Thanksgiving

Gratitude

We are thankful for many things.  This time of year it's easy to reflect on the many blessings we enjoy.  I'm grateful for my family; for the peace I feel even when the world is in turmoil and even in the midst of many trials.  I'm grateful for my Savior, who is the source of that peace. Today in Sacrament Meeting, the speaker quoted the words to the song, "I believe in Christ." I opened my hymn book and read the words: 

      I believe in Christ; he is my King!

With all my heart to him I’ll sing;

I’ll raise my voice in praise and joy,

In grand amens my tongue employ.

I believe in Christ; he is God’s Son;

On earth to dwell his soul did come;

He healed the sick; the dead he raised.

Good works were his; his name be praised.

I believe in Christ; oh, blessed name,

As Mary’s Son he came to reign

’Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,

To save them from the woes of sin.

I believe in Christ, who marked the path,

Who did gain all his Father hath,

Who said to men: “Come, follow me,

That ye, my friends, with God may be.”

I believe in Christ—my Lord, my God!

My feet he plants on gospel sod;

I’ll worship him with all my might;

He is the source of truth and light.

I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.

From Satan’s grasp he sets me free,

And I shall live with joy and love

In his eternal courts above.

I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!

From him I’ll gain my fondest dream;

And while I strive through grief and pain,

His voice is heard: “Ye shall obtain.”

I believe in Christ, so come what may,

With him I’ll stand in that great day

When on this earth he comes again

      To rule among the sons of men.

I then noted that these words were written by Bruce R. McConkie.  This reminded me of the powerful testimony he shared in General Conference, April 1985, right before his death.  I wanted to share his words here:

"And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person.

I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way." 

 Update on Zack

We love our little Zack.  I am thankful that all of my children have come together to reach out to Crista and Matt in their hour of need.  Zack has a lot of challenges ahead, especially during his first year of life.  For Zack's lip and pallet, the doctors plan about seven surgeries.  He will also have to have procedures on his club feet.  The day after I arrived in Florida, Crista and Matt received an official diagnosis.  They were told that Zack has a syndrome called, Xia Gibbs.  This is a very rare syndrome and there is very little information about it.  The main symptom, Crista and Matt were told, is lack of muscle tone.  We are hopeful because the doctor did not pick up on this in early examinations and Zack has been able to lift his head and show other signs that he does have muscle tone.  Along with the difficult news, we continue to have good news and feel that we are seeing miracles.  Children born with a cleft lip and pallet often have hearing problems.  Zack was tested, and though he will inevitably need tubes in his ears, he is able to hear.  Because of the fluid (the reason for tubes), he probably hears a little as if he is under water.  

I was able to help Crista out for a few days before I left for Florida to be with Roy (he was at a conference for the first few days--I joined him at the end of his conference).  I enjoyed playing with Todd and the girls, and I was even able to hold and feed Zack for a couple of hours while Crista enjoyed a haircut and color that someone offered to her for free.  Zack is a sweetheart and it's very relaxing to be around him.

Zack: In this picture he still has his feeding tube and oxygen.  Crista occasionally uses both, but he doesn't have to have the oxygen on all the time now.  She is becoming a pro at inserting the feeding tube as necessary.

Todd with my air pod;  Crista with her fresh new hairstyle

Baby Zack getting his hearing tested

Roy's Conference in Florida

These ladies are from Iceland.  For some reason they wanted a 
picture with Roy (maybe because he's so handsome! Or maybe because
he was friendly to them).

When I met up with Roy in Florida he was done with his conference.  We wanted to do things that didn't require standing in line, so we skipped the Disney parks.  Some ladies on the plane suggested the aquarium, so we did that on the first day.  It was raining in torrents as only happens in the South, so it was a good day to be indoors.  The aquarium was fun, but it wasn't as large as the aquarium in Atlanta.  We were probably just as entertained by some of the outfits that people were wearing.  

Dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge

I don't love getting my picture in front of food and it happens a lot!  This was a fun lunch experience.  The ladies on the plane suggested the restaurant Sanaa at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  It wasn't cheap, but it was very good and it was a fun experience.  In the picture above is the appetizer--Naan bread. Each piece was flavored differently, accompanied by 10 different dipping sauces.  The drink in front of me is Mango Lassi, which was very delicious.  We also shared the salad sampler, also in front of me, and an Indian entree.

At the aquarium

That evening we drove out to Clermont to have dinner with Albert and Debra Bori (my cousin) and their daughter Elena and her family.  It's always nice to get together with them.  Albert is failing and he's not even 70, yet.  He took a serious blow to the head several years back and has since had a brain tumor and seizures.  He communicates decently, but he says that it's hard for him to pull the English words from his memory.  We asked if Spanish was easier, but he said no, he can't pull the Spanish vocabulary (his native language) either.  We knew he was really struggling when he said that he had absolutely no recollection of our visit to his home one year ago.  He had showed us his business (I wrote about it last year) and explained all of the machinery.  Elena had also invited the missionaries to dinner so Roy told them all about Albert's business (which they sold this past spring). Albert said that Roy told the story correctly, but he still could not remember showing everything to us.  

We told Elena that we were thinking of going to Disney's Wild Animal Park and she told us about a drive that was free where you could see a lot of Florida's native wildlife.  It was called Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. We took the drive the next day and it was gorgeous.  We saw lots of birds and 29 gators.  

On to Augusta, Georgia for Thanksgiving with the Jackson's

When we arrived in Georgia we gave Bevy her birthday present that I'd made her.  I had asked who her favorite princess was and she said, "Princess Peach"  I have to admit I had no idea who Princess Peach was.  I have since learned that she's a character on the Mario Brother's game.  I think Bevy liked the blanket, but she didn't feel well during our trip, so she wasn't super expressive.  However, she did sleep with it every night.  Harvey saw Luigi on the blanket and said, "That's me!"  Since some time has passed since I made the quilt, Bevy's favorite princess is now Zelda.  Another mystery to me.  

Elise and Andy had secured a baby sitter so they could take us out to dinner.  They took us to Cork and Flame.  It was very good.  I had the bison steak and everyone else had the wild boar.  

Bevy had her birthday while we were there; I tried to make it special by taking her and Elise to get pedicures.  She was completely quiet and focused, so I think she loved it.  

After the pedicures, Roy and Elise took the kids to see Trolls at the movie theater.

The next day:

A walk by the Savannah river

The Zoo

When Beverly was feeling a little better, we went to the zoo in Columbia, South Carolina. 

 Below are a few pictures from this activity:

Harvey and Bevy feeding the lorikeets

Mav in the orange climbing the wall.  He made it all the way to the top.  

Max is in the blue.  He was a little more cautious.

Bevy just liked climbing up a little ways and letting go
so she could float down.

We even got to feed the giraffe.  Then Harvey said to the giraffe, "Lick my belly."  I'm not sure where that came from.

When we got home from the zoo, we let the kids open the Christmas from us.  We figured they'd have a lot to open on Dec. 25.  This way they could associate the gifts with us.  

Bevy in her new jewelry;  Harvey in his new tee-shirt--we didn't give him the screen he's holding.

Lunch at Mellow Mushroom Pizza.  We had to have two tables.

At some point during our trip, Harvey announced to Roy, "I like you!" 

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving was really nice.  Elise had invited some friends; a couple still in residency that also had four children.  Their parents have recently moved to Georgia to be by them for a year, and then they plan to make arrangements to go on a mission.  They also came to dinner and it was fun to get to know them--well, particularly the mom, Jeri, because her husband took a sick baby home for a nap right after dinner.

The spread.  On left is Elise's friend Stephanie.  

Mav was dressed and prepared to help;  The charcuterie board for a light snack in the evening.

Ruby is ready for Christmas in a hat crocheted by her dad, Matt

Adrienne had us for dinner Sunday evening, which was nice because we hadn't been shopping since before Florida.  

It was fun to catch up with the Green family.  I had the chance to hug them all and cuddle with Cub, Ila and Ollie.  I tickled Olli's back while he sat by me on the house.  I asked him, "What's better than watching football?  Watching football while grandma tickles your back!" 

As you can see from all of the above, Roy and I have a lot to be grateful for.  

Happy Thanksgiving!