Thumbprint Family Tree

Thanksgiving 2013 was such an amazing experience.

As this picture shows, there was lots of love and laughter shared.

I'm not sure how to put into words what a blessing it was to have so many family members come to stay with us and to watch Guy get baptized.  We witnessed many tender mercies which I have mentioned in passing to friends who always respond with "I just got chills!  That's so special!"

It was most special to know that the Lord had this holiday gathering in his sights for a long, long time and to know that he watched over many of the details.  It's almost impossible to put into words, so I'll probably save that for my personal journal.

One thing I've learned is that sometimes the Lord requires us to do a LOT of work in order for Him to bless us, but he does indeed give us the strength that we need and he does take us the distance, if we trust in him.  This gathering was a witness to me that the Lord does care very much about strengthening families, and he will pull out the stops to do so, when our hearts are in the right place and we are willing to put in the time.

With that said, I put a lot of fun Pinterest finds to work to help make it a fun and meaningful experience, and I will share the links with you here and in the next few posts.

First to arrive were my mother and father-in-law.  We stayed up many late nights getting our house and other details ready for our guests and the night they arrived was no exception.  They didn't arrive until 4:30am, but still they were all smiles.  We spent the day together and went to the farmer's market and prepared food before anyone else arrived.

My sister-in-law Renae and her husband Eric and kids arrived next, and we always have fun when we get together with them.  That evening, the night before Thanksgiving, family just flooded into our home.  My three sisters and their families and my mom and dad (pictured below).

As everyone arrived, they signed our guestbook...a thumbprint family tree.

I drew this one on canvas using a regular old brown permanent marker.  I modeled the tree after the many I have seen on Pinterest.  And pretty sure an angel had to have guided my hand, because I am not the world's best artist, and I just eye-balled it.

Speaking of the world's great artists, here is one of them, my brother-in-law Hank.

  

Here's Scarlett, cousin Henry, and Grandpa Christensen...everyone took their turn.

Something that made it a really fun week together was that almost everyone stayed in our house.  When we went to tour this house a year ago, I had a distinct impression from the Holy Ghost, that IF we bought this house, we would host Thanksgiving this year...and our whole family would come.  That prompting came to fruition over Thanksgiving!  The Lord truly knows the end from the beginning, because I certainly never would have seen that coming, and we never would have been able to pull this event off in our old (but beloved) house.

Stay tuned for Thanksgiving 2013 - Part II: The Turkey Hunt