I love family traditions. I have seen a lot of posts lately about Christmas and Chanukah traditions and I was wondering....have we gone the way of the world and jumped straight from Halloween into Christmas? I used to love waiting for the Christmas lights to go up across Wilshire Blvd and Hollywood Blvd for the Hollywood Lane Parade when I was small. I loved the store windows filled with elves and various snow scenes (being in So Cal. I loved the snow scenes, being born in Canada, I missed the snow). But what I remembered most is enjoying those things after Thanksgiving.

 Does anyone have any Thanksgiving Traditions?

I love making Turkeys from Hand prints and seeing how much the children have grown. I love making leaf rubbings and having the grandchildren write the things they are thankful for on them and making a thankful tree. I love looking up scriptures that say Give thanks to the Lord and actually doing that. I love starting our Thanksgiving meal with Five Kernels of Corn on our plates remembering what the Pilgrims endured, how God sustained them and the richness God has bestowed on us because of their faith and endurance. I love the plays, the Turkey Hokey Pokey and The Indians that share our meal with us. (Okay, so they are from India, but the Grandkids love having Thanksgiving with Indians :)

 And the thing I really miss is having a houseful of single GI's. For twenty years Mike would bring home every Airman on his flight and in the barracks for Thanksgiving. Sometimes it would be Thanksgiving Breakfast, sometimes lunch and on those very rare moments when they actually had Thanksgiving off, Thanksgiving Dinner. A time or two it actually followed a swing shift, Turkey at Midnight and wired children! . But no matter what time it was, there is nothing like a room full of Airmen who miss their families and love playing with your kids while you cook dinner. (Christmas would repeat the same events only less Airmen because they would offer to work so the families could spend the day together and trade them for New Years) I miss being a Military wife during the Holidays!

Okay, So I have shown my true colors....I love Thanksgiving! What are your family traditions? What will your children take to their homes when they are grown?

Happy Thanksgiving!