"Having a place to go — is a home. Having someone to love — is a family. Having both — is a blessing." ~Donna Hedges

I dropped the ball with my daily posts, but it isn't because I haven't been thankful!  Quite the opposite - I've been so busy focusing on the "little things" that I have not taken the time to write about them.

In the quiet of this early morning, our house is full of grown children and puppy dogs, all of whom are sleeping soundly.  And my heart is full and thankful.

We postponed our Thanksgiving celebration by one day this year.  Caleb worked the Texas A&M football game Thursday evening, and Sarah and Ryan were part of the 12th man there with Ryan's parents.  So that half of our family arrived yesterday morning, and the fun began...

Sadie got reacquainted with "Aunt Becca", and then we all sat down to a feast of our favorite Thanksgiving food...

There was much laughter as we filled our bellies...

After lunch, some of us napped while Sadie helped Ryan do some online Black Friday shopping...

And then Caleb scared the puppy dogs...

 Later in the day, we commenced with our usual tradition of putting up the Christmas tree...

When the kids were little, they loved getting inside the empty tree box, and "trapping" each other.  These days, they enjoy trapping their dogs in the box...

But Buster was smart and made a break for the kitchen.

Caleb proved to us that you are never too old or too tall to relive childhood memories, and Brinkley was satisfied that payback is sweet...

Our Eagle Scout put his skills to use, and built us a fire, with his dad looking on, and then the decorating began...

Among our ornaments is a one-legged Santa.  I'm not sure where he came from, or why he only has one leg, but every single year, hanging the one-legged Santa becomes the biggest point of contention among our kids.  This year, they decided to play "rock/paper/scissors" as a diplomatic way to decide who would get the honor...

 The first round began, and Becca eliminated her brother...

 Then during the final round, Caleb tried coaxing me into giving it to him while his sisters were battling it out.

 

Ultimately, Becca won, and she proudly hung the favorite family ornament this year.

























All of that may seem silly or trivial to those looking in from the outside.  But it is just a small glimpse into a tiny sliver of the vast storehouse of traditions and memories that make up the bonds of love shared by our family.

Erma Bombeck once wrote, “The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.”   Jeff, Sarah, Becca, Caleb, and now Ryan, compose my little band of characters.  Each one of us brings our own uniqueness and individuality to the group, and it just wouldn't be the same without the quirkiness of each one. Our little band will likely grow in the future, and we will gladly assimilate the new characters into the fabric of our family.  But today, I am thankful for these five - the people I love most in this world.

In a few minutes - or hours for a couple of us - the house will once again be bustling with activity, laughter, and some good-natured bickering.  And I will relish every moment.  Thankful doesn't even begin to cover it.