Thanksgiving

It's hard to know where to start when it comes to giving thanks. Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday that is full of tradition, yet it carries fewer obligations than Christmas. Sadly, giving thanks should occur on a daily basis in my life...not be limited to a 24 hour period when I reflect on my blessings.

And, I don't want Thanksgiving to be just a time when I give thanks to the general idea of gratitude. Instead, my thanks should be focused on the One who has gave His life for me and walked me through times of joy and deep, unspeakable pain.

Thus, I am thankful to God.

Because...
He has never let go of me...when I wanted to walk away from Him.

He has taken pain and developed depth.

He never wearies of persistence. In fact, He likes it.

He has given me more than I could have ever deserved or dreamed of.

For that...I am thankful.



I am thankful for Runner Boy...

...he loves me when I am tough to love.

...forgives me when I'm a jerk.

...encouraged me to run when I said "I want to do a marathon" and was there at the finish line when I did.

...believes in me more than I do.

...supports my passions.

...he's a great leader, planner and teacher.

...is the best Dad ever.

...and, people like him.

Then, there's this peanut...

I am so thankful that God brought her into our lives. There will never be another moment like the first time I held her in my arms. (Runner Boy let me hold her first.)

she's inquisitive, energetic, sensitive, coordinated and animated...

did I mention tenacious, dramatic and stubborn?

I am so thankful for the opportunity to call her my daughter...I cannot imagine all of the details that had to fall into place so that this little girl, from a rural part of China, could become our daughter.

Which leads me to this dude...

who knew that our 4 lb. 15 oz. boy would turn into this cutey?

I am so thankful to have carried him and experience the miracle of a newborn. I'm thankful for his smile, dimples and big blue eyes. I am thankful that he didn't inherit all of my personality...

I am thankful for his big hugs and tackles. He's all boy and it's great.

Thank you God. Thank you for your Grace...for giving us your Son, that we may get a glimpse of your Love.

it's baaaack!

remember this?

well, it's back. like a bad dream. literally.


after months of planning, painting, cleaning, de-cluttering, staging and stressing...we sold our house and moved this past weekend.

when you de-clutter, the clutter must go somewhere. ours went to the trash, the good*will and the big, evil portable storage unit.

it was delivered to our new home today. i didn't miss any of the stuff except the kids' winter coats and my way-to-expensive chili pot. (it snowed today, so i needed the coats and the chili pot!)

the big, evil portable storage unit has been here for 12 hours and no one from our new community has complained. the city engineer people haven't been here...the police haven't been here...no major accidents have occurred due to the big, evil portable storage unit...phew.

...now if i could just figure out to do with all the stuff...

change...

stuff.

we have alot of it. more than we thought. til we packed it up and loaded into a truck. it didn't all fit. got a second truck. put the rest in that one.

unloaded 1.3 trucks into new house. rethinking how much stuff we have.

last time we moved we didn't have this much stuff. didn't have 2 kids either.

not wanting our new house to be crammed with so much stuff. need to share, but don't want to let go of the memories attached to some of the stuff.

it was hard to leave our little house. many memories there...bringing home kate...bringing home sam...first words...first steps...tears, joy, pain and laughter. growing together, growing up and outgrowing our space. didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to our old house...time ran out.

closed on new house and got the keys. unlocked the front door to new memories, traditions and hope. cousins came to help settle...laughter heard all over the house.

kids eagerly explore rooms, closets and cabinets.

mom & dad are overwhelmed by stuff.

kids sleep soundly after playing.

parents sleep from sheer exhaustion.

change

the quotes keep coming...

setting: dinner table. kate refusing to try her sweet potatoes.

M: kate, you know when we met you, you loved sweet potatoes.

Runner Boy: yes, kate, you ate sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and lots of cheesey eggs.

{{she now rejects all of these foods...}}

K: i did?

R.B.: yes, mommy made them all the time for you.

K: what did sammy eat?

M: sammy was a little, tiny baby, so he only had milk.

{{he was nursing at the time}}

K: did he drink his milk open top?

R.B. no, it was more like top-less kate...

********

setting: first measurable snow of the season...

k: daddy, i want to go outside and catch the snow and eat it!"

k: mommy, i think this is da beginning of winter...

must she remind us?

kate quotes...

setting: we are driving to Chinese class and Kate is trying to engage me in interesting conversation:

K: Mom?

M: Yes, Kate?

K: Mom, when da people get dressed up...an' go house to house ringing 'da doorbells, they say "Krispy*Kreme?" right?

M: Do you mean "Trick or Treat" Kate?

K; Yah. Sometimes we go get doughnuts. I don't like da trick or treat.

*********

setting: we are all sitting around the supper table and Kate is describing how she would like to decorate her bedroom.

K: Mom, I want a pink rug with Hello*Kitty and lots of princesses all over it. Dat's what I want.

I'll get right on that...

let me help you

kate has decided that it's time to potty train sam. in the past 2 weeks or so she thinks he ought to try to sit on the potty and try to pee before bedtime. now i was in NO hurry to rush him to potty training since he's still pretty young, he's a boy and we're in the middle of a transition with lots of change.

however, this is not stopping "sissy" from helping her brother.

one night she sat him down on the little potty then popped up on the big potty herself. we then heard, "okay sammy, go potty not. go pee pee."

he did it. "yoook mamma, dahdee, i wen' pee pee!"

he's now done it about 5 days in a row. on command for his sissy, kate.

how did she do that?

next on her agenda...teaching him to wipe.

"sam," she said, "here take this toilet paper an' wipe from da front to da back..."

he looks between his legs with a quizzical expression...

the good, the bad & the ugly...

it's been a dry season here. creativity dried up, time limited, lots of change. ...i hate that.

the cure: how 'bout a little retail therapy?

runner boy took the kids and sent me off to the mall. so many stores...so little time.

it was a mix of the good, the bad & the ugly.

the good: i've dropped a size...without trying...without losing weight. just went to the store and dropped a size...marketing is good. makes me feel good about my fitness without so much as doing a thing.

the bad: i hardly made a dent into my shopping list...still have no shoes for work...

the ugly: (i'm hoping this scene will not be kate & i in 12 years.) picture a mother with her 16 year old daughter wandering through the shoe department at macy*s. daughter is decked out in low rise jeans tightly hugging below the waist...muffin top peaking above the beltline...her toes staring up through the black straps of her flip flops. (mind you, it's 30 degrees outside.) her eyes defined by thick black eyeliner and blue shadow...

mom ask daughter, "honey do you think these boots look good? are they cool?"

oh, dear. this is like a scene out of TLC's "*What Not to Wear*" why are you asking her?