the babies

The little girls squealed with delight to see me all dressed up. They love the opportunity to dress up. Esteban was quizzical at first, arguing with me about wearing his white suit, but settling for an all navy ensemble instead. White polyester is a tad out of season, I explained to him.

We did our Thanksgiving breakfast tradition this morning. The little children asked about the five kernels of corn on their plates, especially since the smell of baked French toast lingered in the air.

We got the idea from listening to a family life today show. They talked about the significance of a holiday set aside for thanking God. They talked about what a shame it is that we don’t know thanksgiving hymns like we know Christmas carols.

So the children and I begin singing Thanksgiving hymns in October. We sing “We Gather Together,” and “Praise and Thanksgiving,” “Come, ye Thankful People Come,” and “Be Present at our Table Lord,” a grace we got from the Family Life Today website. We also sing two thank you songs I wrote. One of the songs talks about being thankful for all the seasons, and how we could never say thank you enough for God making us priests and calling us kings. Practicing these songs for over a month puts you in the Thanksgiving spirit.

Then there’s the Thanksgiving morning, where we read from The Light and the Glory about the first Thanksgiving. Then we have five cards to accompany the five kernels of corn. We are to write one thing we’re thankful for on each card. Then we share it with the family, placing the card in a basket on the table. We used to put the corn in there too, but now we eat it, one kernel, one thank you at a time.

It is more powerful in person than in writing.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.