Skip to main content

Thanksgiving Memories 2008



We spent Thanksgiving in the traditional fashion with recipes we’ve grown to love over the past years, lots of photo ops, games and tense moments that typical families face when we’re not all alike or maybe too much alike! We have so much to be thankful for: each other, our jobs, good health, and the amazing grace of Jesus! We’re overcomers and this year we had to overcome a power outage the day before Thanksgiving for four hours and 2.5 inches of accumulative rain, which, where we live, could have been a problem but wasn’t. Traveling with a baby was not easy, but oh, so worth it.

We play a game in our family called the Ungame. It keeps our communication alive and reminds us to listen to one another. The story of this game’s beginning is interesting. The creator, Rhea Zakich, lost her voice for several months and was frustrated by how hard it was to communicate with her family. She would write questions on slips of paper of what she wanted to ask her family and what she hoped they would ask her. This became a game and she never saw her family open up and share their feelings so articulately. It was such a successful family game that other families wanted a copy and 32 years later, it is a classic.

Comments

  1. MelanieDecember 1, 2008 at 8:41 PM

    I like the idea of the Ungame! So glad you had such a wonderful Thanksgiving and we are to overcome.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Veteran's Story

  I noticed Bill sitting in our local park where I walk.   He glanced my way just as I finished the last exercise walk song on my playlist.   He shouted and pointed to my car:   “Hey, is that your car with the Nam front license plate?   I stepped closer into the veranda where Bill sat on a picnic bench.   I noticed his Vietnam Vet cap and instantly I knew why I walked there that day.   The Marine Vet served during the 1960’s, the same time span as my husband.   Bill talked a lot about the war evoking my emotions from laughter to tears.   My South Vietnam front plate often prompts a conversation with a stranger and I’ve learned a deep respect for it over the years.   It is my way of listening to a veteran.   I enjoyed listening to Bill.   He made me laugh in spots but he made me cry as well.   Like when he talked about the sandwich lady.   “Do you ever eat at the sandwich shop in the gas station down the street...
26 comments
Read more

A Memorial Day Reflection

  Memorial Day is always noteworthy for me and my girls.  Next Thursday marks the third year of missing their father, my husband. So many thoughts  run through my mind.  The journey of loss takes on various emotions.  The strongest feeling, at first, was emptiness.  In a split second, I would forget he departed forever.  I imagined things I needed to talk to him about when he got back home.  My mind is realistic now.  He's not coming back.  There will be no more times of sitting on the porch swing together on the front deck staring at the moon and the stars.  He would tell me all he knew about the majestic night sky. I have so much I wish I could tell him, like the excitement of seeing our oldest grandchild make a decision to follow Jesus and get baptized on Mother's Day!  And our little Amy, 11 years old, I wish he could have seen her on stage receiving her induction to the National Honor Society. Our daughters have their own ...
24 comments
Read more

Grandparent's Day!

So here it is, the first Sunday after Labor Day or as I refer to it, Grandparent's Day! I arrived in Tucson a week ago.  Twelve year old Amy and excitable Jasper greeted me at the front door.  Smiley Amy looked so happy.  Then she said:  "I'm happy you are here.  Her sister, Susanna, stood next in the greeting line with big hugs.  It's been eight months since I've seen them.  My, they grow so fast. Susanna is a senior this year.  I love hearing about the colleges she visited during summer and the ones she hopes to apply for this fall.  Her mom and I have been watching Downtown Abbey with her, and of course, enjoying late evening tea with the actors in the movie. Amy continues to rock math.  This year, she's been chosen to be her teacher's assistant.  She is very responsible and the one I ask to help at the house when her parents travel.  Amy plays worship music for her dog, Star, who is recovering from Valley Fever.  It wo...
1 comment
Read more