Still Giving Thanks...

 I'm back now--at last!--having just completed the first month of one of the MOST stringent diets a doctor has EVER put me on, a "cleansing" program, and double antibiotic therapy for H. Pylori, (the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers).

So, how was my Thanksgiving?? Difficult, but blessed! Despite being "under the weather", I gave thanks for so much...the family that gathered around our table, being out of bed finally two days in a row, the turkey and veggies that I got to eat! 

Highlights of the day were: 

-Butternut squash (the BEST thing I'd tasted in weeks!!)

-Decorating and setting the table, in a room humming with Chris's joyful bagpipe tunes (I thought I'd been transported to the "harvest festival" setting from a period movie!)

Our stone fireplace was aglow. Family gathered to play games. The girls went out to"ride", and were surprised by the first few flakes of an early snow! Cousins who traveled from Colorado treated us in the evening, to an intimate "mini concert" of vocals, mandolin, and, yes, those bagpipes! 

Marking a year in our cozy country home... 

God's faithful provision and protection during an avalanche of recent difficulties...

the many blessings that constantly surround us... 

were thoughts that warmed our day 

and filled my heart with gratitude. 

We're back to school for a few weeks now.  I appear to be on the mend. Cool weather is refreshing us at last.  Sights and smells surround us with holiday cheer. 

Joy and thankfulness resonate among us, 

as we enter the Christmas season!