I am a merchandiser for 3 companies & Wal-Mart is one of the stores I work in. The vendors have to be through by 5 a.m. - meaning some of them will be in at 3 a.m. or be off that day - or wait until after 3 or 4 p.m. Today, the day before Thanksgiving, has been crowded & tomorrow until about 11 will be as crowded. Workers & customers constantly getting in each other's way. Whew!!!! And, I'll have to go "pull up" a couple of more times today! I made the mistake of going to the day after sale & never again! First, you have to park 10 miles from the store. Then you get all the way to the door & find out that everyone's already taken all the shopping carts. Then, you have to inch around shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. When I went, I was buying 3 boys' bikes & a smaller girls' bike. They were in boxes & I liked to not have gotten them in my cart - so good luck finding someone to help you. Then, I had to fight through the crowds again to the cash registers, where I stood in line for an hour. Then, getting them through the parking lot - keep in mind people are constantly backing up & moving - & into the car. Again, never again! Last year, I made the mistake of having to go in for toilet paper or something - one item - & it took forever because of the long lines at the check outs (why don't they ever have all the registers going? is it just me?).

Very beautiful Lucy!!! I like the way you did your collage too. Sorry you are having problems with your computer! Don't do what I did. I got so mad and frustrated with my laptop that I dropped my pen very hard (I really didn't throw it) and the tip hit my screen and ruined it. It looked like an etch a sketch that was erased. I can only use it plugged into a monitor. So I treat my other laptop very nicely as I want it to last. LOL!!! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! Joyce

OK, I am a world's class idiot. I got home from work last night and was out in the side yard, minding my own business, trying to make a grapevine wreath out of a bunch of grape vine I'd just spent ten minutes trying to pull out of a pear tree and the kids roll in, done with the cows for the evening. Now I hadn't been able to spend an evening at home either night this week and was looking forward to staying home and here comes Steph bounding around the house like some cat with feathers hanging out of it's mouth. She and Kate had determined that they needed to go to town, get their hair cut and , oh by the way, Elder Beerman and Penney's were having 50 % sales and really I needed to go too. I really thought my expressions and body language was telling her in no uncertain terms no but she rattled right on telling me how glad I should be that my children wanted me to go shopping with them and we'd have lots and lots of fun. Darned if she shouldn't go ahead and go to law school cause she'd have a jury eating out of her hand. I think she really wanted to make sure she had someone there to buy Kate something if she wanted it. Anyway, we ended up over two hours in town, they didn't buy a thing and Kate got 10 inches of hair cut off for Lock For Love. At least I took my crocheting along so hair cutting time wasn't wasted. The joke was on Stephanie though. Kate got her haircut free cause she donated the hair. Steph had to pay for her own! Janet

A story atleast some of you will appreciate: A Thanksgiving Story By Andréa Nannette Mejia It was the day before Thanksgiving - the first one my three children and I would be spending without their father, who had left several months before. Now the two older children were very sick with the flu, and the eldest had just been prescribed bed rest for a week. It was a cool, gray day outside, and a light rain was falling. I grew wearier as I scurried around, trying to care for each child: thermometers, juice, diapers. And I was fast running out of liquids for the children. But when I checked my purse, all I found was about $2.50 - and this was supposed to last me until the end of the month. That's when I heard the phone ring. It was the secretary from our former church, and she told me that they had been thinking about us and had something to give us from the congregation. I told her that I was going out to pick up some more juice and soup for the children, and I would drop by the church on my way to the market. I arrived at the church just before lunch. The church secretary met me at the door and handed me a special gift envelope. "We think of you and the kids often," she said, "and you are in our hearts and prayers. We love you." When I opened the envelope, I found two grocery certificates inside. Each was worth $20. I was so touched and moved, I broke down and cried. "Thank you very much," I said, as we hugged each other. "Please give our love and thanks to the church." Then I drove to a store near our home and purchased some much-needed items for the children. At the check-out counter I had a little over $14.00 worth of groceries, and I handed the cashier one of the gift certificates. She took it, then turned her back for what seemed like a very long time. I thought something might be wrong. Finally I said, "This gift certificate is a real blessing. Our former church gave it to our family, knowing I'm a single parent trying to make ends meet." The cashier then turned around, with tears in her loving eyes, and replied, "Honey, that's wonderful! Do you have a turkey?" "No. It's okay because my children are sick anyway." She then asked, "Do you have anything else for Thanksgiving dinner?" Again I replied, "No." After handing me the change from the certificate, she looked at my face and said, "Honey, I can't tell you exactly why right now, but I want you to go back into the store and buy a turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie or anything else you need for a Thanksgiving dinner." I was shocked, and humbled to tears. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Yes! Get whatever you want. And get some Gatorade for the kids." I felt awkward as I went back to do more shopping, but I selected a fresh turkey, a few yams and potatoes, and some juices for the children. Then I wheeled the shopping cart up to the same cashier as before. As I placed my groceries on the counter, she looked at me once more with giant tears in her kind eyes and began to speak. "Now I can tell you. This morning I prayed that I could help someone today, and you walked through my line." She reached under the counter for her purse and took out a $20 bill. She paid for my groceries and then handed me the change. Once more I was moved to tears. The sweet cashier then said, "I am a Christian. Here is my phone number if you ever need anything." She then took my head in her hands, kissed my cheek and said, "God bless you, honey." As I walked to my car, I was overwhelmed by this stranger's love and by the realization that God loves my family too, and shows us his love through this stranger's and my church's kind deeds. The children were supposed to have spent Thanksgiving with their father that year, but because of the flu they were home with me, for a very special Thanksgiving Day. They were feeling better, and we all ate the goodness of the Lord's bounty - and our community's love. Our hearts were truly filled with thanks.