Thanksgiving

What is family? Is it people who are blood related? Do they share the same relatives? I ask these questions because I had a great Thanksgiving with my family. People who I haven't seen in years...5 or 6 and some people I was never acquainted with became family to me today. There were new spouses and boyfriends and neighbors that I had never met. We had a great meal at my Dad's and StepMom's house. We could have easily fed 50 more people and I am not exaggerating. Sitting around the table and chatting with my "elders" is always such an enlightening experience. Today I learned why my Grandmothers family moved from Kansas in the 40's. They originally resided in Dodge City and in order to give their children more opportunities, they moved to Canby Oregon. I learned about my Grandpa's surgery and commented on how much weight he had lost. He isn't looking great to say the least. My father's brother had five children. I haven't seen any of them for 5+ years. Some of them had been married and had children. It was great to see them. The most profound thing though was speaking to a cousin of my fathers and his family. They have a daughter that is looking into becoming a nun. Not only did we have a very deep and profound discussion on service and Charity, but ended up talking about Proposition 8 and the persecution of the Church. This led to a very wonderful discussion on faith and religion that was amazing. Sometimes I am just so glad that my Grandparents and my husband and I are the only active members in my family. We had such a great opportunity to share the gospel in a very loving and wonderful way. I love days like this! They make me want to give everyone a hug and sing "He's got the Whole World in His Hands!"