Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by Christina 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! The blessings that our wonderful Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us are more than number! May we always live a life of thanksgiving that radiates a bit of who God is and points others to Him. Sometimes we may tend to think of  life wondering if God cares for mankind.. Oh, but it is so comforting looking at all the tiny, meticulous detail that God displays in the universe...from within the Milky Way, to the most elegant, one-of-a-kind snowflake, to a single individual amongst the bigness of life... And I think to myself "How can He help but care?!" There is much to be thankful for!

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Here are some of our highlights about this past Thanksgiving. Enjoy:)

"Before a trip, you gotta' make sure ya' run well!"
Papa and Caleb changing the oil.

We were able to get a really early start for Grandpapa and Grandmama's
which makes for some tired, but also energetic people! 

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Tennessee has played a very important role in my parents' lives since it was the place where Mama made some fond childhood memories. It is also the place where Papa was stationed as a young sailor, where Papa and Mama met, where they got engaged, and where they got married.

TENNESSEE, HERE WE COME!!

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 Once we arrived in Memphis, Papa took us to some "special highlight" places including...

...Where Papa was stationed...
This is a sign by the naval base that Papa was stationed at when he met Mama. Papa was able to give us a tour, which was exciting!

"Anchors away, my boy! Anchors away..."

...Where Papa and Mama got engaged...
This is the street (now a nature trail in a park) that Papa proposed to Mama on...
Aren't they such a sweet couple?!

We were all able to get out of the car, stretch our legs, and take in the beauty of this park. And, of course, a photographer can't help but capture some more cherished memories:)

What a picture of the kind of relationship a child of The King should have with his Heavenly Father!

(Clockwise) Charity, Sarah, Carolyn, and Amanda holding some colorful, autumn leaves they collected along the way! 

Around the exact spot where Papa proposed to Mama 25 years ago! And she still says "YES!!!"

The Mr. And Mrs. Ron Linzey Family!
(At the entrance of the park. This, also, just so happens to be the same park that Mama's mother and her family would drive through on Sunday afternoons for family picnics or just afternoon "get-aways" when Mama's mother was young!)
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We arrived at Mama's folks' house the day of Thanksgiving, but celebrated the next day.

Charity and the "favorite aunt", as she is known by, making an evening snack:) 

                                Grandmama and Anna             Of course, there's gotta' be the "tast-tester"

 Daniel made himself right at home:)

A round of night-time Dodge Ball

Our little princess, Amanda:)

Grandpapa and Laura playing checkers, with an "overseer" in the background. 
Was that a good move, Abigail...?

...Amanda's approval of the move:)

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Happy Thanksgiving!!! And boy, did it taste delicious!

Sweet potato pie

 And you can't have the pie unless you have the sweet potato casserole!

                           Getting ready for the big meal!          Grandmama made Grandpapa's favorite pie


Along with the meal, you've gott'a make the time for the exercise:)
Getting warmed up for another round of Dodge Ball!

One your mark...!

Get set...!

GO!!!!

Joanna and Laura involved in a round of checkers..

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Right before the meal, we had a time of prayer and Anna played "The LORD's prayer" on her violin.


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The first Thanksgiving was one of heartfelt gratitude for what the LORD had done for the pilgrims in bringing them to a land where they could freely live a life of worship and praise to God. Yes, they still went through some hard, cold, and difficult times, but that did not stop them from going boldly before the Throne of Grace. They acknowledged their utmost dependance on Him  and gratefully thanked Him for what He had done and was doing on their behalf. Recognizing the fact that we are the fruit of their labor of sacrifice, diligence, determination, and concern for their country, let us turn back to that same kind of heart of love towards God and willingness to sacrifice so that we can continue to grow and prosper in the plentiful blessings that God has allowed us to partake of.

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The Meal!

Group #1

Group #2

Group #3

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And now for a game of "Fishbowl"!!! 

(If you'd like to learn how to play this game, look at the bottom of this post!)
Aunt Rhoda prepared to start the game:) 
                             
Anna waiting for the game to begin:)               Aunt Rhoda (timing) and Uncle Titus (the "actor")

      Laura steadily relaying to her team the "message":)                       Josiah's turn!

You're being timed...so hurry!!!

              Aunt Rhoda                     Uncle Titus probably trying to get Charity to say "that word" again! 

It was definitely one hilarious game!

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After the fun activities, we all gathered for a sing and Bible time. Grandpapa played his guitar, Aunt Rhoda played her banjo, and Anna played her violin. It was wonderful!


Singin' "There's a Light in the Window"...a long-time favorite:)

Carolyn and Joseph

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WAR EAGLE!!!
Charity made "Aunt RoRo" a plaque that all of us signed representing Auburn football in the Alabama vs. Auburn football game, entitled the Iron Bowl. Needless to say, this year Auburn won to which we were thrilled:)

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We were so blessed to be able to have a "down-to-earth", relaxing, and encouraging time with family! Thank you so much Grandmama and Grandpapa for your warm hospitality that you showed to all of us! Thank you for your love for God and your family! We love y"all!!



"Oh LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy councils of old are faithfulness and truth." Isaiah 25:1

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P.S. Here are the directions for how to play the game "fishbowl" that was was shown in some of the pictures above:)

Prep-work for the game~ Every player must have three slips of paper to which he writes any person, any place, and any thing. Then the slips of paper are collected into a bowl for the game.

Introduction to the game~ There are two teams who are to sit amongst each other in an "every-other-one" kind of fashion. There are four rounds to this game. If a player does not abide by the rules for that particular round, he must put the slip of paper he had in his hand back into the bowl and draw another one. Each team member has 30 seconds to get his team to guess as many words as possible before his time is up, but BE CAREFUL to abide by the rules of that particular round! Once that player's 30 seconds is up, if his team did not say the certain word that was in his hand before time was out, that player has to put that word back into the bowl and pass the bowl to the next player in line (the other team). By the way, two of the players (one from each of the two teams) is assigned to time the opposing team. KEEP THE SLIPS OF PAPER OUT OF THE BOWL ONCE GUESSED UNTIL THE NEXT ROUND...THEY ARE YOUR POINTS FOR THAT ROUND! At the end of the four rounds, add up each of the round's points per each team. The team that has the most points total, wins!!! 

ROUND 1~ Round 1 is just like the game called "catch phrase". Each player simply explains each word he draws but DOESN"T SAY THE WORD that is on the paper!

ROUND 2~ Round 2 is only charades! NO talking! Be careful when two of the people on the same team know sign-language...it counts for talking!😀

ROUND 3~ Round 3 is strictly one word per slip of paper to describe the word on the paper! Yes, the words like "um", "Oh man!", "Okay...", and "This is a hard one!" (which is far more than one word, to clarify...) counts for that one word. So his team all has to guess from that. The player is allowed to repeat that one describing word, but only that one describing word...even if it happens to be "um"! :D



ROUND 4~  Round 4 is the last and can be one of the hardest rounds. It calls for ONLY SOUNDS! No talking or miming whatsoever! The player can do as many sounds as he needs in order to get the message to his team!
Have Fun!!!


Comments

  1. What a nice Thanksgiving! It was so nice to see the beautiful grandbaby boy! Had been wondering how the new couple was doing. Missed seeing the new mama, though. Happy Christmas to all!

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  2. Thank you for letting us see your family's Thanksgiving. The children are adorable. I hope to see your Christmas gathering, too. They always look like such happy events.

    ReplyDelete

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