Thankful. . .

Today is Thanksgiving Day. For the first time in 30 years, I'm missing the Great Gathering. OK, that's just my word for my family get-together, but I think it adequately describes what one might see. If everyone could make it to my parent's home in western Kansas, we'd have the 15 Duell siblings, 14 spouses, 46 grandkids, 3 spouses of grandkids, 5 grandkids' kids, my dad and his wife, 2 babies on the way, a few dogs and cats and a partridge in a pear tree!! Over the last few years, not everyone has been able to make it and it's always kind of a bummer when I don't get to see all my siblings. I guess this year it's my turn not to make it. I've known for the last year that I'd miss out on our family gathering, so you'd think I'd be a little more prepared for it than I feel right now. Thanksgiving is a huge deal in my family. When Kevin drove over 4 hours to western Kansas to ask my dad for my hand in marriage, my dad's only request was that Kevin bring me home every year for Thanksgiving!! (Thanks Dad. You could have made him promise to be a great husband, not be a psycho, ya know, really try to feel him out and make sure your daughter was making a good choice, but no, as long as Kevin took me home for Thanksgiving, he could marry me. . .) Anyway, almost seven years into the deal and Kevin broke his promise!! I'm hoping my dad will let it slide this year, and maybe for the next two also:)

Today, although I'm incredibly bummed about missing out on time with my family, I'm also just incredibly grateful for them. I miss every sibling. . .Doug, Fred, Elise, Chris, David, Marilyn, Sharon, Lianne, Daniel, Jane, Janette, Lori, Linda and Benjamin. I miss their families. I love hearing my family laugh and talk and tease and share stories. They aren't perfect and as with most families, ours has its own set of problems and drama, sometimes magnified because of the amount of people involved:) BUT, my family is my famliy and I love them all very much. I'm so thankful to be part of a large family. I'm so thankful for the way my parents raised us. Again, not perfectly, but they did the best they knew how and I think we all turned out OK:)

It's afternoon here. The sun is shining and I just spent some time reading by the pool. In a little over an hour, my family will all come together and share Thanksgiving dinner together at my sister's house this year. I have a date with my family tonight, a Skype date!! I'm so thankful for the internet! I'm thankful for email and Skype and blogs and yes, even Facebook. I'm so thankful for being able to connect with the people I love and people who love me.

Random note. . . for lunch today we had beans and rice and guacamole. Not exactly our normal Thanksgiving dinner. We're saving that for Sunday. Today is not a holiday here in Brazil. No, the Mayflower didn't make a stop here and the Pilgrims didn't choose this country as their new home! That being the case, Kevin had to work today, as did the other American ex-pats. So, we're having our Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday afternoon. The ex-pat couple hosting our dinner are actually Germans. We also have a Brazilian coming to do a churrasco for us. Americans, Germans, and a Brazilian enjoying Thanksgiving dinner (minus the turkey, but with a whole lot of meat!!) It's almost like the Pilgrims and Indians getting together. OK, maybe not, but we're all different and we're going to have a great time eating and being thankful together!!

Back to today. As I was sitting by the pool, I pulled out my journal and began writing a few things I was thankful for. I've done this before, but not for a very long time. It's amazing, once I get started on my list, I can't seem to stop. I have sooooo many things to be thankful for! I started with Jesus. I'm so thankful to know who he is, what he's done for me, and how much he loves me. I'm thankful that I don't have to be perfect or have it all together for him. He knows me better than I know myself and he loves me for who I am and who he's making me to be. I'm thankful for my incredible husband, the man who walks this journey of life holding my hand, not running ahead or lagging behind, but holding me close and walking each step with me. I'm thankful for our sweet and amazing daughter, who brings so much joy to our lives, who makes me laugh when I'm sad, who can make me smile just by looking at me, and who already teaches me more about the world around us. I'm thankful for my mom. Oh how I wish I could hold her hand and listen to her voice and hear her laugh. I wish I could eat some of her yummy homemade buttered rolls today. I wish I could tell I her how much I love her and spend more time with her. I'm thankful for the years we had together. I'm thankful for my dad and for his wisdom and knowledge in raising 15 children. Nope, he wasn't perfect either, but I'm more understanding now that I'm raising my own child. I'm thankful that he had us in church every Sunday, even when I didn't want to go. I'm thankful that he not only encouraged, but demanded that I get an education and marry a good and honest man. I'm thankful for the years we've had together also. I'm thankful for my brothers and sisters and for their families. I'm thankful for my in-laws as well. I'm thankful for my mother- and father-in-law, for loving me as if I was their daughter, for welcoming me into their family and really blessing my marriage to their son. I'm thankful for the amazing girlfriends I have, from my time in Goodland, Manhattan, Ottumwa and now Horizontina. I'm grateful for the girls who challenge me to be a better sister, wife, mother, daughter and friend. I'm thankful for the ones who don't let me stay the way I am, but encourage me to grow and mature. I'm thankful for the road God took me down, for saving me from the road I was on several years ago. I'm thankful for forgiveness from God and from people, knowing full well I need a lot from both. I'm thankful for my health and for those who challenge me to be healthier. I'm thankful for the sun today and for the rain yesterday. I'm thankful for being born and raised in the United States, but for having the opportunity to live and experience another culture and country. I'm thankful for the people in my life who have been perfectly placed so as to help mold me into the woman God wants me to be, knowing I'm still in process. Today, I'm just really really thankful.

Emma with my dad last year

Emma with Kevin's parents last year