Happy Thanksgiving

I have not posted in a while. I love to blog but have been so busy lately.

*I would like to thank Joel's college friend, Shona, for the adorable present. It came on a great day. The longer we wait for updates the more it seems like it is not real. The blanket is beautiful and will match his room perfectly. I will take it to Thailand with us. It is our first gift not from family.

* We leave for Branson tomorrow and I am SO excited. The kids are beside themselves. We spend Thanksgiving with my family on vacation every year. We will eat Thanksgiving dinner at Big Cedar Lodge and go to Silver Dollar City that night. It is supposed to be VERY cold! We are packing hats, gloves, thermal underwear, etc. We are going to eat dinner tomorrow night with the missionary that takes our church group to Thailand each year. Joel and Greg love them dearly. They are bringing their grown adopted Thai daughter, Na, with them. We will have lots to talk about!! This year we are taking a dinner cruise on the Branson Belle. I think the kids will really like it. We won't even talk about the shopping that we do. The condos that we stay at have an indoor pool so the kids can swim. There is also an indoor water park that we might go to.

*Will's class had a Thanksgiving feast today at school. They all dressed up as either pilgrims or Indians. They all chose Indians. Will wore his costume from Halloween and the kids gathered around him. He was the man this morning!

*Kara took humongous chocolate chip cookies for her class. They get to have a special snack but no party.

* We got our Christmas decorations down this week and my house looks like a bomb went off. I am going coo coo. We will have to get it together before we leave. Joel has been a lot of help and has done all of the laundry.

* Joel went deer hunting yesterday for the first time since we have been married. 14 years. He and Alan went to Grenada. No deer to show for it. Seems like a lot of money and time for no meat.

* We sang "Away in a Manger" the other night at home and I started crying. All that I could think of was Seth. It is going to be hard on me this Christmas. We went to a dinner at church Sunday night and a young girl at the table next to me had a baby. He was 2 months younger than Seth. Joel played with him and I loved on him. I couldn't help but get tears in my eyes. I guess I grieve for missing Seth's first year. Babies are the sweetest.

* Mom, Jamie, and I went to Mistletoe Market in Jackson, MS a couple of weekends ago. It was a blast!! I have never been to anything like it before. It is put on by their Junior League and it was really wonderfully done. Every boutique in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas were there (I think). We bought some awesome one of a kind things. There were authors selling their books, artists selling paintings, pottery. Lots of food for sale. There were even 2 cowboys selling honey butter. Believe it or not they were going like hot cakes. I bought some honey jelly that I am going to take to Seth's foster mother. It was made in Indianola, MS. Living at the top of the state I never hear about the neat things Mississippi has to offer. I guess it is because all of our TV, newspaper, etc. comes out of Memphis.

* I have started a new Beth Moore study. It's called "Stepping Up." We are learning about the Psalms of Ascent. Just what I need right now. Psalm 121:1&2 - "I lift my eyes unto the Mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth."

I have much more to catch up on but will have to do it later.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you enjoy your holiday. I know we will. There is so much to give thanks for this year. We are truly blessed.