Giving thanks

A season of giving thanks...

 

Naturally, we began Thanksgiving morning by dressing the kids in their Aggie attire.

And then we continued by re-establishing a Thanksgiving tradition my family had throughout my childhood.  Starting before I could even write, each member of the family made a "thankful" list, writing (or drawing) the things he or she was thankful for.  Then we would go around, allowing everyone to read his own.  Since Adrianna has gained confidence in writing and drawing, we hoped this year would be a good place to start.  Adrianna, of course, took to the idea instantly (it involved using colored pencils and paper!), but we had no idea how Abel would stick with us, coloring his own paper throughout almost the entire process.  Adrianna wanted to keep at it long after even Scott and I were done, but eventually, she ran out of space on her page!

Later, we headed to Scott's parents' house with our traditional mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and homemade bread.  Steve (our meat man), prepared the bird, while Julie filled in with all the other delicious side dishes and desserts.  Scott's brother and his wife, Mark and Susana, and their three kids joined the gang, as did Scott's childhood pastor and his wife, Fred and Judy.

Adrianna and Natalie love playing together...  And don't argue too much at first!

Abel and Steven seemed to figure out that they were the same size and had the same tastes in toys.

And by the time we were saying grace for our Thanksgiving meal, the boys were escaping their little table to press buttons on their grandparents' electronics!  It made for a giggly and interrupted ("Don't touch that!") time of thankfulness.

Traditionally, we have to have a picture of Scott's plate...

And then Scott.

After all the food, Abel did not want to be left out of dress-up time.

 And Rusty didn't want to be left out of scrap time.

Kevin made a fun playmate for the younger kids.

Friday and Saturday, we had some more play time with the cousins (and the grown-ups)... 

 

Abel got to see some of Fred's videos and pictures from Africa.

 

The males enjoyed bonding over Amazon.com "Lightning Deals."

And then we ended Saturday with pictures at our favorite overlook spot, before Mark and his family flew home.

 We captured a rare photo of all the family members.  Of course, not with everyone looking, but what can we expect?!

This year, I feel especially grateful for the grace of God, family and friends, a warm home, a beautiful town, and the fact that our son is no longer hundreds of miles away from us.  Thank You, God, for bringing Abel home.