Thanksgiving and This and That!

Well, we survived the storm and we survived Thanksgiving!

The storm wasn't all it was cracked up to be! I was grateful Kambree made it home before it hit because it did come down fast and furious but given the hype, I was really expecting more! But that's okay. Like I really want more? Give me a break.
I could do without this cold though. Brrr.... 

Thanksgiving was TWENTY FOUR people at my house! Luckily mom mom cooked the bird, gravy and stuffing. Wednesday we cleaned the house and pulled out all the tables and borrowed more chairs and I painstakingly made sure that each set of silverware at least matched at each place setting. Then I made name cards and figured out where to put the lefties, sat all the couples together, the little girls on the bench, the teens together! Whew! Then of course my kids came in and had to put their two cents in on the whole thing ! Grrr...Then my brother called an hour before the dinner letting me know he was bringing his girlfriend and I had to re-configure it all. But that's okay. It all came together and the girlfriend had a place and a name tag.  And I am happy to announce that I have purged my china hutch of the twenty five extra butter knives that match NOTHING, the saucers without cups and the mugs I didn't dare throw out three years ago in the event I needed to serve cocoa to thirty people or something. I love to purge. I could clean out closets and drawers and throw things out for pure entertainment! (I need to hook up with someone that likes to do windows and walls and exchange services! I HATE windows and walls!)

I had this brilliant idea to make a poster Thanksgiving morning and have everyone list the things they are thankful for. It ended up that all our guests contributed. Besides the basics like family, food, Jesus, healthy bodies,  etc., here are some of my favorites and/or different/crazy items that were penned on our poster:

Trampolines

Tampons

Indoor Plumbing
Green Jell-o

Mascara
Electric Blankets and Heated Car Seats (Yes, that was me!)

Grandpa's Boat

Walton Waffles

Ukraine-because now we have Alex (Nope not me....a sister!)

Smooching
Guacamole  
Red Box
My Spleen
Barbies
Bobby Pins
Boobies

Hair Color

iTunes

Glee
and 

Not living in an orphanage

(You can probably guess who wrote that last one!)

Some of the items have gone unclaimed but SOMEONE wrote them! (I have a picture of the poster as well as Thanksgiving  pics and will post it when I figure out what to do about my lack of storage space on Picasso!)
Alex gave me a thumbs up when I asked how his first TRADITIONAL Thanksgiving was? Last year - his first year -  we dragged Thanksgiving up to James in Wyoming and ate sitting on the floor with paper plates balanced on our laps. This year Alex was very helpful with the preperations and at the end of the day Wednesday proclaimed that Christmas is not as much work! Hum....not sure I agree with that one!

CUTE ALEX ALERT!
I've been asking for Christmas lists from everyone and Alex has had a hard time thinking of anything. (Keep in mind I am boycotting video games/Wii games/DS games and all gaming systems or anything that contributes to the electronic, brain dead, zombiness of my children!) He asked me if I remembered his first birthday in America? How I just bought him things without asking him?  I reminded him that was because he didn't speak English very well. (He'd been home less than 3 months) Yes, he knows but he would like me to do that for Christmas this year too. So far the only thing he could come up with is new snow boots and "resources" to make inventions. Can I just tell you how this warms my heart? Since his list has been a mile long since the minute he could communicate in English!

This morning my mom and sis an I hit the stores, but not at the "butt crack of dawn" which is so crude to say yet so descriptive of the way I feel about getting up early! (Kids if you're reading this I meant to type "Bottom crack of dawn!) We didn't grace Kohl's with our presence until 7am and thanks to running into my friends, they shared the trick of buying something at the jewelry counter and getting all your purchases rang up there instead of standing in the  check out line that snaked all the way around the store! Whootwhoo for friends sharing shopping secrets!

Alex has had a terrible barky cough lately. I call it kennel cough because he sounds just like our late dog, Honey when we adopted her from the pound. I struggle with Alex and sickness as he tends to exaggerate. I am sure that exaggeration got you attention or at the least sent to the sanatorium in the orphanage, so I'm not sure his cough is as bad as he's making it out to be. Does that make sense? I'm giving it through the weekend. The fact that I'm not letting him outside in the bitter cold might improve it greatly as he loves to play outside, go sledding and throw snowballs.

FUNNY AUSTIN ALERT!
So as you know this is "No shave November" for Austin and he is getting quite scruffy. Much to my dismay. I talked Kambree into helping me get him to shave. She went in to work for a couple of days (she and Austin work at the same bakery) while home for Thanksgiving and before he got to work she wrote this up on the white board:
Notice! New health code regulation:  You must have a clean shaven face to handle food
~Management
She got her manager to go along with it and Austin totally fell for it! Good thing he doesn't read my blog!  Teeheehee! He should be shaving tonight as he goes to work again tomorrow!

Well, I realized that this weekend we're going to have to get the tree up as Kambree will not be home until Christmas break and James heads to work on Tuesday and won't be home until mid December.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and were safe and warm and surrounded by those you love. I have many new friends waiting on pins and needles to get to Ukraine and get their children and I know from experience how bitter-sweet the holidays are when part of your heart is half way around the world. God speed my friends. Two years ago, I was in the very same boat and this Thanksgiving I realized it was time for our yearly update to the Ukraine embassy. (We are asked to make a report after six months and then each year after that, and it's been a year since our first update.) I worked on filling out the form Thanksgiving morning. Here's the link if you need it. (No pressure or anything, those of you who have NEVER reported. Wink, wink!)
http://www.ukrainesf.com/index.htm

If this doesn't take you to the PDF report, you can use their search bar and search for the word "annual report on adopted child from Ukraine". It's a little tricky, this website.)