Giving Thanks
For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,
For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,
For the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand,
For the good that our artists and poets have taught,
For the friendship that hope and affection have brought --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the homes that with purest affection are blest,
For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,
For our country extending from sea unto sea;
The land that is known as the "Land of the Free" --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

Author Unknown

As you travel to visit with family and friends, or staying home, may the spirit of this day be with you all year. May we always give thanks for the day and the gifts we are bestowed. I found this poem to be one that touched me on so many levels, as my family is a family of farmers, who toil the land and reap the harvest. A job that is full of beauty, but one that is long and hard. [my cousin Fred just baled the last field of hay last week and got it all into the barn before the rains...] My family is filled with workingman's hands, with engineers, healers and teachers.....of artists. The diversity of life is so wonderful for us, and I give thanks for our health and family ties.

Emma Sage has been excited with all the stories we have been reading about the pilgrims, of freedom and of working hard and gathering the harvest so that we may sit at the table today and celebrate our good fortune. She has learned to write 'turkey' and is so proud that she can write her full name without any help.....as seen in this picture below.

I give thanks for my husband for allowing me to work from home and to teach Emma Sage......as these first few months of officially homeschooling her have been so wonderful and I know that this is the path that is best for our little girl. She is happy, rested, eager to learn and blossoming as a kindergartner..........she truly understands and appreciates the gift of learning. I pray that her love of learning will stay with her all the days of her life. I truly believe for myself, that I need to learn something new everyday, even if it is stopping to look at something in a new light. I do not end my day without reading a passage [or many chapters] from a book......as reading is the greatest of gifts that I am so very thankful for on this day of thanks.

So on this Thanksgiving Day of 2006......I wish you all a day filled with the gifts of life that make you happy.

Peace and love, Tara Marie & family