Thankful House

The Thanksgiving Holiday was Full Full Full

~~~~~

of a Festively Decorated Table


of Plates full of Food


of Lovely Nieces making name cards


for super Cute Great-Nieces and Nephews wearing them!


of a Bustling Kitchen


of Happy Family


of Silliness


of good stuff,
like a head of hair being grown for "Locks of Love"
(for women who lose their hair due to chemo therapy treatments)
The hair must be at least 12 inches long!
Jordan's almost there


of LOTS of Love

and so much more...
like Time spent with the women gabbing
and Men making jokes

And lastly...

of A Passage into Manhood

For our family,
it started 17 years ago with my oldest son's 14th Birthday
and has continued to this past week
with the last grandchild, Renden.
We celebrated Renden's Passage following the Thanksgiving meal

We have gathered as a whole family to celebrate this time in life
for each of our children (ours and my siblings)

Grandparents, Parents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins...
All gathered to honor each child as they reach 14 years old,
and will now move into adulthood
We each choose a special gift,
one with meaning...
and is delivered along with meaningful words.

Sometimes it has to do with money,
and how to manage it through life.

Sometimes it has to do with family,
and how to honor them,
and know that we will always be there for them.

Sometimes it has to do with their special talents,
and how to nurture them.

The one of honor sits in a seat up front
while each family member takes a turn to give
words of adulation or encouragement
about his or her particular attributes and talents,
...of encouragement to remain true to self,
...to remain honest and hard-working,
...to do the best he or she can in every situation in life.

We talk about funny times in his/her life,
of good times, of hard times,
of times we don't want to forget.
We all have those times
We should always remember them.

There is always laughter


...always some serious moments


... always some proud moments


Most of all,
there is always tons of love,
and lots of Hugs!

So far each child has gone on into life
remembering this moment.

Renden is the last,
the youngest to go through the Passage.
Its was happy time...
but a little sad too.
Our baby is now becoming a man...

and the oldest of the grandchildren
have children of their own,
and even join with the Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Parents
to share words with their younger cousins.

The question is...
Will each of my siblings and I go on to do
the same for our grandchildren?
I think "yes."

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving

And now we move on to Christmas!