Thankful

There is nothing worse then being away from your family on a holiday.  But, there is nothing better then being far away and being invited and welcomed into somebody's home to join in their family festivities.  So, for this we are THANKFUL.

Our Thanksgiving started at the first of the month when we decided to write down each night (we made it happen every other night...pretty good I think) something we are thankful for.  We each wrote it on a piece of paper and then taped them on our back door.  The best part was to see what the girls were thankful for.  I learned that when you are 3 you are thankful for things like: Dora, firetrucks, family, Trynt, Bryce, Santa, Christmas trees, and Mrs. Maxwell.  I learned that when you are 6 you are thankful for things like: Princesses, friends, family, my teacher, Bryce, Trynt, Meme & Popi, Jesus, and Heaven. 

The week before Thanksgiving Addison's school had a Thanksgiving feast and of course there were goodies.  Daddy made Pilgrim hats out of cookies and marshmallows for us to take.

And of course it was great fun for all of us, but mostly Trynt and Addison.

Pictures like this make me want to cry because I can't imagine them without each other.

It was interesting to note that both girls were thankful for our little cowboy friends, Trynt and Bryce.  And I must say, their family made it on to all of our lists.  We have been blessed twice, once in Sumter, SC and once here in Texas to be "adopted" by a local family.  Our family in Sumter started out as our Realtor and she and her family took us in and really took care of me the first year Nate was in Korea.  That relationship grew to me working for her and her husband even filling in with flowers on Valentine's Day when Nate was away.  Words cannot express our deep gratitude to them and what they have meant to our lives.  And then when we thought we would never have that again we met the Palmer family.  Our kids are the same ages and we met through their school and our church.  They have allowed us to be a part of many of their family festivities and have given their time and love to us as any of our "real" family would.  My heart cries when I think of leaving them and what this will do to our children.  They have touched our lives in a way that we can never repay them.  They were God's blessing to us when I could see no good in moving to Texas.  We are thankful for families like the Palmers, who are willing to open their home to others in a very unselfish way.  They are a blessing to all who know them.  

This was our Thanksgiving with the Palmer family...

They live on a farm, so to speak...

Our invite started out as "bring a side"...it was mashed potatoes...then I got a call..."Can you look in that kid magazine and come up with a kid friendly dessert and a craft?"  Normally, I would not have time to do this with 3 kids.  But, I am locked down several times a day with the pump (the one Addison so eloquently showcased here) on the couch so I said, "sure".  This is called multitasking, even if it is a the 2 a.m. pumping.  So, sure enough I found two great ideas!

We started off with the craft....

First you need tissue paper, glass or plastic jars, glue, LED tea lights, and pipe cleaners.

  and you get LANTERNS!

Then you get to eat kid friendly dessert...cherry pies?

Ok, ok, chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate surprise in the middle, lots of icing, and red M&Ms...way better then cherry pie!

And then of course there are four different ways of consuming the kid friendly dessert.

OPTION 1: 

Icing and M&Ms only.

OPTION 2:

One small lick at a time...with your pointer finger.

OPTION 3:

There is the princess, graceful version that is neat and dainty.

OPTION 4:

And then...there is the BOY version.

What a day and we wouldn't have traded it for anything!

P.S. Allye was there...

sleeping in someone's arms and being passed and cooed over like she was one of their own.