Happy Thanksgiving!!

We Had So Much
Fun At Our Cousin's House!

I love Thanksgiving, as a rule it stands out as my favorite holiday. I love being with family, the sounds of great conversation and the smell of great food intermingling. This Thanksgiving really stands out for me - I am always thankful for my life, but this year in particular has been one of great leaps of faith and amazing provision. I am so thankful that my family is complete, that God has blessed and entrusted me with these four little lives. Looking back on how God brought each of them into our family makes me truly stand in amazement of His awesome power and grace. I am also so thankful because on Wednesday, we were able to purchase a van! We have lived the past 3.5 years with one car, it's been a struggle at times but became a huge struggle when Eli came home and we could no longer fit everyone! It was so nice being able to make our 1.5 hour Thanksgiving drive to Joel's brother's home in our new vehicle. We felt as though the van was the last piece of the puzzle in Eli coming into our family, God has provided everything we needed!

We spent the day with Zane, Viki, their children Kyle, Ayla, and Dylan, and Joel's parents. As always, Viki (or Auntie Bickey, as my girls still call her) put on a delicious spread while making it look completely easy. After ten years, I still don't understand how she does this. I get so flustered when I'm putting out a big holiday meal, trying to get everything out on time and "just right". It takes about half a bottle of wine to make me remotely civil during this process. Viki cruises through it like it's no more challenging than mac & cheese, all the while chatting and joking and never losing so much as an ounce of her cool. Viki, I don't know if you'll ever read this, but if you do - you amaze me! My hat is off to you, girl!

The kids had a fantastic time with their cousins, and Eli's only complaint was that there was no duck blood soup for dinner. Sorry Eli! I'm only half kidding about the soup, he ate that several times in China - for breakfast! Eli didn't eat much, poor guy - he is still getting used to American cuisine!

We have one more exciting and thankful day in store for us this week. On Sunday, we will celebrate Eli's first birthday with us. His birthday is actually on Saturday, but Joel and I have decided to be horrible parents this year. Due to circumstances outside of our control, the only day we had to shop for birthday gifts would have been today - Black Friday. Everyone knows I can't leave the house on Black Friday - it is an ugly world out there and I enjoy retaining what is left of my sanity when I can! Last night we talked it over and discovered that we shared the same view on that subject, and decided to wait until Sunday. So I promise to post pictures from that event asap!

Finally, if you are reading this blog, chances are I'm thankful for you, too. I can't imagine my life without my friends and beloved family to share it with. We are so very blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives!

Love to All,

Jen