GIVE THANKS FOR THANKSGIVING!

The little turkey name cards  shown in my last post, were made by Maddie two Thanksgivings ago.  How time flies!  The blank one does say Grandma, but the word didn't show up in the photo.  I now hang them on the Christmas tree.  That Thanksgiving we were at Adam's new house in Lake Elsinore.  We had a great time.

This Norman Rockwell painting has always been one of my favorites.  Who wouldn't want to be at this table?  Such warmth and good cheer.  I'm happy to say that our family Thanksgivings have always been memorable.  This painting is labeled "Freedom From Want".  It is one of a series of Freedom paintings that Rockwell did.  He got the idea from an inaugural speech made by FDR called the "Four Freedoms Speech" in 1941.  The other Freedoms mentioned and painted are Freedom of Speech and Expression, Freedom of every person to worship God in his own way, and Freedom from Fear.

Here we are in 2006, in the apartment over the garage, where we lived until our house was built.  It was also the first year Melissa joined us.  Now there is something to be thankful for!  A new family member joined us in 2009----our own Reese Noah Garcia.

Another cute decoration made last year by Maddie.  Decorations made by your grandchildren are the very best!

With my Mom, I'm about Maddie's age here at a family gathering (perhaps Thanksgiving?) in someone's basement.  It didn't matter where the meal was, as long as the family was together

Although this isn't Thanksgiving, my sister, Darlene, my cousin, Barbara, and my niece, Chantelle, try to get together for family dinners whenever they can.  This year they do plan to have Thanksgiving together at Barbara's house in Bloomington, Indiana.  Wish we could all join them.

To all my relatives and friends, Have a Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for all of you.