November 25: Happy Thanksgiving!

Heaveno!

Well, First Big Holiday without Bella out of the way!  YAY!  We actually did pretty well!  We did something different than last year.  Last year was our first Thanksgiving dinner as just our family of four.  Man, am I glad we did that since it was the only one we got to experience together just like that.  This year, we went to Ali and Bella's Great Grandparents' house.  We've been there before for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas dinner, but not in a few years.  It was nice to be back.  Mickie and Morris were great hosts, and we have really enjoyed reconnecting with them since coming back to CA (we stayed with them two weeks ago for the LA film premiere and conference).



The times that hit hard today were simply when I would walk by a picture of Bella.  The picture would literally stop me in my tracks.  At one point, I stopped and started having a conversation out loud with Bella.  I was alone in our bedroom, and felt safe talking out loud, and you know what?  It felt great!  Ang has started journaling to Bella, so in our own ways, each of us is staying connected and in communication with Bella.  That feels so good to do.



Aside from that, mommy made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, and Ali and mommy made meringue cookies for dessert tonight.  I did a little vacuuming and a little song writing, and I hit the trails on my mountain bike for the first time in easily a year!  Man was that fun!  Man am I out of shape!  LOL.  Ali also got a little time on her bike today as well!  I will be either running, biking, or doing leg exercises of some sort at least 6 days a week for the next 3 weeks to prepare for our Christmas trip...





We are meeting my sister Tracy and her entire family (all the way from Spain) at my mom's place outside of Durango Colorado.  I can't wait!  Tracy has two darling sons and a great husband who smokes me at guitar all day long.  We are all going to go skiing together on one day, and that day will check off one of my life's list items... to ski out west.  I grew up in Southwestern CT and the skiing in the east - particularly in CT, MA, and lower NY, is pretty modest to say the least.  Skiing in northern NY, VT and NH is pretty cool, but from what I've heard, it just doesn't compare.  So fun abounds in 4 weeks!  I need to be ready!






















To finish, I know we all reflect on what we are thankful for today, like it's a special occasion.  This is how I pray daily.  My prayer list is a gratitude list, not a request list.  This is what works for me, and it leaves me starting and ending the day present to what is good and right in the world, and has me start and end each and every day in a state of thanksgiving.  It's like I book end my day in gratitude, and that has been a great way to keep my life and the events in it in perspective.





Now, having blurted all that out, I give special thanks to God for granting us the wonder-kids:  Ali and Bella.  What a treat.  I thank GOD for my wife Angelique.  I give thanks for "The Three Fs:"  In no particular order, they are:

Friends
Family
Faith

If you have those, you can celebrate Thanksgiving 365 days a year.

What challenge are you thankful for this year?

God night.




This picture is from the Lone Thanksgiving we spent together at home 1 year ago.