Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my wonderful readers! I hope you enjoy a day full of friends, food, and family—and realize how much we all have to be grateful for.
I’ve always enjoyed Thanksgiving—especially that time my mom made the gravy explode (I’m still not sure how she did that). We’ve never had huge Thanksgivings in our family. It’s always my parents, my sister, and my grandparents—six people—eating so much food we can hardly think straight. Dad and Papa would always watch football while I helped Mom and Grammy in the kitchen. And my sister—well, historically she’s set the table, but recently she’s been helping with the food. She’s making pecan pies this year.
Several years ago, my sister and I made Thanksgiving trees. They were just little foam trees, and on every leaf, we wrote something we were grateful for. (It wasn't this fancy, but here's the general idea:)

I was thankful for my dolls, my dog-walking business, and my books.
Nicole was thankful for Pokie (her little green stuffed porcupine), her food, and her soccer ball.
Neither one of us put “my sister” on a leaf, until Grammy told us to.
Today, I’m thankful for my family and God’s blessings in our lives. I’m thankful for my home, my church, my job at a nursery, and all the books I’ve read and written. (And I’m very thankful for you all, my dear readers.)
But this Thanksgiving is going to be a bit different from our previous Thanksgivings. It started back on Sunday, when I got a phone call at 7:15 A.M. I was still in bed, but I hardly ever get phone calls, so I answered it. And I was glad I did.
It was from my mom. She was in the hospital with my dad. He was having a heart attack.
No one was expecting this. My father is about as strong as a horse. He eats healthy, and while he doesn’t get much exercise, he’s still pretty strong. In fact, he’d just spent all of Saturday digging holes for fence posts.
The next few days were rather hectic. I’d drive my sister to the hospital every morning and do school in the waiting room, because the Wi-Fi was faster there. People dropped by. One family brought pie. They are now my favorite family ever.
My father ended up having two stents put in. He never lost his upbeat personality, and God’s blessed him with peace. He’s given all of us peace, actually. I knew my dad was in good spirits when he asked me to bring his hairbrush from home.
At first, it was a little strange to see Dad lying so still in a hospital bed. But today, he might as well be at home, sitting in his red recliner, watching football. He looks great, and everyone is very thankful that he’s alright.
What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving season? Let me know in the comments below! God bless you, dear readers, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving day…and don’t forget to like us on Facebook!