Thanksgiving, 2008...

Thanksgiving day is upon us and I relish the memories of Thanksgivings past. Childhood memories include close family and friends gathering around a groaning table in my parents home on 26th Street in Santa Monica. Mom would always go "all out" for Thanksgiving. Her turkey was always cooked to perfection and stuffed with her own blend of herbs and spices and yummy bread crumbs. She would make her own cranberry sauce to go with the turkey. Every meal included creamy mashed potatoes and giblet turkey gravy, candied yams that only she could bake, creamed cauliflower and delicious green beans. There was always a salad served with her homemade French dressing and a jello salad filled with crispy celery and apples and other good things. The best part of each meal and the family hit was her delicious homemade rolls, which have become a family tradition, carried on by 2 of my daughters. At the end of every meal there was always a choice of either pumpkin pie or banana cream (that being my brother's favorite). We ususally didn't have room for dessert right after dinner -- we enjoyed that later in the evening.

Every meal began with a family prayer, kneeling beside our chairs as my dad offered his heartfelt prayer of thanks for family, friends, blessings and gratitude.

Those are the memories I treasure. They followed even to St. George and even in our own homes with our own families as the years flowed by. The Thanksgiving tradition, which began when Abraham Lincoln declared that the 4th Thursday in November should be set aside to give thanks for our bountious blessings is one which lifts me, personally, and brings a spirit of gratitude to begin this wonderful holiday season.

Here is a poem I wrote several years ago for you to enjoy -- yet again!

THANKSGIVING

I look to Heaven above and give thanks...
For blessings I am unable to number.

I am thankful for God's hands
Which hold us when we are down.
For His watchful eye
That keeps us out of harms way.

I am thankful for God's spirit
Which urges us on when we lose our way.
And for His patience
When we just can't seem "to get it right."

I am thankful for God's arms
That enfold us when life is too hard.
For His love
That comforts us when we are in need of love.

I am thankful for my life!
The hills and valleys,
The good days and bad.
God gave this life to me
And I shall ever praise Him.

In the words of President Thomas S. Monson, from this past October Conference, "Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows... Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings... Despite the changes which come into our lives and with gratitude in our hearts, may we fill our days -- as much as we can -- with those things which matter most. May we cherish those we hold dear and express our love to them in word and in deed."

God bless each and every one of you and may your Thanksgiving be one that will live long in your memories. I send you all my love and admiration for the kind of lives you have chosen to live and am grateful to call you "my family!"