"When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living.  If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself." ~~Tecumseh

Hi all,

Happy Thanksgiving, a bit early, to those of you in and from the States!  Whether you're celebrating or not, I hope you have a wonderful week filled with blessings!

Web site-related note: I'm trying to get caught up on site updates although everything related to the Episode Guide and Photo Gallery is still on hold and likely will be until some point next year.  On the upside, Kim and I have each written stories!  You can find Kim's New Beginnings on the Author's Cut.  My story, A Stór Mo Chroi, is still being edited but will be available there within the week.  I'm telling ya'll this cause if you do keep up with the Dyeland stories, it might be best to read those first and hold off on this newsletter until after cause some of the contents are a lil spoilery. 

As promised last time, I'm gonna turn this over to the Dyelanders and their friends!  In the spirit of giving thanks, they decided to choose someone(s) from among their group to write thank you notes to.  Enjoy and, if you'd like, take the time to thank someone who has blessed you this year!

God bless,
Jenni


Zeke and Diana,

Hey! Just wanted to let you know I’ve enjoyed the talks Kemara and I have had with you so far. It’s been eye opening to see marriage from the point of view of a couple other than my parents. I never knew how much work it takes. Not that we’re afraid of that (Ha! Ask us again next year!).

Oh, and we’ll definitely be taking you up on the offer to babysit Manny sometime. Kemara hasn’t been around babies much - except for Belle - so she wants the experience. As for me...Ciara’s five years younger, so I think I remember how to hold one. No diapers, please!

Looking forward to more great advice from you both!

Sean


Violeta,

Thank you so much for taking on the job of wedding planner. I’m amazed at how much you’ve gotten done already! Sean said the other day that he was relieved not to have to worry about anything wedding related. I told him I didn’t realize men cared about flowers and such. He admitted he doesn’t - as long as I don’t want him to wear a kilt (now there’s a thought!). But apparently his mom and sister have been asking all kinds of questions. I’ll have to give you their phone numbers so you can talk to them. They’re both really nice and not overbearing at all. I think I’ve been blessed as far as in-laws are concerned! Anyway, this is just the beginning, and things will probably be crazy as March gets closer. So, I wanted you to know that both of us really appreciate what you’re doing.

And I wanted to say too - I know sometimes things about us humans are still confusing, and sometimes you feel out of the loop. But I just have to say thank you for holding on to that sense of wonder. It’s something I wish I still had, and I hope you never lose it.

Love and hugs,

Kemara


Dear Belle,

We know you're too young to read this but we hope, someday when you're older, you'll read these words and know how happy you made us.  Thank you for being such a sweet, fun, cuddly, lovable, and loving daughter!  We love you so much and, every day, that love for you grows more and more.  We are so grateful to God for bringing you to us.  Daddy still tears up every time he remembers the first time he held you and Mama will never forget the joy she felt when Kelly told her that you were ours.

On a less serious note: thank you for learning how to sleep through the night!  Mama's students are very glad that her notes on their school work actually make sense these days and Daddy's assignments haven't had to ask him why he's wearing two different socks. 

Belle, we feel so blessed to be able to watch you grow and thrive and learn.  So hard to believe you'll be a year old soon!  We love you, sweetheart.

Always,
Mama and Daddy


Hi Adam!

We just wanted to thank you for your amazing (and totally fun) friendship!  Whether counseling and consoling us when we're troubled or keeping us in stitches with your awesome sense of humor, it's been an honor to be your friends.  Whatever the future brings, we know we'll always be close and we thank Joshua very much for that.

Have a wonderful, pro-turkey Thanksgiving!  We'll see you there!

Love,
Kylie and Clay


Dear Liam,

Thank you for being such a precious and caring son!  You're a wonderful little boy and we thank Joshua every day for bringing you to our door and into our lives.  Reading stories with you, drawing with you, playing with cars and building with blocks with you are all such treasured parts of our days.  Monny is so happy that she gets to spend every day with you and it gives Daddy so much joy to come home from work and get a big hug and kiss from you.

We love you so much, sweet boy!

Lots of love,
Monny and Daddy


Dear Andrew and JenniAnn & Arthur and Monica,

Thank you for your liberal understanding of the words "aunt" and "uncle."  ;-)  It means a lot to us all to know your little ones think of us that way.  We're also honored that you trust us to help you raise Belle and Liam.  We promise we won't spoil then... well, not too much. 

Affectionately,
Adam, Eli, Henry, Tess, and Violeta


Dearest Peter,

Every morning, the first thing I do is thank Joshua and the Father for bringing us together and I thank them every night for the day we shared.  After Joshua, you make me happier than anyone I have ever known and I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone. 

Thank you, Peter, for your compassion and your hope and a love so selfless that it's no wonder Joshua picked you to fill his sandals onstage.  I love you so tremendously much, forever and always.

Yours,
Emma


Dear Hailey, Sy, and Kendra,

We want to thank you for being such wonderful big sisters and big brother to Manny.  Watching you hold him and change him and soothe him has made our eyes water many a time (and usually not because of his aromatic diapers!)  We are so proud of each of you for all the great things you are doing with your lives and how you honor God each and every day.  We couldn't be prouder of our sons and our daughters!

With bunches of love,
Mom and Dad


Ivy!!!  Hugs!!!!!!

Thank you for being a super cool friend!  Halloween was so much fun and I'm so glad you and your grandma are going to stop by the day after Thanksgiving.  Adam makes really yummy TLS, cranberry, and cream cheese sandwiches and they'll be even better this year because we're making bread with Maryam's recipe!  Yay!!!

Love ya,
Violeta


Joshua,

Thank you for...
    -sunrises, sunsets, flowers, stars, rainfall, snowflakes, animals, and all the other wonders of the world,
    -laughter, long talks, hugs, kisses, and shoulders to cry on,
    -the love and friendship of each other,
    -your love, the Father's love,
    -your sacrifice,
    -and for, simply, being You.

Love,
All of us

This newsletter is dedicated to John Dye for modeling such a lovely spirit of thankfulness.  I can remember watching interviews he did during Touched's run and he always seemed to consider the role to be a blessing, not something he was owed, and it was one of the many reasons I admired him.


JABB TOC

JABB 425

(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from Touched by an Angel and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions. They are not being used to seek profit.)