We are very very thankful...

It has been suggested that I should start my blog with a post about Thanksgiving. So, here goes:

For our family, Thanksgiving has evolved throughout the years. We have a very large extended family, and we all love to get together as much as possible. All of the women in the family are really great cooks and everybody is just a lot of fun to be around. You know how most families have a few people who are just crazy and have no social skills? Well, that is NOT my family. However, now that all of the cousins are in their 20s and 30s and starting their own families and have to visit their in-laws, it makes it tough to get the whole crew together. So for the past few years, instead of getting together on holidays, we pick a couple of other "normal" days during the year to get together.

And now, our Thanksgiving has become something that just my immediate family, plus a few others, participate in. (which is still a big crowd). My mom and dad host Thanksgiving at their house in Athens, and then quite a few others attend. Attendees this year included my brother Andrew, his wife Cristy and their six kids (Emma, Ivey, Noah, Levi, Judah and Miriam); my brother Matthew, his wife Jennifer and their two kids (Campbell and Carlie); Frank's parents; us; and this year, our good friends Malcolm, Lauren and their daughter Allie. We were so glad to have them! So, you can tell that there were lots of kids running around...10 to be exact. And that's just from my immediate family, so you can probably understand why all of the extended family can't get together on holidays.

We always have tons of food, no matter what the purpose for the gathering. Ask anyone that's ever come to my house for a get-together and you'll know. Thanksgiving was fun this year because we had the three newest additions to the family. Miriam (9 months old), Carlie (8 months old) and Little (what we call Amara--5 months old). It was so much fun seeing them interact.

Let me just say, Carlie doesn't usually cry like this. It looks like Little is trying to make her feel better. How sweet! I can't wait until next year when we see all of these little girls running around together.

Normally, I take lots of pictures, but I failed to do so at Thanksgiving. Forgive me, and I will do better. I even have a camera that fits in my pocket and is with me at all times.

We missed my sweet brother-in-law Daniel this year, who is back in Taiwan spreading the love of Christ. Please keep him in your prayers. He is missed greatly but we are able to talk to him on video chat by way of Skype. Do any of you use that? It's a great way to talk to your loved ones and be able to see them, no matter where in the world they are. And best of all...it's free!

I'll end this post with a picture of our new family. Love to all...