"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. - James 1:17

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  All five of our children were with us.  Now that 2 of them are in their twenties, it reminds me that we might not have the opportunity to have all of them with us every Thanksgiving much longer.  I treasure these times.  I'm grateful that family means so much to our children and that they will always try to be in touch during the holidays, but I know they won't always be able to be here.  It's a sad thought, but realistic.  After all, they're growing up, as they should, and making their own lives, as they should.  :::sigh:::

Dinner was very good, and I was blessed to have a lot of help from the kids, so I was able to relax a bit.  Ralph was on call, which was a bit stressful, but he wasn't called in, thankfully.  The joke was, they can have you before dinner or after dinner, but when that turkey hits the table, you're mine!  LOL

I was diagnosed with early onset diabetes a couple of months ago, so I modified dinner a bit.  We skipped the traditional cranberry sauce in favor of cranberry-apple jelly, which has a lot less sugar.  Aside from using stevia to sweeten foods instead of sugar, and using a multigrain mix for the pie crust, everything else was pretty much normal, although I did miss being able to have some apple cider.

Saw my homeopath today (we're treating the diabetes with diet, exercise, and a ton of supplements), and both he and my nutritionist are thrilled with my progress.  My blood sugar numbers are down well over 100 pts. since my diagnosis.  I'm about 3/4 of the way to my goal.  Also have lost 12 lbs. in the process, so I'm a happy camper.  Am able to slightly modify my diet now (occasionally), so it's a little less strict.  Will make the holiday season a whole lot easier.

Holiday shopping (we celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas) and shopping for our youngest son's birthday is done except for a few gift cards (gas, restaurant, department store) for the older kids and a friend and cookie/fruit platters for our doctors.  Packages will go out Monday or Tuesday and cards the next week.  Decorating next weekend and the tree and a holiday party with friends the weekend after that.   Lord willing, things will run smoothly.  With my DH having to work overtime for another couple of weeks, it will help keep the Advent season peaceful and relaxed.  I hate when it gets people nuts;  that's not what it's all about.

More soon...