Submitted by ADeFrancesco on

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love planning and cooking the meal and having friends and family with whom to share it.  Typically we spend the holidays at the ranch where we have a large kitchen and room for a crowd.  I enjoy baking bread, pies, turkey and all the trimmings.  This year our meal will be at our home in Houston with our family and a more limited menu.  As you know, Thanksgiving is not about the menu – it’s about being thankful and counting the many blessings which we have received.

When I think of the many things for which I am thankful, my faith, family, friends and health are at the top of the list.  With the recent cold, rainy weather we’ve had, I’m even more thankful for a warm home and that our cattle tanks are full of water for the first time in 3 years.  I’m thankful to live in a country where freedom is cherished and to be part of an organization where the men and women in uniform are our heroes.

This year we have an extra blessing – the birth of our first granddaughter, Campbell Lynn Witte.  Campbell arrived Monday evening and she and her mom, Lindsey, are both doing very well.  Her big brothers, Cade (5-1/2) and Jake (4) were so excited to welcome her to the family. 

Each of Lindsey and Brett’s children has one name from a family member.  The boys each have their great-grandfathers’ names as their middle names.  Campbell was named for her fifth great-grandfather, Campbell English, who came to Texas during the days of the Texas Revolution in the early 1840’s.  He, in turn, was named for his mother, Letitia Campbell.   

The arrival of a new baby makes me even more conscious of the importance of the DAR and our service to God, Home and Country.  We have over 175,000 members who serve to make a difference in our country.  I am thankful that you are preserving our history, providing scholarships for hundreds of students, serving our veterans and our active duty troops and that you are working to instill patriotism and good citizenship in our youth.  Because of your commitment to our country, we are close to our goal of 1 million hours of community service this year. 

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve the DAR, an organization which has been a central part of my life for 36 years, and for the Executive Officers with whom I serve.  In 18 years it will be an honor to sign Campbell’s DAR application so she can become the sixth generation Daughter in our family. 

As we are taught in 1 Chronicles 16:34 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he his good; his love endures forever.”

 

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!