Last night we went to church.  It was our annual Thanksgiving service during which people stand up and praise God publicly for their blessings.  It was a lovely evening.  Rich sat up in the first pew, ready to lead the hymn singing (he was filling in for our regular song-leader) so I was left half way back in a pew all cozied up with David and Grace on one side of me, and Jacob and Ethan on the other.  If Ethan had sat any closer he would have been on my lap.  Davy was busy on the other side of me for most of the service, drawing on the back of a piece of paper… angry pumpkins sword fighting.  Every once in a while he would take a break to fling his arm around me and play with the back of my hair.  (a delight which will never grow old).

(I thought I would showcase some of David’s artwork in this blog.  Don’t you just love the artistic abilities of 6 year olds?)

  (the angry, sword-fighting pumpkins)

Truly, it was such a blessing to sit in the middle of my church family with my children and listen to everyone’s testimonies of another year of growth in love to Christ.  I often had tears in my eyes.

The biggest praise-news for me was my friend Kathy…who found out yesterday that she is expecting her 4th girl!  She has one boy in the midst of girls, and I have one girl in the midst of boys.  We had such a laugh about it together when she called to tell me the news.  So, I get to buy some baby girl pink after all.  It will be so fun to watch my baby Seth, and Kathy’s new daughter, grow up together, just like we have watched David and Emily and the rest of our children grow……. 

In less than six months another boy and another girl will be added to this group, and I’m so thrilled!  Once again I will chat with my friend and we will each have a baby in our lap.

On the way home from church Rich and I stopped at the grocery store with the kids.  It was 8:30 (with a half hour drive ahead of us) and there was a definite party atmosphere because we were all wide awake and out together past our bedtimes.  Every late night party needs junk food so we got snapple, cheesesticks, and donuts for the kids.  Rich and I shared a bag of chips and passed a half gallon of apple juice back and forth (I was SO thirsty!).

Caleb was half asleep by the time we got home, covered in donut crumbs and gripping his snapple juice bottle with both hands (which had been refilled with my apple juice).

Everyone went to bed easy as pie.

Speaking of pie.  Rich and I are almost done with our Thanksgiving shopping and preparations.  We are both looking forward to tomorrow (and so are the big boys, they can’t wait for the FEAST).  Here is our menu:

Turkey, roasted in an oven bag
even though Alton Brown says stuffing is EVIL, we will have stuffing – so there Alton Brown!
homemade mashed potatoes and gravy
corn casserole, using Rich’s Grandma’s recipe
whipped butternut squash
dinner rolls with butter
orange tapioca salad (better known as “orange stuff”)
cranberry sauce, from the can (one jelly, one whole-berry)
a small (just for me?) casserole of mashed sweet potato w/marshmallows baked on top (Aunt Carol’s recipe)
seafood salad (my Grandma’s recipe)
I’m just now realizing we have no green veggie but who cares?  If Rich insists (which I’m sure he won’t) we can always heat up and serve some buttered peas.

Appetizers:  cheese and crackers, chips, blue-crab dip (from Costco), olives, pickles

Dessert:  pumpkin pie!

And of course our “can’t have a gathering without it” famous holiday punch made with Hawiian punch, gingerale, o.j. and rainbow sherbet. (courtesy of my Grandma, again)

(Don’t you just love food memories???)

We will have football on, I don’t watch it but I’ve lived my whole life with the sound of the games in the background during Thanksgiving so it does add a certain necessary element to the day….but most of all we will count our blessings and thank God for another wonderful year!

  (the amazing double headed turkey!!)

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It’s 1:30 now and I hopped back online to record a few funny things the kids said while we were out today.

Jacob, matter of factly, during our meal at McDonalds, while chewing his food, “I love everyone now that I am finally eating FOOD.”

Grace, with authority, about rabbits.  “Yes.  The male does stay with the female while they raise their young.  But, when they are grown, he goes off and finds a new wife.”

David, to Jacob in the backseat of the van, “Do you know how I’m going to get my bunny to heaven?  When I die, YOU can attach the cage to a part of my body, and then up, up, up, up, up, the bunny will be SO happy to see his GOLDEN HOME.”