It's been long enough that I can't actually remember the last time we took our Thanksgiving holiday on the road.
But this particular year our youngest nephew/cousin on the Brown side was set to be baptized on Thanksgiving Day.
Traveling long distances with my three kiddos is so much easier now.
Gone are the days of car seats, sippy cups, blankies, binkies and reaching my arm into the back seats in the most obscure ways to satisfy the tiny travelers with fishy crackers and fruit snacks. Now they pacify themselves with naps, music, movies and good 'ol conversation. (It's true we have to intervene as referees on occasion here) But for the most part it's smooth sailing.
I'm definitely the most restless of the passengers now but my awesome driver keeps me happy with m&m's and hand holding.
We made it to Peter's baptism by the skin of our teeth, screeching in on two wheels. WHEW!
But I love to get these cousins together.
It really is fun to see these guys interact and play and hang out and enjoy their family. It's my favorite!
Brent's little sister and her husband were the hostesses with the most-esses.
It was great to be in the kitchen with my sisters in law and chat and catch up and laugh as we put the finishing touches on our Thanksgiving feast. The food was plentiful and delicious but I must say it was a beautiful thing to combine the sweetness and the importance of the baptism with the deep feeling of gratitude that fills the heart on Thanksgiving day.
I found this something significant to ponder...
"Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend. When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that is present - love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us happiness - the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth." (Sarah Ban Breathnach)
When I look at these three blessings I choose to tend more carefully to THIS secret garden. Along with my sweetheart, they are the abundance in my life.
They are my heaven on earth.
(at the LA temple grounds)
And the temples make it possible for the gardens of this earthly life to continue to flourish eternally.
