Thanksgiving Surprise

My Thanksgiving Day...what a surprise!

I thought today would go exactly as planned. 

We went to serve the homeless with Our Calling and wow, I was blessed. 

As always, there is a comedy of errors involved as I prepared for the day. I counted out the plates, remember the number of plates I was to pack is what I set the table with daily... not a big deal, Right??? Well definitely not so. I miss counted and only brought 6! Really, Wendi??  So grateful for a friend that packed an extra 2 plates and it actually looked like it was planned that way! We have 2 goblets that didn't match the other 6 as well. So it all worked out. We sat and waited... next year we will definitely host a table by ourselves. We invited my best friend and her daughter at the last minute because, they were alone this Thanksgiving. Her hubby is serving in the North East accessing the damage and doing insurance claims. We were so blessed to serve a sweet single parent family with 7 kids. 

When we finished, with a deep breath we headed to my grandmother's house for my family Thanksgiving! I'm standing outside of the house, waiting for my friend to catch-up when my walks out and I feel almost is if she is hurrying me inside.  When I walk in, I see my Daddy, my hubby talking, my Papa and brother on the couch and then as I scan to the left, what a HUGE surprise! 

My cousin, Bill and I... 

Even now, I have tears in my eyes. My cousin Bill, a little piece of my Dedaw and holidays past.  We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving with 20+ people at my Memaw's house. One thing I love about most of the Holiday's that we celebrate with my family is that we open our doors to our friends and neighbors who don't have a place to eat with 'family'. 

 

Family is more than the blood that runs through your veins. 

It is the love you share for a person's soul. 

It isn't what they can do for you, 

but it's the bond you have that will live between the two of you.

So we had a GREAT food and I even had a fabulous Dressing that soon to be sis-in-love made... 

Cornbread-Sage Dressing

Serves 8 as a side dish

3 TBSP Butter

1 large onion, diced

3 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1 9x13 day old GLUTEN-FREE cornbread, crumbled into small chunks (see notes below)

2 TBSP of dried sage

1 cup vegetable broth (or more for taste)

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions and celery, saute until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, toss together cornbread and sage. Add the onion and celery mixture and toss until well combined. Add enough vegetable broth to moisten the cornbread, about 1 cup. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish, cover (aluminum foil if the dish doesn't have a lid), and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until heated through and top begins to brown. 

Note: If you do not have time to let the cornbread sit out for a day, then crumble it up, place it on a sheet pan, and bake it at 250F for about 20-30 minutes until it dries out. 

It was soooo good!!!

So we had a wonderful time catching up. We also began the Christmas Holidays by decorating the outside of Memaw's house for her... so much fun! 

  Lot's of Laughter too...

and then... God blessed us with beautiful scenery!

I 

Love

Living a Blessed life!

When you think of Thanksgiving, what do you think of? 

Food

Family 

Nature Changing

Is it the things you value the most

The things or people you miss the most? 

Are you happy or sad? 

Does the thought of being with your family make you anxious? 

I would start planning for Thanksgiving in September in years past. I LOVE spending time with my family and friends. I love the kick-off of Fall because, it means baking and food and family time with the people who mean the most to me. In that same breath, I would have to admit that it also brings grief and tears. Thanksgiving was the last holiday we spent as a 'whole family' with my grandfather and at the farm. We have neither of these today. 

I love this man, my Dedaw. 

This is what I see in my minds eye, when I think of the holidays. This is my family so many years ago and yes that is me on the right waving at the camera. 

I am a BLESSED woman. I have so many years of memories with each of these people. My great-grandmothers (the two older women on the right), what wisdom they hold. My Aunts and Uncles, grandparents, cousins and ALL my extended family. 

The farm was a place where I got to know these people, learned to shoot, fish, hunt, bake, put puzzles together, play Rummicube, heard stories from generations after generations and learned to love in a way that many do not understand and learned the love of our Lord and Savior through years of wisdom. These people have all endured life harder than you and I could imagine. Oh how I strive to live a life that matters and would make each of these people proud. 

So, why has Thanksgiving changed this year for me? I'd like to know the same thing. :) 

Maybe it's that eating isn't as much fun anymore and it's just flat harder to cook. Maybe it's that all the kids are gone. Maybe it's that my precious hubby and I are going to serve Thanksgiving to those less fortunate this year instead of eating with family, or maybe it's that life is so different now. I live a life today that is so different than in years past. I use to only dream of being loved and cherished in a way that I am today. I use to only dream of living a life as blessed as I do today. I use to dream that some day I would be something, worth something to somebody. The funny part is I always was something to someone...just not to me. It didn't have to do so much with the people around me, but the way I saw myself. Yes, I had a biological father who walked away. Yes, I chose to be involved with guys who reinforced the lack of self-confidence. I chose not to pursue my goals. What is different today? Honestly, I was shown who I am, my value and the potential I possess therefore, others see my value and potential! It wasn't that my immediate family didn't instill my value or build me up... because, they loved me in an amazing way and told me how precious I was/am. They told me how smart I was/am. I just heard a small voice that told me all the bad and as I began to hit walls in school and with people, I began to believe it! 

Today, I am setting goals and reaching them. I am living a life with challenges that I hear people daily say, "I do not know how you do it". Between health issues, being a StepMom and Mom to 6, a wife, student, creating a new career, volunteering in our community both in our church and politically I am a busy woman. But as one of our 8th grade students in our Sunday School Class recently pointed out, when you put Jesus first, Others second and then Yourself, you can't help but live a life full of JOY and thanksgiving. 

So maybe it's just that this Thanksgiving is no different that any other day of this year!

Praying that you will find a daily life filled with Thanksgiving and Pure Joy. 

Soon after my last post, my darling hubby and I noticed there had been a vast change in my physical health. I was exhausted all of the time and sleeping during the day out of physical necessity. After allowing it to progress for several months with other symptoms, I went to the doctor under protest. I did see a natural doctor in hopes to avoid medicines. It was cut and dry, he diagnosed me with fibromyailgia, chronic fatigue, hypothyroidism, and a chronic carrier of the mono virus. That was a lot to swallow and then he said..."I want you to cut gluten out of your diet completely. Start the Paleo diet I want you to add x# of vitamins to your diet (making it 27 vitamins I was going to be taking) and I want to add a thyroid medicine." Walking out of that office all I wanted to do was cry and go to sleep. I did do that for several days. I was overwhelmed by the life style change. Now it is 7 months later and I have to say things are looking MUCH brighter. I am still gluten-free. When I have gluten, I will literally shut down. My body stops working. I am not on the thyroid medicine anymore and I do watch my diet carefully as to how I respond to food and environment. I definitely keep my stress level down as much as possible as well. I also watch my activity level though too. 

I have not allowed this new lifestyle to change who I am or what I want for our future. I am at the end of my education requirements for my real estate license. I completed the majority of my classes online, self-paced in a month. I completed a designation course at the beginning of this month and will hopefully complete the last course and the national and state exams. I REFUSE to change my goals because, my body is changing. 

Somethings that are awesome... 

Tropical Traditions Expeller-Pressed Coconut Oil. I use it for just about EVERYTHING. I use it for conditioner in my hair (on the ends not at the crown), hand cream, face moisturizer, lip conditioner, cooking oil and So much more. 

Baking Soda- This stuff is amazing!!! I had an oil spot on a brand new sweater and a brand new blouse... ARGH! Right??? Ok, so I sprinkled some baking soda on top of the spot with a little bit of liquid detergent making a paste and rubbed it in and then threw them in the wash and ohhh yeah, baby!!! 

Grape Seed Oil- I use this for high heat cooking, scars and so much more. This oil provides a wonderful flavor to whatever you eat. It doesn't take a lot and it is so healthy! 

Guys, your health is precious and so easy to take care of!!! Enjoy!