Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I am amazed that a full month has gone by since my last post. It will take me at least that long to catch up with you all! We enjoyed a big Thanksgiving here with local friends. We cooked 2 turkeys, actually soaking one of them in a brine. My husband cooked the brined turkey outside on the Weber Grill -- (one of the benefits of a California Thanksgiving is the ability to cook outside, eat outside and play outdoor games such as horseshoes and bocci ball -- we took advantage of all of these options). I tried several new side dishes this year including sweet potatoe pie and corn casserole (neither of which were listed on the Weight Watchers Top 10 Thanksgiving options, I promise you). I even made my own cranberry sauce from scratch, which was as easy as everyone has promised me it would be. We ate, drank and were merry. It was a good day. We reflected on our many blessings -- and enjoyed being home. We pulled out the Christmas decorations and in accordance to our own little family tradition, decked the halls. We are officially festive and I am in the mood to be jolly despite a multitude of typical irritating factors that would on other days stand between me and euphoria. My cup overflows.

This joy is unexpected at best. Since my last post we have buried my husband's uncle in Arkansas, where he outlived his dismal cancer prognosis by 2 years. We held our breath at the near death of my paternal grandfather, (aged 91, in intensive care today after a rare emergency surgery that threatened his already frail body) then again for my baby brother, hospitalized for the second time in less than a year for alcohol related illness. My own son's recovery from his neck injury comes slowly, but his prognosis is good and his body is strong. We learned of another not so lucky -- an old friend's baby boy struggles for life at 3 months old with a rare and incurable nervous system disorder. Their only hope is in a miracle, and a miracle is what they are seeking, actively every day. (I will post more on this later). Money is tight, news is grim -- at both a personal and national level -- yet I am filled with joy, with the peace that passes all understanding.

Frederick Buechner sums it up as follows: "In the Gospel of John, Jesus sums up pretty much everything by saying, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11). He said it at the supper that he knew was the last one he'd have a mouth to eat. Happiness turns up more or less where you'd expect it to--a good marriage, a rewarding job, a pleasant vacation. Joy on the other hand, is as notoriously unpredictable as the One who bequeaths it." from "Wishful Thinking - A Seeker's ABCs"

Blessings on you, my blogger buddies. May the abundance of God's love fill your life with a rich appreciation of the little things, joy in the journey.