Our Thanksgiving 2005 Reflections

Therese |  Paul | Peter | Carrol | Steve

(from Therese)

Dearest Jesus,

I give thanksgiving for Your tender care always. You are indeed an awesome God and I pray that in all that I say and do, I sing your praises all the days of my life. Today, I give joyful thanks for this beautiful family of mine…

For Steve, my loving companion in this glorious life of ours, for his passionate love of your awesome Creation and his boy-like enthusiasm for the dawning of each day and all its promise.

For Peter, my beautiful first-born son, who astounds me with his gifts of intellect, insight and great strength of expression.

For my sweet Paul, my baby, who blesses me richly with his charity of heart and deep, spiritual presence.

For my other Mom, who embraces me as a daughter and with whom I share my deepest struggles and joys and who amazes me with her artistic gifts and strength of character.

I give thanksgiving for the opportunity to take this trip, to see and experience Your world and its lands and peoples.

I give thanksgiving for all our friends and family who sustain us in prayer and who walk with us, though far away.

I give thanksgiving for all those we have met on the way, our fellow travelers and the people of these faraway places, for the countless ways they have touched my soul.

And, above all, I give thanks for all the ways Your Love shines down upon us and reveals Your Glory. For Yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever and ever. Amen.

(from Paul)

Thanks for…

Peter, Dad, Mom, Grandma, Auntie Kat-Kat, Nana, Vovo, Kale, Blessing, friends, food, vanilla super-moist cake with milk chocolate frosting, the trip, basketball, football, orange fizzy stuff (Vitamin C), golf, fishing, trekking, Bukit Lawang, Taman Negara, Tortuguero, Manual Antonio, Cahuita, Ferdy, our Honda, our house, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Indonesia, Belize, Thailand, Laos, Japan, Kleenex, orangutans, hornbills, tapirs, animals, birds, fruit, pool, Ronaldinho, Africa, Barcelona, English Premiere League, Spanish Premiere League…

(from Peter)

Thanks for…

v      My family

v      The world I live and travel in

v      My friends at home

v      Food and desserts

v      Kale

v      Blessing

v      Our tenants

v      All of the kind people we have met

v      Roti, naan, roti bom

v      Every restaurant and hotel that have given us food and a roof

v      Paul, Mom, Dad and G-ma

“Pot” for “Paul”

Pursue

Open

Traveler

“M” for “Mom”

Magnificent

“D” for “Dad”

Determined

“G” for “G-ma”

Generous

(from Carrol)

I am thankful for…

v      My family, the love we share and the support we give each other.

v      My improved and continued good health

v      The spirit of God that rests within me and brings peace into my life.

v      The gifts that God has bestowed upon me that enable me to live my life to the fullest through artistic realization, will power, courage and appreciation of life.

v      My financial independence which enables me to seek new journeys.

(from Steve)

I am thankful for the following:

v      Therese, Mom, Peter and Paul putting up with all my budget and itinerary antics during this trip.

v      Being able to spend this time together as a family and having the means to see these many destinations.

v      All the events and activities and people we have met and experienced during this trip

v      The support of many people while we are traveling

v      The beach, wildlife, jungles, mountains and sunny days we have seen

v      All the local transportation and people that have gotten us places

v      The women taking care of Kale and Blessing

v      Jeff B. taking care of the house

v      All the hotels and guest houses that continue to show up in our travels

v      Ton’s family, Hayato and Kazu, Maria & Miguel, To and Ta, who helped us experience a closer understanding of their countries

v      Alex, Veronica and Anna, Sara and Rune, the Bambum Kampang gang (Gordon, Alex, Pierre and Fiona) who helped enrich our journey

v      Therese’s dedication to the web, our health and happiness

v      Peter’s dedication to exploring new horizons in this world through meeting people, reading books and critically thinking about our experiences

v      Paul’s dedication to all wildlife, habitat and filming

v      Mom’s dedication to experiencing the world and sharing with the kids and her enthusiasm

v      To Therese for being my loving my wife and to God for reminding me not to take life so seriously.