We are so very thankful for ...
Our many blessings!
For kind and generous friends that
gifted us a Thanksgiving meal!
For sisters that love to do each others hair!
For full time jobs and young adults willing to work hard!
For almost 39 years of marriage
and for all we have learned on our journey together!
For many kitchen helpers!
Even those, that just help out a little bit!
For relaxing holidays, games and fall football!
For all the FUN we have together
making the Thanksgiving meal!
For big sisters that show younger sisters
how to put on make up!
For both, purebreds and mutts!
For a brother (Sam) that loves to take
his sibs outside for a workout!
For girls that volunteer (kind of)
to do a last minute vacuum!
For teens that love to hang on the phone!
For BFF youngest sisters!
(And for how much Mary has grown!)
For the exciting adventure that lies ahead for these two girlies!
For our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
For our God that never leaves us but
stands in the fire with us!
For answered prayer!
For truth to prevail!
For redemption!
For others that take photos so I don't always have to do it!
BTW - they take great photos!
For patient, hungry teens and tweens
that tolerate my photo sessions!
Even when I just want to try another angle!
For Dad's that carve turkeys!
My parents ALWAYS got into an argument
over carving the turkey...
Not at our house!
Who cares what it looks like,
just get the meat off the darn thing and let's eat!
Seriously, is there a right and wrong way to do it?
We are thankful for smiles, laughter, board games,
movie nights, huge delicious meals
and the amazing clean up crew
that we have, after we are all done!
All eight insisted on being a server...!
and then the other 8 were not servers...
One by one they quickly left their post to eat!
I believe I ended up serving myself!
Hi!
I'm still here!
I'm just behind the camera!
We are thankful for ALL of our children!
For those that celebrated with us
For those that celebrated with us
and those that could not join us!
We are thankful for
this incredible journey that God has taken us on,
for our extended family, friends
and acquaintances in our community!
for our extended family, friends
and acquaintances in our community!
(We love running into people we know!)
For our adoption friends all over the world
For our home!
For our pets!
For homeschooling!
For our Church!
For our home!
For our pets!
For homeschooling!
For our Church!
For prayer groups!
For God's provisions!
2020 you have been a challenging year...
definitely not one I want to repeat...
But you have also been filled with many blessings!
But you have also been filled with many blessings!
We're taking a journey back in time
to a few previous Thanksgiving celebrations!
2018
For a few years, we had the Burgess family join us for Thanksgiving!
So we had the blessing of their company and
professional photography!
Now... there is a possibility that they may move back to MN!
whoop, whoop!
(insert loud cheering and party noises)
Not to mention COVID, social distancing
and discouraged traveling...
We seem to be living in a hot spot...
with full hospital beds...
So we were unable to get together
with any of our big kids and they better half...
We did lots of phone calls and face timing this year!
And a very Happy Birthday Wish to our DIL, Kelly!
This year, Thanksgiving day was her birthday!
In 2018, I think we watched a Star Wars movie.
This year (2020), we watched "Knives Out"!
And let's go back a little further to 2014!
2014
Oh my goodness, they were so little
and such good helpers!
And, instead of a calisthenics
this guy was vacuuming,
with a vacuum that was almost bigger than him!
He is speaking my love language!
Be still my heart!
Jenny, Grace, Jake and Mary were not home yet...
Someone said something funny!
(Sam was wearing the shirt that Luke wore this year !)
Plenty of reuse and recycle going on,
at our house!
Okay, now we're ready!
from left to right-
Joey 6, Ben 8, Emma 14, Anna 8, Abby 8, Ava 9, Sam 8,
Mia 13 , Melissa 9, Sarah 14, Madeline 8, Ellie 12 and Luke 6
Chillin' before the big kids arrive!
Ellie practiced a speech for school!
Little kids dining table!
Jean, with my sister Barb!
We accidentally dressed alike!
Why did we do what we did?
This is why...
no child should be without a family!
(and it's a complete cuteness overload!)
Add in the big boys and
the laughter never stops!
FYI-
we can't sing(at all) or play the piano (very well)...
We truly missed the bigs and the Burgess's this year...
They are all a ton of fun!
(this photo is named, the battle of the plaids!)
This is our final blast from the past!
Here's to 2011
Sam and Ava came home on April 1st of 2011!
By Thanksgiving they were completely settled in
and owned the place!
Which was really good
because we went back to China
for Abby and Luke, a week after this celebration!
That was our quickest turnaround between adoptions!
Sam still had a colostomy bag during this photo
and was just 3 weeks post op from his abdominal surgery...
(We went to Cincinnati Children's for his repair.)
Johnny is lovingly helping Sam so he doesn't fall...
And now it's a stare down...
Sam vs Johnny...
If I were to ask them who won?
They would both say, "I did!"
with complete certainty!
And Sam's back at it...
guessing Johnny's gonna let him fall this time!
Sam has a little motor that goes and goes and goes...
much like the energizer bunny!
He adores his older brothers!
All six, are precious children from God!
And now...
let's show our muscles!
Happy Thanksgiving EVERYONE!
We hope you had a blessed holiday!
From this crazy crew,
past and present!
