Giving Thanks

I love Thanksgiving! It's just about tied with Christmas in my books. My most favourite family traditions and activities actually come from Thanksgiving in my home growing up. I miss my family most at this time of year, and the next couple of months are tough to get through without them.
I am so grateful for my family. I am grateful for the great things they are doing, and so much love I am feeling from them. I am so grateful that the baby inside of me is already more loved than a child could hope to be. I am grateful for members of my family just working so hard to do good things. I love them all no matter where they are, and will always count them among my most cherished blessings.
As for the start of new holidays in my new home - dinner with my in-laws was on Sunday and was delicious as always. Eric and I spent the afternoon at the park with Jordan and his kids, and I am grateful for them and their sweet spirits in our family gatherings. It is so nice to have little ones around. I am grateful for the circle of life, and for the divine blessing of the family unit. There is so much to learn from those who go before, and sometimes even more to learn from those coming up behind us. The family is the perfect contraption to teach us how to love, how to live and sometimes how to endure struggles and develop patience.

 Speaking of families, and being grateful for them, I could not be more grateful to be starting my own family with this guy. I am grateful for him. He has so many traits that I admire and love, and his strength and character are admirable and inspiring. Eric is genuinely a good man. He works hard, he is full of integrity, he is patient and strong, and he is also so kind and sensitive. He is my perfect man. I know he will make a great father, and I am so excited already watching him grow in to that role. This year I am grateful for how involved he has been with my pregnancy. Since day one I have only ever cleaned up my own vomit one time, that's been nice! But also, I love seeing his face light up when he feels the baby move, or hearing him be interested in bonding with our baby, and always making sure I do the same.  I know he loves me because he tries so hard to take care of me, and to make sure that I do the same for myself.

Monday brought dinner and friends to our house. I did not cook, don't worry. Michelle did most of that, and she was amazing - we just used my home and dishes and table. We had an East Coast Thanksgiving at our place. The summer before I moved from Halifax I became very close friends with 3 really great girls, and slowly they have all joined me out here. We are all growing up and our lives have all gone different ways, but when we get together it feels just like old times. They are the girls I feel I will always be able to count on, and I am grateful for that. I am grateful for good friends who do good things, and who make me feel good. I am grateful for the ties that have brought all of us together, and kept us together. They are great friends in the Gospel!

Babies due one day apart - one boy and one unknown

Thank you to everyone and everything in my life that make me happy. I love you all, and really hope you know how much you are appreciate, respected and loved. I sent out a couple of thank you cards this year, and with this made a goal: I hope to make those in my life feel this more often, and not just at this time or year. I know it's cliche, but without so many of you I would not be the person I am now and that deserves respect and thanks all the time.

Oh no, that's not all...

My mom and my dad's sister have also spent months planning a surprise party for my dad with all his friends and family that live close by. They planned it with a superhero theme, and they did an amazing job. After the surprise dinner we told him we were all going over there for cake and ice cream and games, and that's what we did. It just so happened that everyone else who knew and loved him had the exact same idea for that night. I wish I caught pictures of his face for that surprise too, but I was behind him when it happened.
It was so fun to see everyone again, and to be there for such a great celebration.

 It was so much fun to see my family today, all gathered around my dad to celebrate him. I wish my brother Haig could have been here too, and I know he wishes he could have, but he is doing great things in a great place, and we are all proud of him.

Surprise!

One really great thing about Eric's graduation being on the same day as my Dad's 50th birthday is that when Dad sees pictures of us at that in the morning, he gets no ideas in his head about us getting on a plane that night and coming to see him.
That's what we did though! At 10pm on the night of the 7th Rachel, Eric and I got on an overnight flight to Halifax.

Saturday morning my mom and sister Emma picked us up from the airport. The first stop on the way home was the Halifax Farmer's Market, where we got my mom's booth all set up and ready for Emma to work for the day. I love this place, it brings back such satisfying and triumphant memories of last summer for me. I'm glad we got to see it once on this short trip.
Then we headed to my aunt Sharon's place where we were stowed away for next few hours until they were ready for us. We mostly just slept the whole day. Then we had to go to the mall to get dress pants for Eric because we're away for two Sundays and the boy forgot them.  The way back was a bit stressful though. We got stuck in this huge rainstorm on the highway behind an accident that just happened for 30 minutes. We had to turn off the car. I'm grateful Sharon took the time to get us there, and that everything after that huge delay still worked out okay.
Then we finally got back to the house, threw ourselves together, and the Grannies picked us up for dinner. (Background: my mom and dad's families have known each other a long time. Last summer both my grandmas moved to Halifax from Ontario, and until they find more permanent places to live, they are sharing an apartment together. They are affectionately referred to as The Grannies.) Our family, with Alyssa, Victoria's boyfriend Eli and the Grannies, met at Jack Astor's for dinner. Eric, Rachel and I hid in the back until they were all seated and ready to order. Mom came and got us, and out we came. My dad was looking at his menu, so I went to the person behind him and got down to his eye level and said "Hi Dad, happy birthday". He looked up, saw the three of us and said "What the..." (and I think there were a tiny tear or two). It was so much fun to see his reaction. He really had absolutely no idea! We'd been planning this for about 3 months - and all the kids knew too - and still no one spilled the beans. It was seriously one of my favourite moments with my Dad ever. He really does love his children, and he knew he wouldn't get to see Haig on that day, but a small part of him really hopped he'd get to see the 3 of us - at least until he saw the graduation pictures. He said those pictures threw him completely off our tracks. There's no way he thought he'd see us that weekend.

Elder Pinsent

Elder Pinsent left on September 4th for the MTC. He will be serving our Heavenly Father and His children in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the next two years.

We're not exactly a touchy feely family, and I feel a little like I barely know Haig anymore. It's taken me a few days to get this up here, because I have mixed feelings about it. I'm glad he's out there and I'm proud of him. I feel like I'll come to know and understand him more in these next two years, than I have in the last two years. I know he'll learn so much, and grow so much. I know he has a strong testimony, and the capability to influence the people around him. I know he'll serve well, and that the people of Minnesota will be happy to have him with them. As I did when I left home, I hope he comes home with a greater appreciation for family and for his parents. I hope he understands how much we all love him here, and that we are his support group and his cheering squad. I don't know if he did know that leaving this week, but as Eric and I talked this week about his mission experiences, I felt calm and assured that Haig will become a great man from this experience.