm bracing myself as if there were a VERY big guy in front of me, poised to punch me in the stomach!  I guess this is the beginning of  'the firsts'.  I knew it was coming, and knew that there was no way I could ever be ready.   Chad loved Thanksgiving.  For most of his life, he was very much a 'family guy', and he especially liked his Grandma's cheesy potatoes and 'that stuff' (because he could never remember what 'dressing' was called).  We ate at a restaurant once when Chad was about 8 or 9.  He HATED it...said 'eating out is NOT Thanksgiving, and I hope we'll never do this again!'  We didn't....and won't.

We initially didn't think that Annie-Laurie would be able to join us for Thanksgiving.  The Egg Bowl (big annual football game between Mississippi State and The School Up North----we MS State fans don't say Ole Miss outloud!!!) is on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so Annie-Laurie will spend her Thanksgiving Break in Starkville at football practice!!  So, I'd been racking my brain, thinking of what my parents and I could do for Thanksgiving that wouldn't seem sad.  Eating at a restaurant-----definitely NOT an option!  I'm so happy that my Aunt Judy and Uncle Bob have graciously invited us to spend Thanksgiving with their family in Mississippi.  My Aunt Judy is my mom's youngest sister, and has always felt more like a sister than an aunt to me.  She and her family have truly been instrumental in this transition to 'The New Normal'.  Annie-Laurie and I stayed with them that first week this past June.  Thank goodness, my parents and I will be in a place we've never spent Thanksgiving before, my Aunt Judy, Uncle Bob, and my cousins, Penny and Nicholas will be there, AND Annie-Laurie will be able to drive over from Starkville to join us!  I'm hoping for a happy family time, because that's exactly what Chad would want us to do!

I'm beginning to decorate for Christmas a little.....but I'm not going to worry about what the celebration of the day will look like.  It'll work out exactly as it should, and hopefully we can continue to happily celebrate the birth of our Savior.  After all, Chad lives in His house now!!!  And I'm sure Chad's been bugging Him about being 'Head Angel'!!!

I hope that you and your families have the most blessed Thanksgiving!  Take the day to tell each member of your family what a difference they've made in your life!  :)

Love,
Julie