Happy Thanksgiving, my Beloved Siestas! The Moores and Joneses greet you from our mountain hideaway where the cabin is more stuffed than the turkey and the fellowship is sweeter than the Texas sheet cake disappearing in my kitchen. Between the time change, the altitude, a twenty-one-month-old and the fear of missing a single moment together, mornings start early around here. The Lord, however, put a spirit of slumber on the cabin and allowed me to have a few quiet moments with Him. I could hear the familiar sound of my man sawing logs and of my grandson starting to stir. Melissa was sound asleep in my bed and somehow looked about five years old. We are a fiery family of folks who rarely keep an opinion to ourselves but we are so crazy about each other. I was overcome with gratitude for the kindness and redemption of our God. One of my memory verses right now was perfectly fit for today. I have to peek because I don’t have it down yet. It’s Psalm 40:5.
“Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.” (NKJV)
Among the thanks I give my God through Jesus Christ today, I thank Him for you, our cherished online community. Recently my ministry director, Sabrina, and I were preparing our annual employee reviews. As we discussed AJ, Sabrina said to me, “Beth, I can’t think of any addition that has been made to the ministry that has had a greater impact than the blog. That community has become maybe the single most important thing that happens on our website. What Amanda has done is huge.” She is so right. I know I’ve told you this before but, just in case you weren’t part of our community at the time, God has used you to provide something in my ministry life that I needed so badly. So many of you have become familiar friends and sisters in Christ to me and I look tremendously forward to your input. I also notice when someone signs on with a screen name that is new to us and I rejoice in a new connection. As silly as this seems, I just love this. Thank you so much for being part of it.
AJ has helped me include a few picture highlights from our holiday week together and here are a few random things that have gone on in our house this Thanksgiving Day:
*Jackson and I had our milk and coffee together early this morning and watched the sun come up, played cars, and pestered PawPaw until he finally rolled up. We also danced our legs off when our favorite program came on Noggin. I was a little sore from the gosh-awful-est hike several of us took in the snow yesterday so I needed the stretch. (We hiked for over two hours and, when we made it back to the trail head, Keith was waiting there with his hands on his hips and looking stern like we’d better not scare him like that again. I told Melissa he’d think we were gone too long. We nearly got in bad trouble but he decided to get over it pretty quick AND we were mighty thankful not to have to walk the last quarter mile to the house. FWI: we were so happy not to have to worry about bears then, lo and behold, we saw wolf prints – first I’ve ever seen them – that I measured from the tip of my thumb to the tip of my little finger as wide as I could get my hand stretched. So freaky!)
*Keith made a King Ranch casserole to take to our lunch down at the ranch where we’ll celebrate with many good friends. He was asked to bring a native Texas dish of some kind so there you go. Melissa’s love, Colin (we love him, too, and, yes, it’s serious), and I cut a turkey out of a corn tortilla and used a red pepper from the salsa for his waddle. We laughed our heads off and thought we were brilliant.
*Melissa, Curt, and I quizzed each other (AKA: competed) in Greek for a solid hour then got into a good theological discussion. A blast to the three of us and a bore to everyone else.
*Amanda and I are watching Steel Magnolias for the umpteenth jillionth time and have hooted a ton and already cried. It’s a holiday must. Curt even sat down and got interested in it. He’s trying to act like he’s reading something but I know he’s watching the movie.
Well, everybody else is showered and looking darling and I’m still in my jammies and looking – well, like a woman who needs to get ready. Siestas, Happy Thanksgiving!! May God remind all of us all day long of even the little things we forget to thank Him for. Like a family enjoying each other so much that they’re liable to wake up the baby. Remember this holiday when “together” seems like “too-much-gether” to let people off the hook easily because you’re not dependent upon them to affirm you. Christ does that for you. Make a choice to laugh things off instead of taking an offense. Have a blast because God is good. Show Him how grateful you are with your joy. I dearly love you.
Sunrise at the cabin.
A closer view of the Tetons. 
Bibby is in the mountain spirit.
Melissa and Beth in the kitchen. 
King Ranch Chicken Casserole with a decorative tortilla turkey.
Jackson and his daddy going down the driveway on a makeshift sled.
Jackson is loving the snow.
I love the blog and am reading backwards to catch up to the present