Thanksgiving 2008

What a wonderful time of the year! I love it so much. The air is so refreshing and hearts become warmer as we are reminded of the spirit of Christmas.
It is some what late, but here is a smidgen of our list of thanksgiving:
Chris's top five things he is grateful for:

I am very grateful for my wonderful wife and lifelong friend Brindy Carol Stoker Bennett, for the many things she does for me and the strength I receive just from being with her.

I am grateful for family and friends that are constantly lifting me to reach further and higher in everything that I do.

I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. His sacrifice and love that I have witnessed and felt throughout my life will always sustain me in any situation whether good or trivial.

I am grateful for the gospel that helps to lead and guide in every aspect of our lives.

I am also very thankful for the blessing of life and the little one that is about to enter into our lives.

Brindy's top five things she is grateful for:
I am so very grateful for my hunk and sweetheart of a husband! I am such a stronger person with him by my side and it continues to amaze me how happy he makes me and how complete I feel in his arms.

I am thankful for the gospel. My life would be so very different without the truths that I know through the Holy Ghost and the Gospel. I love my Savior and I work every day to become worthy of His sacrifice and to please Him and our Father in Heaven. I love the blessings that come from the gospel teachings and principles such as stronger families (I am so grateful for my family), eternal families, healthier lives through the Word of Wisdom and repentance, and the opportunity to serve others through callings and visiting and home teaching.

I am grateful for our child who is very alive inside of me right now! :)

I am grateful for technology. I often wish I would have lived in the times of candles and lanterns and horse drawn buggies and no TV or computers, but then I remember that we wouldn't have airplanes so we can see families who live miles away and send missionaries so easily to far away countries and we wouldn't have cameras or ultra sounds so we can make sure our babies are fine. We wouldn't have warnings for bad weather or easy hot showers. I enjoy the creations that Heavenly Father has blessed us with, I long for the simplicity of life as it must have been years ago, but I appreciate the blessings that we enjoy in our day and time.

I am thankful for freedom. I can't even imagine what life might be like without the freedoms that I enjoy in the United States of America. I read about foreign countries and other lands and try to think of what it must be like to be forced to follow a certain religion or practice or to be denied the freedom of choosing my own career and etc. I hope that as the day gets closer to the return of our Savior, we will come to appreciate those freedoms and value them and fight for them even more so as we may not enjoy them so freely as the days go on.

We were so lucky to spend Thanksgiving with our WONDERFUL AUNTIES this year! They are always so kind and generous and I hope that they know of our gratitude for them and all that they do for us. They made a beautiful and delicious Thanksgiving Feast with all of the right dishes. We had hot rolls and potatoes and turkey and ham and jello salad, and stuffing, and corn, and sweet potatoes, and anything else you can imagine for Thanksgiving. We then had, of course, pie and ice cream and oh was it yummy. We played the weekend away eating goodies, being together, and playing games. What a great year. We sure love family. Thank you again!

You can tell Rachel enjoyed it! :)