Thanksgiving pictures!

Here are some of our Thanksgiving night pictures...  :)

Amanda, Lawrence, Preston (back row), Traci, Dakota and Clara (front row)

Dakota...minus all of his hair.  :(

Dakota with Doris Ann...and the quilt that she made him when he was born.

Giving Thanks

391 years ago, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.  390 years ago, the remaining Pilgrims who had survived the first winter in America ,celebrated the first Thanksgiving.  My 10th-Great Grandparents were on the Mayflower, as well as my 9th-Great Grandfather (their young son).  His parents did not survive the first winter, and the young boy was raised by his Uncle (his father's brother).  Young Samuel Fuller (parents were Edward and Anna Fuller) grew up and married Jane Lathrop...their daughter Hannah married Nicholas Bonham in 1659...their son Hezekiah married Ann Hunt... their son Nehemiah married Elizabeth Martin... their son Benjamen married Phoebe Oney... their son Smith Bonham married Anne Cleavenger in 1807... their daughter Rachel married James Rosan in 1839.... their son Smith Rosan married Mary Mathis on July 4, 1870 in Perry County, IL.  Their son John Preston Rosan married Clara Belle Lively in 1899.  Their daughter Flossine married Arthur Carlisle in 1930...their daughter Clara married Lawrence Trill in 1969...and then there's me.  :)

Today I am thankful for (in no particular order) a house to live in, a job that pays me, the unconditional love of my furry babies, each and every one of my friends (who are scattered from coast to coast), food to eat, a car to drive, the creativity and talents of songwriters and musicians to listen to, the stories that authors put into books for me to read, my church, clothes to wear, dad's garden to harvest, all of my friend's kids (all my pretend nieces and nephews), my Sunday School kids.  I am grateful to live in a country where I can express such thanks for these mentioned things.  I am grateful for those who have fought over the centuries to keep this country a place where we can rejoice and give thanks.  I am thankful for all of my family (past, present and future).  I am thankful that I was raised to love my family, love God, be respectful of others, believe in myself, and to know that giving is better than receiving.  Thank you to my ancestors for instilling the importance of family for generation after generation...and to whichever one of them planted the genealogy bug in me.  I have always felt it is very important to know who you are and where you came from. 

I come from the Mayflower...that small group of people who wanted to serve God in their own way and not have a list of rules telling them how and when to worship.  They were brave men and women to have made that journey for something they believed in.  I am grateful for them.

I read that upon landing at Plymouth Rock, William Brewster led the Pilgrims with a reading of Psalm 100.  I will close this blog with it...

Psalm 100
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness,
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God.
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good,
His lovingkindness is everlasting,
And His faithfulness to all generations.

Smith and Mary (Mathis) Rosan

Grandma in her kitchen...this might have been a Thanksgiving.



Flossine and Clara Belle (Lively) Rosan

The most wonderful time of the year...

So.  I have had Christmas on my brain for several months now.  I usually start my gift-giving spreadsheet in September.  You know...just to be sure I have a handle on things.  In past years, that has been good...and bad.  While it's nice when I'm trying to figure out what I have already bought for someone...or need an idea of who's left to buy for...it's also bad because it has a tendency to make me miss things.  Like...the things leading up to Christmas, and sometimes, Christmas itself.

It's the camera theory.  For instance...when I go to concerts, I take a lot of pictures.  In doing so, I watch the show through my camera.  By doing THAT, I miss a lot.  I only see small details all night...and not the big picture...or in this case, the big stage.  I have just realized that my gift spreadsheet makes me see the small details of the Christmas holiday...and not the big picture.  The fun, the excitement, the laughter and smiles.

With all of that said...last weekend I went to a show.  The Oaks' Christmas show.  This is their 21st year of doing a Christmas tour.  The first one I saw was two years after they started doing them.  I have seen the Christmas tour in Nashville TN, Branson MO, Evansville IN, Effingham IL, St. Louis MO, Carbondale IL, and now most recently Paducah KY.  I am usually close to the stage for these shows...but this time I was in the balcony.  By being in the balcony, I was able to actually watch the show.  All of it...everyone at once.  It was nice.  :)  Here is what my view looked like (complete with the fake snow!)...

Then along came Santa...

And they did something new this year.  Cracker Barrel is sponsoring this Christmas tour...and they also provided the new set.  Complete with Cracker Barrel rocking chairs.  :)

The next morning...I got up and drove to Vincennes, IN.  I hadn't been over there since the end of June, so it was overdue.  Miss Malea was the first person to be completed on my Christmas list this year.  So we went ahead and had an early Christmas on Saturday night...in our pjs.  Made me realize that I need some cute pjs for roadtrips.  ha ha.  Here are some pics from the trip...

Malea loved looking at my Dakota pictures.  She went through the album from cover to cover, several times.  She got to one of dad and Dakota...  "Is that his daddy?"  "No, that's his Grandpa, but he calls him Pop."  "It's his grandpa."  "Yes."  Then she look the album into the living room.  She got to the picture of dad and Dakota again... "Is that his own Santa?"  I burst out laughing.  Sean told her to go into the kitchen and tell Mommy who was in the picture.  Malea took the album into the kitchen where Sequel was.  I followed her in there.  Sequel asked, "Who is that in the picture?"  "It's Pop."  HA HA!  I'm convinced she knew what she was doing, and just wanted us to feel stupid.  :)

Opening presents in our pjs...

Took this one to maybe be a Christmas photo for them this year...  I had to crop one of the dogs out.  ha ha!

Now it's sleepy time for me.  These photos have taken a long time to upload...and I'm exhausted.  Lincoln and I have had the sleep-in countdown this week.  Tomorrow's the big day!  The first of three, anyway.  Woo hoo!  We are excited to not have to listen for the alarm in the morning.  Goodnight world...





Pumpkins

I love Fall.  At least when the temperatures dip down into the 40's and there's a clean, crisp breeze in the air.  The leaves turn pretty colors, fall of the trees, and then dance across the yard.  That's a true Fall.  I'm still waiting on it.  Here in Southern Illinois (noooo....NOT Chicago), we've had the colors...and most of the leaves have fallen and done lots of dancing.  However, the temps are not cooperating.  This week has been better, but for the most part, so far, we've continued to be in the 70's during the daylight hours.  So to me, this is not really Fall.

With Fall...there are pumpkins.  Lots of 'em.  I love anything pumpkin.  Pumpkin candles, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin pound cake (yep...already had one from the Kroger deli!), etc.  The current kitchen item is a pumpkin spice bread pudding cake (also from the Kroger deli).  It is okay...a little dry and not enough pumpkin taste for me.  But add some coolwhip on top...and it works.  :)

Another pumpkin in my life is my cat. His real name is Lincoln...but my dad tends to call him Pumpkin.  I'd like to say it's strictly because of the color of his fur.  However, my dad also likes to tease him for being "fat."  Lincoln is not fat...he is big boned.  =^..^=  At any rate, this particular "pumpkin" is my favorite.  He's my buddy and my favorite boy.  That's what I tell him all the time.  I feel bad (a lot) that he and I don't have our own place yet.  That he has to share his space and time with five other cats and a dog.  He's not thrilled about it, but he deals with it.

So...that's all that's on my brain at the moment.  I thought I'd keep it simple for the first blog.  Nothing too crazy.  :)

Happy Wednesday!