George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

Ryan wanted to include these next two.

To Brian and Kris,



Love,
~Holly and Ryan

Dear Mark C. and Heather W.,



Hope you both have a wonderful day!
Love,
~Holly and Ryan

 A recent episode of "House" was shot at Lake Arrowhead. That was as good an excuse as any for us to head up there last Saturday.
 It was a very pleasant autumnal day; sunny but cool. We fed ducks, had a nice lunch, then headed to the Lollipop park so Ryan could have some fun.
 We strolled around a bit, enjoying the scenery before heading home. Going to Arrowhead is always nice and relaxing.
 Below are our photos. Enjoy!

 

To Brice,



Love,
~Holly and Ryan

Dear Rene,




To Shawny and Jeremy,




Love,
~Holly and Ryan

Sunday, Casey invited me and my mom over for a Premier Designs jewelry party. It was fun and the jewelry was nice. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in either going to a Premier Designs party, or ordering from their catalog. If so, please let me know. Thanks!

 My mom always made my Halloween costumes, and now it's tradition that she makes Ryan's. This year Ryan was a bat for Halloween. NOT Batman. A BAT. 
 
 I may be biased, but I think Ryan's bat costume turned out really well!
 Ryan and I went over to Mike and Casey's house for dinner, and to go trick or treating with Dylan and Madison. (Casey's best friend, Andrea, and her husband, Matthew came along, too - as well as Matthew's niece, Treasure, and her friend, Crystal. Treasure and Crystal went as ladybugs, so Ryan was referring to them as, "The Ladybug Friends." ) Dylan went as Wolverine, and Madison went as a fairy princess. Mike was dressed as a ghost pirate a la Pirates of the Caribbean.(Even after digging around in my storage shed for over an hour, I was unable to local my Ren Faire costume, so I didn't dress up.)
 Matthew accidentally called Ryan, "Batman," to which Ryan replied with much annoyance, "I'm NOT Batman! I'm a BAT!"
 Unfortunately Casey wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home while Mike, and Casey's mom, Rondi, went out with us.
 Casey and Mike live in a great neighborhood for Halloween. A lot of people go all out. Their neighbor across the street even had a maze set up in his front yard, with the reward of candy at the apex of the maze.
 We began our trick or treating right at dusk. It was a beautiful evening. We all had a great time making circuits around the neighborhood. Ryan did really well, saying "Trick or treat!" and even "Thank you!" This is the first year I stood back a little and let Ryan go up to the door with Madison and Dylan. (There were several adults in our group very close by at all times.) There were a couple of times Ryan wanted me to go with him, so I did. Ryan didn't seem spooked by much, but there was one house that had a HUGE inflatable spider which Ryan didn't like at all. I don't blame him!
 After every house, Ryan would hold his trick or treat bucket up and say, "Look how many I've got!"
 One house gave out delicious hot chocolate, with lots of cinnamon in it. Yum!
 After a while, the kiddos started to get tired. We headed back to Casey and Mike's house with quite a haul of candy. Ryan slam dunked about half a dozen pieces or so before we headed home. When we got home, I let Ryan have all the candy he wanted, before putting him to bed with the Great Pumpkin. All in all, a very good Halloween!
 Here are our photos from the night. Enjoy!