So far this Thanksgiving, Debra has danced with Turkey Sue and the celery seed while TJ has overboiled the giblet gravy and Sophie has slept....and slept...and slept (she's still sleeping!) With the pecan pie still in the oven (we can still make it do the wave-pool thing), Debra and I thought it a good time to write a little note expressing our gratitude and thanks for the many blessings of this past year.

First and foremost, and so let it be written, that we are thankful to our Heavenly Father for a beautiful little baby Sophie who warms our hearts on cold winter days and fills up our trash can with dirty diapers on the other days. She is so precious to us and we look forward to sharing her with the rest of you in a future day.

Second and fivemost, we are thankful for loving family members who pray for us, talk to us, and have our best interests at heart. We are most especially grateful for all of our nieces and nephews whom we miss so much, especially when we consider how easy it is to just return one of them to their own parents when they cry or misbehave (something we realize now we took for granted but which makes uncle-hood and aunt-hood fantastic).

Thirdly, and seventhmost, we are thankful for "The Good Life" (trademark) here in Nebraska, particularly in Lincoln. Specifically, we are thankful for Ribfest, the State Fair, the Haymarket, Cornhusker football (and Bank, and Highway, and restaurant specials, and etc), Jazz in the Park on Wednesdays, Runzas, a towering state captial building, Little Red, Big Red, Star Tran Bus Service, freezing cold, sweltering heat, and CORN and SOYBEANS and Nebraskans!

Fourthly, and secondmost, we are grateful for the wonderful Saints of the Latter-days in the Lincoln, Nebraska Stake and in the Captial Ward. We have such good friends (some of whom we are eating for Thanksgiving dinner today - I mean eating WITH).

Fifthly, and lastmost, we are thankful for each other. For sweet nothings whispered in the ear, for flirting glances across the chapel during Sacrament meeting (I'm at the organ most Sundays, remember), for warm, momentary snuggles, and for darn good homemade BBQ chicken pizza, homemade Goulash, homemade BBQ pork sandwhices, homemade chicken lasagna, homemade love and, today, homemade Turkey lurkey with special sauce and celery seed (and pecan pie and giblet gravy and homemade Stove Top stuffing and cranberry sauce, even though I'm in charge of making the stuffing and opening the can of cranberry sauce).

What are you grateful for?