Happy Thanksgiving!

For starters, I made some wonderful pumpkin bread for the huge family dinner. I found the recipe over at All Recipes. It turned out really, really good. Instead of just water, I followed the suggestion on one of the comments to use orange juice instead. I was very happy with how it turned out. The recipe itself can be found here. Since I enjoy cooking, that whole site is a nice way to check out new stuff - especially with the comments.

I've been debating about posting a list of things I'm thankful for. It just seems kind of...cheesy?...lame?...

But who cares? Here is a partial list of things I am thankful for (in no particular order):

My religion. It not only has shaped me into the person I've become over the past 15 years, but it influences my present lifestyle and gives me a goal and a purpose for being who I am.

My wife and my best friend (who just happen to be the same person). The words "I love you" just seem inadequate at times - although I tell her as often as I can. We can talk, laugh, be serious, play games, work though problems, plan for the future, and have a great sex life (not that you want or need to hear about that).

My kids - the whole ornery lot of 'em. I am their Daddy and they are my Kiddos. Being a father is truly a defining part of my life. They are not perfect, but neither am I - and somehow we're managing to love each other. Nothing makes me happier than to think of being an eternal family.

My country. Yes, it has it's problems. Yes, it seems really screwed up at times. Be that as it may, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

My finances. I'm far from rich. Come on, I'm a college student with four kids. We're way below the poverty line, but we're managing. I think a lot of that comes from when we were first married. I had a LOT of money back then, but then wasted it and had NOTHING. The important thing, though, is that both of us learned so much about how to handle our money now and what we can really do without. The human trend towards consumerism (which is not the same thing as Capitalism) has become one of my pet peeves...but that is a topic for another post.

My education. One semester to go...

Well, it is a very generic list. I really do have more specifics - but I don't feel like sharing, so nyeah!

P.S. I shaved my beard off. I'm back to looking like a young punk again.