Hope everyone had a long and delightful Thanksgiving weekend. Mine was quite busy, but it was a great weekend overall. Some highlights:
- As expected, we had the "traditional" hot-pot dinner with the family on Thanksgiving day. This year's dinner was a little more special with our honorary guest, Irene, joining us. It was also Sally's first Thanksgiving. She got to enjoy some tastier food (a real bone instead of dry dog food), and join in our family photos, so I think she had a good Thanksgiving too.
- Put up the Christmas tree. At first I wanted to wait until I got a skirt (for the tree, not myself you pervs!), but finally decided that I would just suck it up and try to squeeze it in later. The tree looks good, definitely adding a lot of holiday spirit to the townhouse, but I'm hoping to spice it up with at least a few more ornaments this year. We'll see how it goes.
- Did not participate in Black Friday shopping, but ended up getting crushed by the crowds at Woodfield anyways, having lunch at Texas de Brazil located in the mall. I highly recommend the place to anyone who likes meat (as I do). Their salad bar is actually really good too. It's a lot like Fogo, except I think the selection is better. The quality may be slightly lower, but it's still excellent overall.
- Saturday was the busiest day I've had in a long time. Played in our church's annual "Turkey Bowl" during the day, and even though it was only flag football and not tackle, I still ended up quite bruised and sore. Even Sally got a little bit of action that day, sporting her new Bears jersey:
I love that picture. Look at the perfect blocking technique. She should be an offensive lineman for the Bears!
At night, attended Josh and Jenny's wedding reception. It was really good to see a lot of old faces there, and of course to wish the happy couple well. Unfortunately, I think I ended up with a slight case of food poisoning, which lingered through the rest of the night and most of Sunday.
Nevertheless, I decided to suck it up and briefly stop by Moe's Cantina in honor of Bua's bday, before finally running out of gas for the night. Again, it was great to see everyone out, although I did end up taking one of the worst shots ever before I left - BAD IDEA. It's one thing to have 3 Wise Men when you're expecting it, but a whole new level of terribles to down that shot when you think it's something much weaker (i.e., SoCo & Lime). Stupid Ciszek...
- Congrats to Dennis and Lauren on their engagement! Another one bites the dust.
- On a personal note, it definitely felt like an extra special Thanksgiving this year for me. I know it is beyond cliche to say this, but I really am so very thankful for all of my family and friends who have been there over the years. I know I take you all for granted at times, but whenever I stop to think about things, I really do treasure the people who have lasted in my life for so long. It's not easy to stay consistently there throughout the many bumps and bruises, the twists and turns that we all go through, and we all fall short and let each other down from time to time. So it says a lot in my mind, when I think about all of the people who have always unconditionally supported me and unselfishly blessed my life, no matter what comes up in our lives.
Also, as I mentioned before, one of the best things about this time of year is to see the old faces, especially people who have moved to other parts of the country (or even other parts of the world). I know that life takes each and every one of us to different places, and that it's only human nature to be "out of sight, out of mind" when friends and loved ones leave Chicago. But I guess that just means we need to remember to cherish the time we do have with them that much more. I am definitely thankful that I got to revisit and see a lot of old friends this weekend that made the trip back home.
Most of all, I'm thankful to know that God is constantly watching over me and that He never gives up on my life - no matter how many mistakes I make, or how far I wander off in my own world at times. Though it really hurts when He lets me fail on my own, and I wish I didn't have to stumble through so many self-inflicted struggles before starting to learn what faith means, I know that everything happens for a reason. I've been seeing that doing things my own way can only take me so far, but that only by fully sacrificing my own control and giving up my selfish way of thinking, can I even begin to feel truly complete and right with my life.
Anyways, didn't mean to get too sappy or deep there, but I guess I do want to share why Thanksgiving means so much to me this year. I'm definitely thankful for being led to baptism during the past year, and for the many unexpected blessings in my life that have followed in the months since. I'm thankful even for the difficult moments, because I realize that unless we have faith, it is the only way we can grow and change for the better. Not only this, but as the famous Bible verse goes, "we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
Have a happy holiday season!
