Thankful on this November day...

Once again, I have wandered far from my little blog, and it has missed me, so today I have come back to visit it and leave news of my fun weekend on its wall. I think this will make up for my absence. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving day! I wasn't really sure what to expect for my Thanksgiving, my family never does too much for it, and we don't have much of an extended family. So, I waited in anticipation for the things I knew always accompanied an enjoyable an festive Thanksgiving; the Macy's parade, pumpkin pie, and the setting up of our CHRISTMAS TREE! Actually, that last one is a tradition I have been trying to incorporate into my family's festivities for years, but until yesterday, had not yet caught on.
So what did I do about it this year? Started hounding my parents early. Letting them know back in September how I couldn't wait to set up our tree on Thanksgiving day. But when I woke up yesterday morning my dad said, nope. we will not be setting up the tree. theres no way to get to it through our crowded garage. we'll do it later. That's when I took matters into my own hands and went out there to do it myself. And look now!:

It's so beautiful! Now it just needs its decorations...

Whilst exploring through the abyss that is our garage, I came across treasures that I haven't seen in years! Lo and behold, behind the Christmas boxes, behind the tree, I find a shelf with boxes on it with the word BOOKS written across them. Now, if you know me, you know this is a chance I just cannot pass up. I opened the boxes and it was like a flashback...all the stories I grew up on and adored as a little girl were hidden in those boxes. I remembered each and every one of them. I found books that I have been looking for forever, such as....



Little House on the Prairie!

...and my beloved Shel Silverstein poem books.


But the biggest treasure of all was a copy of the wizard of oz that my mom received from her mom, my grammy, over 30 years ago. My mom has been talking about this book for a long time, and how my grammy had written an inscription in it for her (another love of mine). However, she figured this book was long gone by now, given or thrown away. Whenever she would spot the wizard of oz in a bookstore she would pick it up and reminisce, sad that she no longer had the special one her mother gave her. But here it is!

I am thankful for this. It could not have happened with any other perfect timing, and that is because exactly one year ago today, we lost grammy to her battle with cancer. Last year it was on Thanksgiving day. Thus, we knew it would be a difficult day. This contributed to my apprehension, but I think this was a special gift from God. When I ran into the house to show my mom, there could not have been a more grateful recipient. Both teary eyed and joyful, my mom and I got to share a special moment remembering grammy, and thankful for who she was and for the treasure that had been recovered. My mom was ten years old when she got this book. And now, once again, we know that it is safe with us. But more importantly, we have each other and our family. Grammy was always the one we spent our holidays with, and she is missed terribly. I wish she was there with us, and I wish we didn't have to let go of her so soon, but this Thanksgiving and everyday, I am thankful for her and for my beautiful family and the friends I have been blessed with.