Thanksgiving has come and gone for the Rhodes family. We had a very nice time, even though not all of us were able to be here (see below for more on that!) I think maybe the neatest thing about this Thanksgiving was having my grandparents there with us.

For those who aren't fortunate enough to receive one of my father's sometimes painfully detailed email updates, my grandfather's health (his name is Jack) has taken a turn for the worse over the last several weeks, necessitating a move from assisted living (where he was living with his wife, Marilyn) into a full time care skilled nursing facility in early November. Because Grandma is still pretty healthy though, it's meant she's had to stay in the assisted living facility because she doesn't qualify for the level of care that Grandpa currently needs. It's been kind of a sad time over the last month with Jack's health deteriorating and his being separated from his wife of over 50 years for what is the first time in their lives, as far as I know.

As we were moving towards Thanksgiving this year, it was looking like Grandpa wasn't going to be strong enough to leave the nursing home and spend Thanksgiving with us. However, Kelly and Dale were able to arrange to have Grandpa over to her house for Thanksgiving, which was a complete surprise to both him and his wife. It was just heart warming to watch Grandpa and Grandma sit next to each other holding hands, just enjoying each other's company. It was really sweet to see how much they really enjoyed being able to be with each other again, even if it was just for a few short hours. Being able to give a couple who's been married for that long some time to spend with each other is really something to be thankful for!

However, as I said before, not everyone was able to make it up here. My Aunt Cheryl and her family weren't able to make it up, nor were my brother Don and his family (they'll be up for Christmas though). Not to fear! Go-Go-Gadget Mark (that's me) had his trusty video camera with him and we recorded Thanksgiving video greetings for both the Weston and the Rhodes contingents that couldn't make it:

• A quick message for the Weston side of the family


• Around the table with greetings for Don, Lani, & James

So all in all, a very nice Thanksgiving. I think this is my first Thanksgiving at home in a while (is it four years?), Grandma and Grandpa got to share Thanksgiving together, and we all were able to be there to celebrate what is really the remarkable story of their marriage commitment. Being able to witness a little bit of their love story (yes, it sounds corny - but it's true) is what I'm very thankful for this year.