THANKSGIVING DAY

Our first Thanksgiving Day together was just the NINE! OF US!!!! Wow! It is going to take a while for me to get used to...such a big number! Anyway, we had a pretty low key day and had our big meal at dinnertime. We had all the usuals (turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, pumpkin pie) and RICE! I'm not proud of the fact that I didn't put more effort into making this meal familiar (with Filipino dishes) for our new kids, but really, they didn't seem to mind. They don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the Philippines so maybe it was ok.

It was wonderful to have all of us at the dinner table at the same time...and yet, very odd. This is definitely the NEW NORMAL that I was talking about a few weeks back. We usually try to talk about what we are most thankful for. Roselyn was the first to speak up with her answer of "family". It was a highlight of the day and something I will always remember. I wouldn't have expected such a quick response because she is usually very quiet and cautious in her conversations. It meant a lot to Allen and me.

We ended the day with some game playing. Things moved little slow at first, but our newest kids were really good sports and happy to play. I might mention that the girls' team CRUSHED! the boys' team! :) Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!