Shane Life

I’ve got a lot to be thankful for and I try to remember that daily and not just because the pilgrims told me to.

On this day of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for:

• My beautiful, loving, talented wife. She’s my best friend and the first person I want to talk to in the morning and the last one I want to talk to at night.
• My awesome family. All of them, immediate and extended. My family is fantastic.
• My great friends. I’m blessed with a large group of great friends who are a lot of fun to be around. I’m looking forward to our Gardner-Olathe football game this Saturday.
• And so much more…

I hope that this day finds you healthy, thankful, and blessed. Thanks especially to those who serve our country overseas and cannot be with their families on this day.

It’s a fitting close to this weekend.

Saturday turned out to be awesome. I woke up at 5 with the rain and lightning and was convinced we wouldn’t be able to golf. However, with some prayers, the weather cleared and by 10:00, the only thing we had to worry about at Royal Meadows was the wind.

Golfing was a lot of fun and then we joined some others for an 18-person poker tournament. But in order to give myself a challenge, I grilled 40+ cheeseburgers so Jake’s Man Day attendants would have something to nosh on.

The rest of Man Day was a blast. I finally had to call it a night at 12:30 shortly after I got everyone to the Brooksider. I hope everyone had fun.

Yesterday was a little more relaxed. We went to church, made lunch and I took a nice long nap. Last night, we spent some time at a friends’ house in their recently redone backyard, which made me insanely jealous to redo our backyard. We lazed around, watched the pilot of Iron Chef America from a few years ago, then turned in early.

It is, after all, Red Meat Day.

We’re going over to my parents’ house today. My dad returned from Dubai on Friday in time to ask me what I wanted to have for lunch today. He went and picked up my requested steak - a ribeye from McGonigals. So I’ll finally get to have what I missed for Jake’s birthday.

I wanted to wish all of you a happy thanksgiving. I know many of you will be off today and traveling.

Alli has been posting regularly over the past month about what she is thankful for every day. Last year, I took the opportunity to do the same thing, but I listed one thing each day. It was a wonderful exercise and I enjoyed it a lot. This year, I haven’t managed to post everyday like I did, but I am by no means any less thankful.

Just want to share some of what I’m thankful for today:

• I’m thankful first and foremost for my lovely wife Alli who makes my life complete. Plus, she started my fan club.
• I’m thankful for my loving and understanding parents who set a terrific example. 
• I’m thankful to have a brother who is my best friend outside of my wife. 
• I’m thankful for Alli’s family, who have accepted and loved me as a son and brother.
• I’m thankful for Kelly and Ireland, the newest members of our family. Love you guys!
• I’m thankful for my wonderful dog, even if he constantly licks and chews his feet.
• I’m thankful for a great group of friends that I’ve grown up with and acquired along the way.
• I’m thankful to have a home that I love being in and a great job.
• I’m thankful for the cool fall weather and the evening dusting of snow.
• I’m thankful for having teams to root for in the fall - Rock Chalk and Go Chiefs! 
• I’m thankful that Alli and I got to take a dream trip to Paris and Italy this summer.
• I’m thankful to have a great church family that I enjoy worshipping with every Sunday.
• I’m thankful for the thorns in my life that remind me through tears the colors of God’s rainbow are more brilliant.

Happy Thanksgiving.
Love, Shane

It’s not just about the food today.

Okay, that’s a big part of it, but it really isn’t why I’m thankful for this day. I’m thankful today because I get to spend the day with my family, including my dad, who has been overseas for the past 6 weeks on business.

I’m also looking forward to the after-meal time of fellowship, games, and laziness that always seems to accompany this holiday.

But I’m thankful for turkey, too.