Giving Thanks

This is my Apple Pecan Braid. It's a recipe I created as an alternative to apple pie. My daughter, my grand-daughter Word Girl, and I all love it. The little ones, Miss Personality and Computer Girl don't have the same opinion. I hadn't made this in quite some time so I decided to make it one Sunday while the girls were over. I knew the little ones weren't fond of this but I had something else they could snack on so I went ahead with it. Being the oldest, Word Girl takes a back seat to the little ones a lot. I'm really very proud of how well she handles it too. So sometimes I try to consider her first when I'm making these decisions and she was thrilled at this decision.

Miss Personality hung out with me in the kitchen while I made it and happily stole apple slices from my stock as I worked. We talked about the ingredients and she confirmed that she loved them all except the pecans but that she could pick them out. So she was sure she would like it and she wanted a piece when it was done.

After it came out of the oven I let Word Girl drizzle the icing on it. Now the icing was something they all loved. About that time Computer Girl came to watch. She knew she didn't like the braid and had a look of disappointment on her face but didn't voice any complaints. I let her taste a little piece of the crust with some icing on it and her eyes brightened up so I asked her if she would like a piece from the end where it is mainly crust with icing and she liked that idea.

As we were all enjoying our pastry and each other's company, Computer Girl looked over at me and in her sweet little voice said "Thank you Grandma." That one little expression of gratitude said so much. For one thing, it said that she felt loved. It also said that she was content with what she had been given. We both knew that it wasn't what she would have picked if she had been given the choice, but still she was content with it and freely offered an expression of gratitude without any prompting. That expression melted my heart and made me very proud of her.

God doesn't always give us what we want but He never discounts our desires. We can choose to complain about what we don't have or we can choose to be thankful and content with what is given. As we celebrate Thanksgiving, and throughout our lives, may we melt His heart and make Him proud.

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4

You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Psalm 118:28

Please join me at Titus 2 in Action where I am a contributing author every other Wednesday.







"A girl needs to be so lost in God, that the guy is going to have to seek HIM to find her!" ...Maya Angelou

Thanksgiving Meme and Thanksgivings Past

My dear bloggy friend Chatty Kelly posted a Thanksgiving meme and I am joining in. Feel free to play along if you're not too busy cooking. I want to wish all of my dear bloggy friends a Very Wonderful Thanksgiving! I am So Very Thankful to know all of you.

1. Which do you like better: cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? Cooking at my house.

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? Frozen.

3. What kind of stuffing? My Grandma taught me to make the cornbread dressing (not stuffing) which is why it is the BEST.

4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Pumpkin Pie. I will put the Cool Whip in my Mocha.

5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? The point. Turkey sandwhiches are a must have!

6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? We don't have enough people to have a riot. Dressing or my baked Mac & Cheese would cause lots of whining if they were missing!

7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? That is waaayyy too much trouble.

8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? A double oven.

9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? The only time I get up at the crack of dawn is when I go on overnight field trips to the zoo and have to sleep on a cold hard floor. I prepare what I can the day before. My daughter brings some of the sides. We generally eat about 3:00.

10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? I don't go to someone elses house.

11. Is your cranberry sauce fresh or canned? My daughter is the only one who eats cranberry sauce. Like my friend ADHD-Jo said... They make it fresh?

12. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? I love the skin off the turkey right after it comes out of the oven. Mmmmm.

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~ Thanksgivings Past ~

Growing up, everyone always went to my Grandma's house for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve night to exchange gifts, and Christmas Day for our Christmas dinner. We always had a house full and always enjoyed spending time together. The women usually helped my Grandma cook the meal (under her direction of course), the men hung out in the living room watching sports, and the kids ran in and out of the house playing and asking when we were going to eat.

The dressing was the Riot maker. My dad especially needed the dressing. My Grandma never measuered anything so there was lots of taste testing of the dressing to determine if it needed more sage or more pepper. My dad always said more pepper and my Grandma usually listened to him (until she thought he was wrong).

After dinner the women cleaned up so Grandma didn't have to (at least not much), and the men went back to the TV. LOL. Then we would gather around the table to talk or play a game of Rummikub (Rummy Tile) or UNO. We would usually break out the desert and coffee during the game. Sometimes we would all go outside and play a watered down game of football or something like that.

Grandma was the "Head of the Household" and she was always the one everyone looked to for the final say when it came to our family get togethers. If anyone wanted to do something different we would always ask Grandma first.

Grandma went to be with the Lord on August 5, 2000 and my dad on August 5, 1985. I do miss them and I miss those days. I hope that my grandaughters will want to come to my house for the holidays, and think of me with love and respect the way I think of my Grandma. Even after they are grown and have familys of their own.





"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." Corrie ten Boom