Thanksgiving is a good idea

OK, despite my earlier complaints about all of the over-eating that I typically feel forced to do over the Thanksgiving holiday, I am really thankful for Thanksgiving. Kevin and I got to spend all of last week in our hometown, Rapid City, SD, with family and friends. We actually first met in high school and as it turns out pretty much all of both of our families are still living in Rapid City, so we always have a lot of people to see.

There are so many wonderful things happening in both of our families. Our new niece Hayley was born last Saturday. We even got to go and see her and hold her a few hours after she was born. (That is niece number 8 for the two of us!) We also celebrated the recent homecoming of our brother-in-law Mark from his first tour in Iraq. He had been home for leave earlier in the summer, but we weren't able to make it out to see him, so it has been over a year since the last time we spent any time with him. He brought us back this crazy, embossed Koran which might be one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. (I want to learn Arabic now more than ever!) My sister just bought her first house and my brother has a great new job. Our best friend Dave is getting married. Everyone is happy and healthy! Being home made me realize just how thankful I am for all of these blessings in my family's and subsequently my own life. It is at times like this that I want to thank God for the gift of life and the blessing of family. And as it turns out, that's what Thanksgiving is for!