Happy Thanksgiving!

Ahhhh..... leftovers... aren't they wonderful? It's the one meal that my husband, who hates leftovers, will eat day after day.... after day! And we are sad that we did not have as many leftovers as we usually do! On the plus side, we are not sick of turkey leftovers, and are anxious to cook another one at Thanksgiving, and we were also blessed to be able to make some plates for those people without a family to share Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful day to be thankful for all that we have. Oh, and one more plus.... wouldn't you want leftovers with these handy dandy Rubbermaid containers??!! My mother-in-law bought these for us when she was tired of putting things in obscure containers.... I never knew that leftovers could be so much fun... and beautiful! So, although I failed to take a picture of us at Thanksgiving dinner, at least I got a picture of our leftovers :-) I highly recommend these containers if you're in the market! They stack oh so nicely!


This year, Todd had an agenda of things that he wanted to accomplish, and lists of materials for a shed he wanted to build. Well, it became a daunting task, and the choice was to lose Todd in the garage all weekend with some help from kids, or get some more little projects done, and spend more fun time with the kids. The latter won. The straw that broke the camels back, was James... he asked if I would play a game with him after Thanksgiving, and I told him that I needed to clean up... to which he replied, "It's OK Mama, I know you want to do these things with me, but are just too busy." That hit me hard. And Glenn was practically in tears when Papa was reading to him because he didn't get to spend every second with Papa (they've been SOOO excited to have Todd off for a few days, and Glenn had this idealized view of how it was going to go). That hit Todd hard. So, Todd and I talked that night, and declared it Kids Day the following day. We were to set aside all of our projects, chores, jobs, and just play with the kids and do what they want... Todd was concerned the following morning, when James was cuddling with him, and listed about 100 things he wanted to do that day... and although we didn't get to more than a dozen of them, all the kids went to bed with huge smiles on their faces! Some of the activities included, hooking up the DS's with Papa and playing Mario Cart... even Mama was allowed to play, and we all had a great time. Alex LOVED watching!

Then the boys taught Papa (and I interpreted) how to play chess. Papa and Glenn had a grueling game... and Alex's favorite part? Putting away the pieces! Oh if only he couldn't be that vigilant in cleaning up other things :-)

The day before, the boys helped Papa build and paint these barriers. So, at Glenn's request (Todd didn't even mention it, but was quite proud of Glenn's request) we went to the park to set up the barriers to practice our mounts and remounts. Of course, Todd and I got a great workout as well, once the kids started clearing out towards the playground!

Of course, we had to play with Ellie at her request! She actually started getting up on all 4's for a little while... till she kept face planting it when her arms gave out. She loved it, though! And here she is standing on her own against the Saucer. She is quite strong! Welcome to the world of getting into things! Look at how happy she is, though. I guess it's time to let her move on! I'm missing my little girl already!

And James' favorite thing to do with Papa was color a picture with him. They made an army base, I believe? With mountains, and battle fields, and airplanes galore... looked quite extensive. James now has it hanging over his bed. Then Glenn wanted to color a big picture, so he and James colored a picture of a battle between red coats and blue coats. Later when I told Glenn to hang his over his bed, he told me he wanted to give it to Papa. He ran downstairs to say that he put it by Papa's bed, and he wont' miss it... he certainly wouldn't! When we went upstairs last night, it was spread all over his pillow, and his piece was bigger than James'!

Other activities included lots of catch with all of us, wicked games of Kings Corner, and reading books. It was a great day. A day to be thankful for... not just for the kids, either. It was wonderful for Todd and I to stop to smell the flowers, not get so wound up in getting life done, but really enjoying what we have. When we went around the table for Thanksgiving, family was the first thing our boys were thankful for. Except for Alex, who said he was thankful for Viola, our neighbors mother who joined us, and that made her eyes sparkle! But this time with the boys is growing shorter and shorter, as they get older. I hope family will still continue to be first on their list, but I know there may not be many more days where they worship the ground we walk on (especially Papa's) and just want to be with us every second of the day. I am so thankful for this moment, and for the wonderful weekend we've been able to have! I feel like we're already shoving off from Thanksgiving, though. The turkey decorations are down, and Christmas lights and decorations are up.. ahhh the magical season of Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and I hope you all are ready for the huge spiral tunnel slide into Christmas, ending at the beginning of 2009! Take care everyone!