with Thanksgiving.

It has been a while. Can you believe we still have this lingering sickness in our home! It is so unlike us. When I read of other families bouts I am always so very thankful for our well being. It is hard this year for us though. My big girl is sleeping peacefully beside me. The sound of the water boiling on the big enamel pot on the top of the woodstove is lulling me to sleep as well. And its not even 11! It has been a busy few days.
My Mom is home from over a months trip to Seattle. My baby sister labored beautiful and naturally and we welcomed a perfect little niece into our family. We are so blessed. But she is so very far away.
It seems the winter months bring us in closer. Literally they drive us closer, under quilts and near the wood heat in this big old, sometimes very chilly, New England farmhouse of ours. But also in a way that spurs our minds to those we love the most. Maybe the cold North wind whistling outside helps to drift our minds to that place. Perhaps its the countdown to the Thanksgiving feast, the days filled with so much talk of blessings and Thanksgiving. And then the table finally set, the heaping bowls of bounty.. and the closeness of those we love. My mind travels to those who are missing. Those who have passed, who had given the meals blessing in years gone by. Those who are far from us, that we can only reach with a telephone call. Empty chairs that our heart yearns to be filled.
It helps us to recognize the things in life that we are truly thankful for. Its not the fancy car that fills us up, or the high paying job, or the Black Friday sales. It is health and wellness to those we cherish the most, it is warmth and a roof. It is the heaping pile of mashed potatoes that warm our bellies. It is the calm voice of the Father as he bows his head over the meal. It is the gift of new birth. A first child and a life stretched before her. It is the heart that binds us together. And a heavenly Father who cares for us all.
We are so incredibly blessed this Thanksgiving season. I sit in peace and breathe in the good gifts of this season and the hope of many to come.

Wishing you wellness and warmth,
Miss

ps. Thankful for our sweet May hens, that are beginning to fill our breakfast table with rich delish eggs!