Let The Festivities Begin!

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of a wonderful time of year – The Holiday’s. Even though there are holidays throughout the year, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s seem to be the most celebrated and most important of them all. It’s a time to give thanks for what we’ve been given, a time to rejoice in the Lord’s birth, and a time to celebrate the closing of one year and the beginning of another. There’s one factor in all of these that is the same and that’s FAMILY. Family is such an important thing now and during the rest of the year. I remember this time last year, I was working at  Westglow, and was hating my job due to the fact I had to work on Thanksgiving. My parents and brother made the trek to New Jersey to visit family and friends while Shane and I had to stay here all because I had to work. Shane spent Thanksgiving going to co-workers house while I cleaned up after many grateful members at the spa – and there were those not so grateful people too. (Did I mention how much I hated my job??) I cooked my Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday so that I could enjoy it with my family. We had a wonderful time together just sitting around the fire and eating way too much food! This year is a complete 180! There is a new member of the family, too much drama, and a missing person. As we celebrated Chloe’s first Thanksgiving, we were missing a very important link to our family chain. It was more than difficult … it was almost impossible to enjoy the day I prepared a huge spread that almost didn’t fit on the table – but didn’t have my best friend here to help. Shane tried his hardest, as well as Dad and Kile, but I didn’t want their help. I wanted Mom’s help …

Thanksgiving has always been a very important day to our family. Growing up, we would always make our rounds to family and friends house and totally eat too much! It wasn’t until they started going to the beach for the week did we spend the day apart. Over the past few years, I have come to the realization that not all families are like mine. Not everyone will do anything to spend the day with family during the holidays. As Chloe grows up, I want to instill in her the importance of family. I want her to see how important family is to everyday life! I want her to enjoy being with her family. Laughing and playing games with the ones you love during the most wonderful time of the year. I want her to love being around those who love her most. I hope and pray that she values and cherishes every second that she is with those who will never stop loving her – FAMILY!