"Feeling Gratitude And Not Expressing It Is Like Wrapping a Present and Not Giving It."-William Arthur Ward

I love Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday. I'm thankful for so many people (and things!). I'd like to express my gratitude through photos and inspiring quotes. 

Thank you to everybody who has helped me get HERE, which is the best place I've ever been.

I am thankful for my husband, George.

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." -Thornton Wilder

I'm grateful that through hard times, we have bounced back stronger. I'm grateful neither of us have quit "us" and we both can depend on the other. I'm grateful EVERY day, not just Thanksgiving, that you married me. My best friend, my soul mate. 

 I am thankful for my family. They have loved me unconditionally. They are always there. Home will always be when I walk through the front door, hear the dogs barking, and smell my mom's cooking.

My dad's laugh warms my heart like nothing else. And with each passing day, I respect my mom more than I ever have. My sister and I have the exact sense of humor, and share a sensitive heart. I love my Van Meter unit! Can't live without them.

Grateful for my late grandmother and mother. And how though we each have our own look, the resemblance is still there. Grateful for heritage.

"Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life...a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year-and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God." -Ray Stannard Baker

Proud of my sister, and thankful she adds a Master's degree to our unit of four. Way to go, Bud.

My grandparents, Mimi and GrandDad.

 I am grateful for the opportunity to see two people still giddy in love after over 50 years. 

I am grateful for our family farm.

I am thankful for my Mimi's cooking, specifically her pies, and her teaching me how to make them this year.

Thankful for handwritten recipes passed down to me. Such a beautiful way for family tradition to live on.

I am thankful for my lifelong friends, who love me with every change of season. We've each grown and changed, but our friendship is unwavering.

I'm thankful for my furbabies. They teach me unconditional love everyday.

 I am thankful that my husband and I both have jobs.

"Thank God every day when you get up that you have something to do that day which must be done whether you like it or not. Being forced to work and forced to do your best will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know." -Basil Carpenter

I am thankful I live in a state where I get to enjoy all 4 seasons. I love soaking up the summer rays, watching the leaves turn color and fall, snuggling up in winter, and being reminded of new life in spring.

Last spring, admiring new life.

Last summer at the pool.

Last week, enjoying autumn.

Last winter at the Caldwell's.

Last, but not least....

I am thankful for my Krispy Kreme, Drunken Noodles, and French Press coffee. Also known as the simpler things.

"If I have enjoyed the hospitality of the Host of this Universe, Who daily spreads a table in my sight, surely I cannot do less than acknowledge my dependence." -G.A. Johnston Ross





"If the only prayer you said in your whole

 life was, "thank you," that would

 suffice." -Meister Eckhart





xoxo,
L