Normally I would tell you that I love Thanksgiving because it is the time we spend as a family, enjoying each other and eating a ton of delicious food. Usually we go visit Stuart's family in the early afternoon, eat appetizers and visit and talk story. We drag ourselves away, wanting to stay, yet wanting to visit with my sister and her family. We drive an hour to the valley, and the boys play with their cousins and we eat even more delicious food and enjoy each others company.
This year, things are different. Grandma is now in Heaven, enjoying Thanksgiving with the Angels. We will miss her dearly. She always made this amazing fruit salad with marshmallows and served it in a beautiful glass bowl. She always made sure to tell us how long it took to make, and the boys made sure to eat a lot of it so she would be happy. She loved watching the kids playing, and would rather spend time with them then talking with the adults.
There is another change, this is Kekoa's last Thanksgiving with us for two years. He just came back from a semsester away at college. He went to Brigham Young University Hawaii and fell in love with the land and the school. While there, he received his mission call. He leaves December 2nd to serve a mission for our church. He will be serving in the Louisville, Kentucky Mission. We are so proud of him, and we are so excited for this time of his life. We are going to miss him so much. We are so thankful that he is making the choice to put his life on hold, to serve the Lord, and we know he will be such an amazing missionary.
Because Kekoa is leaving in a few weeks, we are staying in one place for Thanksgiving this year, and some of our friends are joining us. Thanksgiving is going to be even bigger, longer and sweeter. I love our family so much, and I am so thankful for their support, their love, and for their example. Family means everything to me. I am thankful that we will spend a whole day with ours!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Joining the #LatterdayLinkup at This Mormon Life
What a special Thanksgiving this is going to be!!! So proud of him. And I hope you are able to serve your Grandma's salad and feel close to her. Love ya!
ReplyDeleteSo excited for Kekoa and his mission! I served in Arkansas and Missouri. I loved it so much. Great job pulling an audible this year and celebrating Thanksgiving in the way that blesses your family best.
ReplyDeleteSo exciting to read that Kekoa will be serving a mission in Kentucky! I'm sure your "new" Thanksgiving will be filled with love and laughter. Enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteMy cousin is serving in the Louisville mission! He comes home mid-December so they may just miss each other. It's been neat to read about his experiences there.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your post on the Latter-day Linkup!