Ok… so where was I?
Oh yes. We left for Laurie’s parents around noon yesterday and arrived around 1 for a great Thanksgiving meal with contributions from everyone.
Great turkey, stuffing, sweet potato pie, potato casserole, fruit salad, rolls and more.
I think Laurie had fun giving her mom a hard time because the two of us, her brother and her cousin ended up at the “kids table” while Jake and Brooklyn some how made it to the “adult table.” I guess things never change ;-).
After dinner I ended up wrestling with Jake and Brooklyn for a while as Jake tried to find his sock that “somehow” went missing.
As the Cowboys game kicked off we were brought into the living room to help judge an art contest for one of the local high schools.
The theme for the contest was, something to the effect of, “I can change the world by…”
Made for some interesting conversation and discussion.
We had to say our goodbyes around 5 so we could head to my parents house where we watched the rest of the Cowboys game and enjoyed some leftovers while playing Loaded Questions.
Afterwards we tried to get a good family photo but as you can see below, we didn’t have much luck staying focused on the task.
Laurie and I got home around 11 last night and had another great morning of sleeping in.
It’s a little after 1 and I’m still in my PJ’s and Laurie just started painting in the dining room again.
Guess I better get dressed and start pulling down those Christmas decorations and putting up the outside lights.
Should be a full afternoon and evening.
Category: mi familia
Family photo
We tried taking a family photo after all the Thanksgiving turkey was done… we weren’t too lucky… but we had some fun along the way.
Almost done – well not quite
Pre-painting
Well it’s been a fun few days around here.
Tuesday afternoon I got a new job offer – more on that later.
Tuesday night we had a game night for our community group at Amy and Gaylan’s. We had a great time hanging out and celebrating Gaylan’s birthday. We’re planning our Christmas party back over there in a couple weeks.
Wednesday Laurie and I headed back to work and then went to Aaron and Keri’s for the Lehmann Thanksgiving festivities. Always fun to see all the Lehmann’s and enjoy their great food and fellowship.
We got home Wednesday night around 8:30 and Laurie went right to work painting the dining room. I tell you what, when she gets her mind set on something there’s not much that can stop her. She had briefly started painting on Tuesday night before our community group but we really went to town Wednesday night. Unfortunately we ran out of painter’s tape so we avoided some spots near the ceiling and window trim.
We ran out of paint in our first can around midnight so Laurie started cleaning up and getting prepped to make her infamous potato casserole for our Thanksgiving meal.
Almost done
Originally uploaded by Jonathan D. Blundell.
It was then that she realized she needed more sour cream and hash browns. Doh!
I headed out in the cold to Wal-Mart in Lancaster, who were luckily still open.
Grabbed the food, some more painter’s paint as well as Christmas lights.
We’ve got plenty of miniature Christmas lights, but I wanted something different so I bought several strings of larger white lights for outside the house.
We enjoyed sleeping in Thursday morning and Laurie got up around 10 to make some great cinnamon/orange rolls and to finish the potato casserole.
We left for her parents around noon after the casserole finished cooking and I got OrangeNoiseRadio set up for Orange Friday.
More on Thanksgiving fun coming…
The Easy Way Out
Friday night, Laurie and I went with Brian and Heather to hear Rob Bell speak on his “The God’s Aren’t Angry Tour.” We weren’t entirely sure what to expect. I think Brian and I had a basic idea, he would talk – without PowerPoint, or visual aids and would be fairly good at it. I think Laurie and Heather may have had an even lesser idea of what they were going to. Heather tried to explain it to someone as a “not a conference.”
In the end I walked away curious, contemplating and amazed. Bell spoke for nearly two hours without notes, a chalk board, white board or any other visual aids other than a replica of an alter on the stage.
He dressed in plain clothes – black jeans, a black shirt, white belt and tennis shoes. And he walked onto the stage, applauded the audience and went right into his message. There was no, “Thank you Dallas.” No, “I’m so glad you’re here.” Just the message he plained to give.
Continue reading The Easy Way Out
Matthew steals the show
Matthew
Originally uploaded by Jonathan D. Blundell.
We enjoyed an early Thanksgiving dinner with my family today at the retirement center my grandparents and Kara and Tim live. The center provided dinner for all the residents and their families.
It became apparent as soon as the forks and knives settled that Delaina’s son Matthew was going to steal the show. It’s crazy to think that he’s a year old. One of Laurie’s first contact with my family was right after Matthew was born and he was having a minor heart murmur. With her medical experience, Laurie was able to give some advice and comfort to everyone involved. I guess it’s just hard to believe that wasn’t much longer than a year ago. (read my dad’s blog entries at the time)
I’m so thankful for my wonderful amazing life and her amazing smile, comfort, peace and love she brings with her everywhere she goes. God has been good and my love for both Him and Laurie just continues to grow every day.
My granddad and cousin Delaina
My mom, Aunt Beverly and Matthew
We’ll have more Thanksgiving fun this Thursday with Laurie’s family and then with again with my immediate family. I checked the scales last night and I’m down to 228. It may be the first time I’ve been below 230 in 5 or 6 years (if not more) – the real test will be whether I can keep dropping with all the Thanksgiving food that’s on the way.
Did I Steal My Daughter
KERA’s Think had a great show yesterday with the author of the Mother Jones Magazine article, “Did I Steal My Daughter?”
I thought it was a very interesting discussion and look at foreign adoptions and some of the thoughts a mother and father might have from both sides of the coin. Laurie and I have talked about possibly adopting a child from Russia or another country someday so who knows… the information could come in more handy than we realize.
From Think:
What do parents who adopt children from abroad really know about the child’s circumstances and background? Our guest this hour, journalist Elizabeth Larsen, plunged headfirst into the world of international adoption when her family adopted a young girl from Guatemala. She writes about the experience in “Did I Steal My Daughter?” which appears in the November/December issue of Mother Jones Magazine.